Virtual Essay: Adapting Man Ray's Style

I have chosen to compare images that resemble those of the work of photographer Man Ray. The images I have selected are similar in both style, and content of the works Man Ray produced throughout his prolific career.

Man Ray was an American artist, who spent most of his career in Europe, mainly Paris, France. He enjoyed painting, photography and film making. He is best known in North America for his photography. In terms of photography Man Ray experimented with fashion, portrait, and avante-garde photography.

Man Ray’s photographic style incorporated many different techniques. He was a pioneer, and experimenter of photographic technique. He created a new photographic art which emphasized chance effects, paired with a full imagination. He made solarizations, and grain enlargements. He also established himself with his photograms, which he later called “Rayographs”. Ray Man strives to create a visual type of poetry. With his use of the Rayograph, he was always stressing the importance of light and shadow, rather than the object itself.

Man Ray enjoyed creating surrealist visions of the female form. Photographic techniques, such as solarization, dynamic cropping, over enlargement and over development were used to create a dreamlike effect in his artwork.

Photograph #1: This photograph is a self-portrait done by amateur photographer Rocio Montoya. I feel that it incorporates many qualities of a Man Ray photograph. For one, the use of colour is scarce if anything. Man Ray's compositions were generally in black and white. He spent more time playing with light and shadow, rather than a vibrant use of colour. Light and shadow play a very important role in the photograph below. Secondly, the subject of the photograph is very common in Man Ray's work. Man Ray was very interested in shooting the female form. He is known for many famous nude photographs of women, presenting their body in an artistic manner. Man Ray also documented expression, and emotions. The women's expression in this photograph can evoke many different emotions in the viewer.

Rocio Montoya. Flicker Images. 2009

Photograph #2: This photograph was done by amateur photographer Sana Isabel. I believe the inspiration for this photograph came from Man Ray's 1930 piece, entitled "Lips". The Rocky Horror picture show also used Man Ray's "Lips" as part of their ad campaign. Again we can see the use of black and white, as opposed to using colour. The content of the photograph is simple, but questionable. Like Man Ray, the photographer has allowed the piece to be open for interpretation from the audience. The use of light and contrast appears again, using the emphasis of black and white to highlight points of interest.

Sana Isabel. "My Reflection, Dirty Mirror". 2008

Photograph # 3: This is a photograph by amateur photographer JE Smith. This photograph has also been manipulated in the style of Man Ray. I believe that JE Smith took inspiration from Man Ray's 1923 photograph "Object Indestructible". A photograph which depicts an older looking metronome with an eye on it. The photograph below looks like a modern twist on Man Ray's original conception. The photographer added some focal effects to direct the viewers eye to a particular object. Unlike the other photographs, this photographer decided to incorporate colour into his image, which changes the mood from black and white.

JE Smith. "Man Ray Inspired...". Flicker images. 2006

Photograph # 4: This image was manipulated to look similar to one of Man Ray's solarizations. The image appears to be that of the nude female form. Although Man Ray's experiments with solarization were stumbled upon by accident, the image below was indeed not an accident. The main effect of solarization is inverting the black and white shades. I feel that the image below is open to many different interpretations.

Francesca Bertoldio0. Jan. 2008/ Flicker Images

Photograph # 5: I believe that this image by photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto was influenced by the photogram/rayograph technique Man Ray frequently used. The image may also be inspired by Man Ray's 1931 piece 'Electricity'. Hiroshi Sugimoto used a 40,000 volt Van de Graaff generator to apply voltage directly to the film. Thus, capturing electricity's wild patterns in the process. Again we see no use of colour. The image is abstract, and open to interpretation. In a way the image is also very surreal, and dreamlike in composition.

Lightning Fields. Hiroshi Sugimoto/Fraenkel Gallery

Sources:

http://www.arthistoryarchive.com/arthistory/surrealism/Man-Ray.html

http://www.manraytrust.com/

http://www.manray-photo.com/catalog/index.php

http://www.flickr.com/groups/man-ray/

Alterations in Journalistic Photography

Photography holds a great deal of influence and impact on society. Photography can create public perception about historical events, people and places. Photography can shape people's views, distort people's realities, and create ideals. Photojournalists often control most of this power, as far as images are concerned. Photojournalists also have a commitment and duty to the public to ensure that they follow the guidelines and ethics set forth by various journalistic code of ethics. The public also has the right to know the truth, if the photograph is presented as a piece of journalistic work. The main purpose of photographs in the media is to try to tell the story without changing the reality. That means staging photographs is frowned upon and deleting objects, or people is not allowed.

"Despite the journalistic codes of ethics, many photographers have been selling their images to the news media, claiming that they have created documentary photography. Instead their work includes post production editing, especially playing with the light on the photographs". (p. 19 Smith Salgado Shooting The Truth Gordana Icevska).

