Self Image: Activity 2

Activity 2: Blog Entry
Find images in the media, which have been used to represent attractive and unattractive aspects of the human face. Examine and record carefully the photographic techniques used to accentuate both these qualities, drawing up a list that relates to the images you have found.

• List the physical characteristics that we have come to admire in both the male and female face and write 100 words in response to the following questions: 

1. Do you believe that media images or public opinion are responsible for the characteristics of beauty becoming universal stereotypes? 
2. Do you believe people admiring media images of glamorous models can do any harm?

My Response

• Media images and the public opinions that come with them have changed what people view as beautiful. Below are two images: 

The image on top is of New York City on a typical day in the winter. The Image on top is the stereotypical picture of New York City and all it's beauty at night. The bottom one gets everyone's attention and makes a lot of people believe that the city looks like that once you're in, but it really doesn't (as shown in the top image). I chose to use a picture of a city instead of people because all the people used in media are pretty, it's their job. The typical person used for magazines, commercials, and any other media usually has defined facial features, a perfect body, and a million dollar smile, but not everybody looks like that. The same can be said for these pictures of New York, one looks pretty and gets people to go check it out but the city really looks like the other image.

• My answer to the question of whether people admiring media images of glamorous models can do any harm, is a very simple "Yes", but it won't stay simple for very long. Beauty is open for interpretation, Matte vs Shiny, Beach Ball vs Hourglass, Young vs Old, everybody has their own preference, but when the same thing is constantly covered and displayed by the media it becomes the standard. People will begin to believe that these models are everyday people that can be found at the McDonald's which isn't the case. The level of harm varies of course, will a girl get turned down because she doesn't look like Kim Kardashian? I hope not, but maybe. Will a guy say yes but wish he had Scarlett Johansson instead? Kinda very likely, depends on the age of the guy I guess. The same can probably be said about women, but I have no idea how they think so I won't speak for them. So in a nutshell, idolizing models isn't a completely bad thing, but don't let it affect your expectations or else it will do more harm.

Self Image: Activity 1

Activity 1: Blog Entry
What follows is a list of categories that serves to define and divide us. Make a personal list of the categories you belong to or have conflict with and visual symbols that are associated with each. Aspirations and expectations should also be listed.

1. Age/generation - is can dictate levels of independence afforded to the individual. 
2. Gender - Our sex affects the way we are treated by some individuals. 
3. Race - Prejudice and perceived racial superiority can affect hopes and aspirations. 
4. Religion - Moral codes and ideologies that serve to guide, unite and divide. 
5. Class or caste - A classification that an individual may never escape from. 
6. Personality - Extrovert and introvert are classifications of personality. 
7. Intelligence - educational establishments, based on IQ, often segregate us. 
8. Political persuasion - Left wing or right wing. Each carries its own ideology.

My Response

1. Age/Generation - Right now, I'm 18 so I basically have the freedom to do as I please, but I choose not to because it's fun to act like a kid still. I feel like this isn't the social norm for my generation, everyone's growing up quick and getting out in the world by the time they leave high school, yet here I am playing with action figures and reading comics in my room during my free time.
   
2. Gender - I'm a male, I've never really noticed anything different about the way people treat me. The only really annoying thing I've noticed about being a guy is that I have to pay for everything myself and get a job (which I refuse to do).
   
3. Race - I'm of Spanish decent, but for the most part I'm just an american boy. My family never practiced any specific traditions, I don't even speak spanish (which is usually expected by some of my relatives or peers). If I had a dollar for every time somebody said to me "Oh you don't speak spanish?" I would be a millionaire.
   
4. Religion - I'm not a religious person, but I like to think there's something up there after we die. I try to just be a good person and avoid doing things I'll regret. If I had to pick one religion that I fall under, I guess it would be Mormonism, but to claim that one would be quite a stretch.
   
5. Class/Caste - Me and my parents are considered to be in the upper middle class. My parents own a big house, full of nice furniture, and two (almost) brand new cars. I don't really own anything, so for now I'm just piggy backing off of them.
   
6. Personality - I'm a fairly introvert person. I prefer to be alone, or with a small group of close friends. The only time I enjoy being around large groups of people is during a wrestling tournament/duel.
   
7. Intelligence - I'm pretty smart. I'd say I'm pretty well rounded in everything but I usually get a lot of attention for my writing, especially my creative writing and essays, but I am terrible at math. This fact actually introduced me to one of my best friends, Ky, because she hated (and kinda sucked at) english but she was really good at math.
   
