1) I think the photos that were the most eye-opening were the ones of war, namely WWII and Vietnam. The images from there were just so graphic and gave me a disturbing sense of what war is all about.
2) They document important events, and so show us truth, but more recently, in the digital age, the truth is able to be altered, and so we find ourselves being slightly more skeptical of the truth than we had been. Also the choice of which pictures appear in the media effect our perceptions on people and/or events, so we are more likely to lean towards the bias of the reporter.
3) Digital photographs have made sharing pictures easier and more efficient. They have also effected our perceptions on what is true and what has been altered, as we can no longer really believe in the truth of photographs.
4) Events covered would probably be of things such as the wars in the Middle East, which are huge and effect many people. Technologies shown would probably be how the cameras have changed, getting smaller and smaller, and with features such as video recording enabled on them.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Digital Collage
Grace of the Galaxies
The images included in this collage are a wide variety. For the background I started off with this slightly textured red picture, then added a picture of these black vines to add even more texture. After I added a few more things, I realized I wanted more detail back there, so I put in stars and a picture of some dark clouds to help blend into the other clouds. In the sort of middle ground I have two sets of mountains with a domed city in the valley between them. Dark clouds are over the city, like a storm brewing. I also have a sun tucked behind one of the mountains, and a clock face faded on top of it. In the foreground there is another domed city and a bridge leading up to it, with a horse drawn carriage heading to it. In the stars I have a few "constellations" including myself, an old fashioned train, a swan, and a police box. The rest of the scenery includes some plains with city lights faded on top of them and a purple river running through it. I also included various song lyrics blended into the images throughout the picture.
As far as changed go, I mostly used photo filters to change the images colors. Other than that, I applied a soft light to some images and text to make them blend in more to the background, as seen in the constellations and the clock on the sun. Most all of the images have been resized so they would go together well, and some images, like the mountains and the train were flipped so they faced the other direction.
At first I thought I would go for more of a view from outer space, but as I looked through pictures I decided to do a view from someone standing on the bridge, because I could include more detail as I went. I also added in the stars when I realized the background I had seemed too plain. the constellations were a completely random idea, because i had no idea how to add myself into the picture, nor did I especially want to, and it was the easiest way for me to kind of get around it.
Usually, whenever I add text to a picture I try to make it stand out, but this time I tried hard to make it blend in so it wouldn't be as noticeable. I also found that I was much less picky with my images as I usually am. I just saw something that I could make work and didn't waste too much time making sure it was the best possible picture.
What I am most proud of would have to be anywhere from my mountains on up. I think that the constellations, sun, clouds, and city in particular look the best and I think they're the most well done part of the whole collage. It turned out even better than I had hoped.
If I could change anything, it would probably be the carriage and horse. I'm not really satisfied with how it looks and it didn't come close to my initial vision, but I'll have to deal with it because I highly doubt any pictures that fit my vision exist. I would also make some of my lines cleaner where I cut images out.
This has to be one of my better collages, and I'm altogether very proud of it. I'm also very happy with the fonts I was able to get for my text.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Ideal World
1) My ideal world would be full of technology, mostly cities, but it would also be mixed with a little bit of fantasy, castles and such. A blending of the two. The buildings would all look old and hobbled together, but in everyday life there would be extremely advanced technologies to help with the little tasks. Nothing would be simpler because of technology, it would just be a simple "this is the way it is".
2) This ideal world would not be on earth, it would have to be on another planet, maybe even in another time.
3) The colors would be very rich, dark reds and purples in the natural environment. In a "man-made" environment the colors would all be little glowing spots of blue or green surrounded in black.
4) Sonic screwdrivers (Doctor Who reference there, ha) would be a must, because opening doors is just so much more fun that way. Any electronics would be tools designed to better help their users. Hovercraft ships (that look like curvy blue boxes) drawn by a horse-like species (who are animal, not intelligent) would be transportation. Weapons would be swords that transmit electricity, so they shock to kill more than cut, providing a quicker death. Hologram screens. In the more natural world there would be things like animals and trees and all that stuff, but also a surprising amount of precious gems, which are useful because they give off light, hence their light sources instead of lightbulbs. They are not as valuable because there are so many of them. Books also exist in wide variety, but they are written with special ink on special paper so they will never fade or fall apart.