Who does the public believe? Consider the two images below: Left is an Image of Bigfoot on the cover of the Weekly World News, 30 October, 2001. The image on the right is a Pulitzer Prize Winning photo of a firefighter holding a baby at the scene of the Oklahoma City Bombing, 19 April, 1995. The image on the left is obviously staged, or has been manipulated to look a certain way for the story in the publication. The photograph on the right is a true documentation of the facts. With the increase of digital and analog technologies the tools photojournalists have at their disposals make it very difficult for the public to differentiate between fact and fiction.

Left: Weekly World News Cover. Oct. 30, 2001. Right: Charles Porter. April 19. 1995. Sports News.

"According to the Code of Ethics of the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) photojournalists should respect the integrity of the photographic moment. The long post production process, regardless if it is in a dark room or on a computer using Photoshop, is contrary to the basic principles of photojournalism". (p.21 Smith Salgado Shooting The Truth. Gordana Icevska).

Below is another altered image, but between the three images we can see just what lengths some photojournalists will go through in order to get their version of the perfect photograph. The final results after post-production make it very difficult for the untrained eye to detect that any manipulations have occurred. Walski’s doctored image below appeared in newspapers around the country, including The Hartford Courant and the Chicago Tribune. The fake would have gone undetected had it not been for an employee at The Hartford Courant, who noticed that a person in the background appeared twice within the photograph.

Brian Walski. Chicago Tribune. March 2003.

"Photographic and video images can reveal great truths, expose wrongdoing and neglect, inspire hope and understanding and connect people around the globe through the language of visual understanding. Photographs can also cause great harm if they are callously intrusive or are manipulated". (NPPA Code of Ethics. 2009).

Photojournalists with the wrong intentions can hurt the public, and over time if manipulating journalistic photographs pursues, the public will eventually loose all trust, and respect for the profession. Each time a journalist manipulates a photograph they are manipulating the audience's mind as well. Wether the photographs altered are used for propaganda, or personal satisfaction, manipulation of documentary photography is wrong, hurtful, and unjust.

The Impact of Digital Technology on Photography

Digital Society by Futurist Digital Media Images.

How Digital Technology Changed the Role of Photography in Society?

• Personal photography was popularized in the 19th and 20th century. It emerged as a social tool that was used mostly by families wanting to capture their memories and experiences in a tangible medium, for future reference, and remembrance sake. Photography also acted as a tool for communication, and a way of sharing personal experiences.
  
  

• The social and cultural impact of personal photography has rapidly increased over the last two decades. In the past people would have to stand for hours in front of photographic equipment to have their picture taken. It was also a costly endeavour, and regarded as a privilege and honour to have a photograph of yourself.

• There has been a change in the roles of photography in society beginning in the 1990's and early millennium, since the arrival of digital camera’s and digital photography. People’s focuses are changing more;

“Self-presentation – rather than family representation– is now a major function of photographs. A significant shift from personal photography being bound up with memory and commemoration towards pictures as a form of identity formation; cameras are used less for the remembrance of family life and more for the affirmation of personhood and personal bonds”.

(Barbara Harrison. 2002. p.107. Narrative Inquiry)

• More and more we can see that digital photography is being used as a form of documenting everyday experiences other than rituals, or ceremonial experiences. This shift in interest is partly due to technological advancement.

• Younger generations such as teenagers have grown up with digital photography, where as older generations have had to make the transition from analog to digital technology.

• Studies have proved that older generations are more likely to still view photography as a primary memory tool, particularly focused around family life. Teenagers and young adults are using digital photography as a means of communication, conversation, peer-building, and social networking. Through applications like; Facebook, Mysapce, Twitter, Skype, and Google Earth. The popularity in other technologies which act as multi-functional appliances, such as; Blackberry’s, Cellphones, Laptops, MP3's players, I-pods, I-phones, and global positioning devices have changed the way society communicates with one another.

This cover of Life magazine pictured on the
right, from 2005 depicts a famous photograph
by Alfred Eisentadt that appeared in a 1945

edition of Life magazine. Originally

documenting V-day celebrations

across the country.

The 2005 cover has been
manipulated to include a hand holding a
cellphone camera with the caption,
“The Cameraphone Revolution-
How This Little Gadget Will Change Your Life”.

(Photograph and digital imaging by Davies & Starr/original photography Alfred Eisenstaedt/Time Life Pictures /Time Inc./Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)

• Camera phones and portable satellite links increasingly allow for mobile transmission of images from almost any point on earth. Below is a Google Earth image of George Brown College, St. James campus. Google Earth is a virtual globe, map, and geographic information program. It maps the earth by the superimposition of images obtained from satellite imagery, aerial photography and GIS 3D globe.

Image provided by Google Earth. 2009

The Digital era which has changed and shaped personal photography has not only been affected by rapid technological advancements, but also a change in culture and attitude.