8. Political Persuasion - Politics aren't my cup of tea, since I have very little control over what politicians do. Plus there's so many people today that very loudly and publicly voice their political views and opinions, but sometimes they have no idea what they're talking about and just make themselves look dumb, so I'd like to avoid being one of those people. Personally, I look at politicians as puppets; One is red, the other is blue, just pick the one that will work for you.
   

Time: Activity 5

Activity 5
Blog Entry
Create four images that contain a mixture of solid (sharp) and fluid (blur) forms. Using the camera that you have been checked out, create four images as creatively and artistically as you can!



The following pictures were taken at a wrestling duel, Mountain Pointe vs Caesar Chavez. To capture them, I followed the wrestlers whenever a takedown was attempted, which kept them kind of solid while the background became more fluid. Hopefully the pictures turned out okay, I know I liked them.

Travis Myers taking down his opponent. Sadly, the takedown didn't count because his opponents feet landed out of bounds. Poor kid had to go into overtime because of that.

Justin Hagart moments before pinning his opponent. There isn't a whole lot of blurred motion in this image other than the Caesar Chavez kid's leg and hand.

Romeo Chavez about to suplex his opponent. He set this move up really nice; at the start of the second round his opponent chose bottom, so Romeo just let him stand up without any resistance and then hit this move. Romeo used this move 6 times in this match.

Romeo Chavez moments before reversing his opponents takedown. Romeo used his opponents momentum against him to kick him over and then get the pin.

Time: Activity 4

Activity 4
Blog Entry
Find a photograph where the photographer has used a slow shutter speed and describe the subject matter including the background.Discuss any technical difficulties the photographer may have encountered and how these might have been overcome.

• Discuss what happened to the depth of field and why.
• Discuss whether the image gives you the feeling of movement, stating the reasons for your conclusions.

Still Life - Siti Sorfiena Syasha

The picture above depicts a soccer game that was shot using a slow shutter speed. Only one player is clear while everyone else appears as blurred figures. One of the technical difficulties the photographer might have encountered was capturing the one player that isn't blurred. I'm going to guess that this obstacle wasn't to large and was overcome by asking the player to hold still and pose while he was not playing. The depth of field is not affected too much by the camera settings, but if looked at carefully, it gets slightly shallower as you begin to look further behind the player. The image gives me a feeling that there is movement in the picture, because of the players that appear blurry (because they are playing) and the one kid that appears clear (because he is standing still).

Time: Activity 3

Activity 3

Blog Entry

Take four images of a running or jumping figure using fast shutter speeds (faster than 1/250 second). Vary the direction of travel in relation to the camera and attempt to fill the frame with the figure. Examine the image for any movement blur and discuss the focusing technique used.

Take four images of the same moving subject using shutter speeds between 1/15 and 1/125 second. Pan the camera to follow the movement. The primary subject should again fill the frame. Discuss the visual effect of each image.

Time: Activity 2

Activity 2

Blog EntryFind an example of a photograph where the photographer has used a very fast shutter speed and describe the subject matter including the background. Discuss any technical difficulties the photographer may have encountered and how he or she may have overcome them.

• Discuss what happened to the depth of field and why.
• Discuss whether the image gives you the feeling of movement, stating the reasons for your conclusion.

Paint Bucket - from MegaPhotography.com

The photo above shows drops of paint splashing back up after falling back into the container. Since the drops were in motion while this picture was taken, the photographer needed to adjust his camera to overcome this very minor inconvenience. One of the more obvious adjustments made to the camera involved the F-Stop settings, since the depth of field is fairly shallow that means that the F-Stop setting was lowered. In the end, the photographer was able to accomplish beautiful stop motion at the slight cost of having a shallow depth of field. Job well done photographer.

Time: Activity 1

Activity 1

Blog Entry

Look at a Henri Cartier-Bresson photograph and discuss why you think that capturing the decisive moment has added to the picture’s quality.

Final Days of the Kuomintang- Henri Cartier-Bresson

According to the information that accompanied this image on magnumphotos.com, this is an image of a Chinese merchant, eating the last of his provisions. Due to the decisive moment in this picture, it looks like the man is sitting down and eating a meal he has just purchased from the store behind him, with the owner of said store looking at him. This is a much more pleasant take than reality, where the man's store has shut down and he is now eating the last of his provisions to reduce the weight he must carry with him everywhere around Beijing while searching for a new place to set up shop.