5) Robots. No artificial intelligence exists here. Time machines also do not exist. No statues or monuments are in this world (because there was this one crazy scientist this one time who brought them to life as a personal army and tried to take over the world. He failed and they were all destroyed)
6) The types of people living there would be from all walks of life. There is a Lower City, which is pretty much the slums, except instead of selling drugs they sell mood patches (almost the same thing). Then there would be the Middle City, where all the normal, middle class people live. These people are the laborers, the workers needed to keep the city functional and running. Most specialize in a certain area, like plumbing or technology repairs. Then comes the Upper City, where all the elites live. This includes the great scientists and technicians who come up with inventions. Intelligence is the highest value, and when people there are young they are given tests to determine their intelligence levels in various areas. Those with exceptionally high scores are allowed to move up in rankings and are given more privileges and responsibilities. The government is constructed of a Council, each member of which gets an equal vote. The members are elected from each social class by the social class they will represent. Men and women both have equal standing in society.
7) Communication would be, for the most part, face to face, actually talking. They are really focused on knowing people personally, and conceder it rude to not show your face while talking to someone. If a secure, faithful relationship has been established between two people, then they might use phones to communicate while apart, however, these are mostly only used if a quick discussion is necessary and they are not able to meet in person.
8) There are two suns, that rise and set in the north and south, constantly, so there is never night, only day, except for when one is setting and one is rising. The grass is red and the mountains stretch taller than anywhere else in the universe. But the cities are the most magnificent. Each is like its own little skyscraper island, connected to others through a network of bridges that stretch like a spiderweb across the earth. From space, each city glows with blue and green lights, but the buildings are spaced so they spell out the name of the city from above, so travelers from other planets know where each city is.
2) This ideal world would not be on earth, it would have to be on another planet, maybe even in another time.
3) The colors would be very rich, dark reds and purples in the natural environment. In a "man-made" environment the colors would all be little glowing spots of blue or green surrounded in black.
4) Sonic screwdrivers (Doctor Who reference there, ha) would be a must, because opening doors is just so much more fun that way. Any electronics would be tools designed to better help their users. Hovercraft ships (that look like curvy blue boxes) drawn by a horse-like species (who are animal, not intelligent) would be transportation. Weapons would be swords that transmit electricity, so they shock to kill more than cut, providing a quicker death. Hologram screens. In the more natural world there would be things like animals and trees and all that stuff, but also a surprising amount of precious gems, which are useful because they give off light, hence their light sources instead of lightbulbs. They are not as valuable because there are so many of them. Books also exist in wide variety, but they are written with special ink on special paper so they will never fade or fall apart.
5) Robots. No artificial intelligence exists here. Time machines also do not exist. No statues or monuments are in this world (because there was this one crazy scientist this one time who brought them to life as a personal army and tried to take over the world. He failed and they were all destroyed)
6) The types of people living there would be from all walks of life. There is a Lower City, which is pretty much the slums, except instead of selling drugs they sell mood patches (almost the same thing). Then there would be the Middle City, where all the normal, middle class people live. These people are the laborers, the workers needed to keep the city functional and running. Most specialize in a certain area, like plumbing or technology repairs. Then comes the Upper City, where all the elites live. This includes the great scientists and technicians who come up with inventions. Intelligence is the highest value, and when people there are young they are given tests to determine their intelligence levels in various areas. Those with exceptionally high scores are allowed to move up in rankings and are given more privileges and responsibilities. The government is constructed of a Council, each member of which gets an equal vote. The members are elected from each social class by the social class they will represent. Men and women both have equal standing in society.
7) Communication would be, for the most part, face to face, actually talking. They are really focused on knowing people personally, and conceder it rude to not show your face while talking to someone. If a secure, faithful relationship has been established between two people, then they might use phones to communicate while apart, however, these are mostly only used if a quick discussion is necessary and they are not able to meet in person.
8) There are two suns, that rise and set in the north and south, constantly, so there is never night, only day, except for when one is setting and one is rising. The grass is red and the mountains stretch taller than anywhere else in the universe. But the cities are the most magnificent. Each is like its own little skyscraper island, connected to others through a network of bridges that stretch like a spiderweb across the earth. From space, each city glows with blue and green lights, but the buildings are spaced so they spell out the name of the city from above, so travelers from other planets know where each city is.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Documentary Photography Project
Mini Me
Mask Failures
Baby Dino
Smiling Witch
Darth goes to STA
Vampire on a Diet
I chose to photograph Halloween for my project, but more specifically the Halloween party at the community center. I chose this because it's that time of year and it was easy to be able to get a lot of pictures. The pictures I took have a sort of fun feel to them, with a little bit of irony as well. I learned that Halloween doesn't have to be all scary, that there are plenty of fun costumes out there and it's more about the fun than scaring people. My favorite image would have to be the first one, of my brother (the little Darth Vader) and another older one who we saw the instant we walked into the room. It was so funny that they had the same costume that I had to take a picture of it, and I think the obvious height difference makes the image memorable.
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