“The shift in use and function of the camera seems to suit a more general cultural condition. This cultural condition has definitely affected the nature and status of photographs as building blocks for personal identity. Even if the functions of capturing memory, communicative experience and identity formation continue to coexist in current uses of personal photography, their re-balanced significance reverberates in crucial changes in our contemporary cultural condition”.
(Van Dijck, 1995)

What Has Been the Impact of Digital Photography on Photojournalism?

• Digital Photography has influenced photojournalism in many positive and negative ways. Are these views subjective? To many yes, and to others the facts are only black and white...
  
  
• Digital Camera's are much smaller and lighter then most analogue camera's. Photojournalists no longer have to be burdened with the hassle of lugging large heavy equipment with them to their shoot.

• With the invention of digital memory cards, photojournalist don't have to be concerned with film roll length. They can now store thousands of images on a single memory card.

• Now, if a photojournalist is equipped with a digital camera, or mobile phone, a laptop, or access to a computer they can send high quality digital images in minutes, or seconds from a remote location to a news office for printing.
  

• Photojournalist's more than ever have an assortment of tools and applications at their disposal, to document and edit their images.

• Some people worry that the profession of photojournalism is suffering due to digital technologies. There has been an increased need for ethical standards and guidelines to preserve the reliability and reputation of the profession.

• History proves that photographs have been manipulated since the 1860's, long before the invention of digital camera's and technology.

This portrait of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln (below) is a combination of Lincoln's head and the body of southern politician John Calhoun.

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Portait. 1860

The new official portrait for President Barack Obama (above), is the first time that an official presidential portrait was taken with a digital camera.

Photo by: Pete Souza. 2009

Photojournalists of today have been influenced in some way by the latest technology in such a way that the equipment that they use affect the outcome of their photography

Obama Hope Poster Photo digitally manipulated by: Sheapard Fairey. 2009

Work Cited:

Digital photography: communication, identity, memory. Jose Van Dijck. University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. C. 2008. Sage Publications.

Sontag, Susan (1973) On Photography. New York: Delta.

Sontag, Susan (2004) ‘Regarding the Torture of Others’, The New York Times
Magazine, 23 May: 25–9.

Van Dijck, José (1995) Manufacturing Babies and Public Consent: Debating
the New Reproductive Technologies. New York: New York University
Press

Harrison, Barbara (2002) ‘Photographic Visions and Narrative Inquiry’,
Narrative Inquiry 12(1): 87–111.

Photojournalism in the Age of Scrutiny, Kenneth Irby. Sept. 15, 2006 Online.

http://www.life.com/image/53456245

http://change.gov/newsroom/entry/new_official_portrait_released/

http://asia.cnet.com/crave/2009/07/28/a-look-back-at-apple-s-first-digital-camera-the-quicktake-100/

http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/farid/research/digitaltampering/

http://earth.google.com/

Project By: Ashley Giesecke, Natalya Sikorsky, Shirley Yang, Sheng Zheng, Joannah Del Rosario

Photo Journal Topic 2

The first photograph I chose to analyse is a press photograph taken by Stuart Franklin, a Magnum photographer on assignment to Time magazine. The photograph is known by the world as “Tank Man”, or “Unknown Rebel”. It was shot in Beijing on June 5th, 1989 from the rooftop of a hotel. It depicts a lone man with what looks like groceries bags in his hands, standing in front of five tanks in the middle of Tienanmen Square.

photo by Stuart Franklin/Magnum Photos. C.1989

The second photograph I chose is a press photograph taken by Joe Rosenthal, who was shooting for the Associated Press at the time. The photograph is entitle “Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima”, and was taken on February 23rd, 1945. The photograph depicts five United States Marines and a U.S. Navy Corpsman raising the United States flag atop Mount Suribachi. The photograph took place during the battle of Iwo Jima in World War II

photo by Joe Rosenthal/Associated Press. C. 1945

As for art photography, the first photograph I chose is by Man Ray, a true believer that photography is art and his photograph is entitled “Le Violon d'Ingres". It was taken in Paris in 1924. It depicts a women's body, which has been manipulated to look as if her body was a violin.

photo by Man Ray/Getty Museum. C. 1924

The Second art photograph I chose is by Sally Mann, and is entitled “Candy Cigarette”. This photograph was taken in 1989, and first published in her Immediate Family collection. It depicts a child smoking a cigarette. At first glance it is hard for the viewer to know it is made of candy.

photo by Sally Mann/Immidiate Family Collection. C. 1989

Similarities:

The first natural similarity I noticed among all of the photographs is the fact that each individual photograph evokes a certain type of emotion from me. Firstly, I feel that each photograph is beautiful within itself. To me each piece is symbolic of art, regardless of the photographer’s intention. The emotions I feel when I look at each separately range from inspired, joyful, disturbed, saddened, curious, and even depressed. Each photograph is clearly expressive, and provokes specific feelings inside of me.

Other similarities I can document include that each photograph is representational, they all portray images which are recognizable to anyone. Each photograph is visually balanced, the distribution of images in the photographs are even, thus fairly symmetrical. The compositions of all four photographs have allowed the viewer to have a central focus, and all are free of distracting background elements. Elements such as colour seem to be similar as well. None of the photographs seem to exude vibrant colours, or textures.

Lastly, I feel that each photograph tells a story, different from one another. Without any text each piece can mean something different to everyone. Although a photojournalist uses texts in conjunction with visual elements, no words are needed in order to create a story behind the images.

Differences:

The main differences between the art photographs and the press photographs is that you can identify that pre-planning, and thought went into the art photographs. They look staged. Especially “Candy Cigarette” by Sally Mann. It’s hard to believe that a child was posing in such a way holding a cigarette made of candy, with another child conveniently in the background walking on stilts. The images in that composition make for an interesting photograph, and I believe that is what the photographer was trying to create. Even Man Ray’s "Violon d'Ingres's" is quite noticeable from first glance that it has in some way been manipulated by the artist/photographer. Common sense tells you that no woman has sound holes on her body like a violin would have. Again, it makes the viewer see this photograph in a more subjective manner, and thus art is born.

The press photographs manage to capture an actual event, time, and place. If you think logically about the ‘Tank Man’ photograph you realize it would be near impossible to stage such a picture. The likelihood of staging tanks on a street is much more difficult then placing a candy cigarette in a child’s hand. The intentions of photojournalists are much different then art photographers. “A journalist...cannot be held to the demands of the photographic subject, but rather he/she must be concerned with producing accurate news for the public”. ( A Brief History of Photojournalism. Dillon Westbrook. C. 2007)

Photojournalist’s have to abide by certain ethics and codes, where as Man Ray doesn't owe the public the same ideals. The press photographs tell a real story that is accompanied by words and text when published in the media. The press photographs also present the images in an unbiased manner, free from prejudices. Where as, I feel the art photographs have a particular view in mind, a story they want to tell, not just presenting straight facts.

I want to conclude with my favourite quote from the course so far, "There are two distinct roads in photography - the utilitarian and the aesthetic: the goal of the one being a record of facts, and the other an expression of beauty.” (Galassi, 2000, p.11)

I truly believe that this quote identifies not only the purpose of both press and art photography, but the similarities and difference involved in both genres.

Photo Manipulation Assignment

The main inspiration for my photo manipulation assignment came from the week 4 readings, particularly on the subject of is photography art? I decided I would manipulate my photographs in the style of one of my favourite painters from the surrealist movement. Therefore, I chose the painter Salvador Dali as my inspiration.

I used two of his paintings (The painting on the right is titled "Soft Watch at the Moment of First Explosion", C. 1954. The second painting below is titled "The Persistence of Memory", C. 1931). I studied some of the motifs and ideas Dali used, and tried to incorporate them into my photo manipulations, to demonstrate that photography can be used to convey reality, as well as art.


The first photograph I chose to manipulate can be seen on the right. I took it when I lived in London, England in 2007. It is a snapshot of the heart of the city from afar. I took it while standing on a bridge. I feel that it accurately portrays a typical day in London. Dark, dull, mostly overcast background, with history and architecture in between. For the most part I believe that this is a fairly boring photograph, and is almost the complete opposite of any work of art that Salvador Dali has ever painted.


The photo manipulation process began with a free online program called Picnik. This assignment marks the first time I have ever manipulated a photograph as well, as using digital editing programs. I began by fixing the quality of my original photo. I removed most of the grey caused by overcast. By playing with the colour saturation and temperature I was able to achieve a nice blend of colours, which I thought represented Dali's use of vibrant backgrounds. I used multiple shades of purple for the sky, including the clouds. I highlighted this by using similar colours at the base where the water shows. My second step was using a tool called 'gooify', this tool helped me create the illusion as if main focal points were melting. Instead of making every aspect of the photo appear to be melting I highlighted major focal points, this gives the eye a central area of focus. Thirdly, I used the painting tool to add accent colours like the gold you see on the bridge, and some green you see on the buildings to allow for contrast. For the last step I modified the photograph with the focal pixalate tool. By increasing the strength I thought that the photograph began to look more like a painting. The effect created what looks like hundreds of tiny brush strokes. This helps my manipulation look more like a painting then a photograph. The end result can be seen below.




The second photograph I took is also from London, but the main focus is of Big Ben. I used this image, because Dali often used images of melting clocks in his work. The first modification in Picnik I used was the exposure tool. I adjusted the contrast and the exposure amount in make the picture look more clear. Secondly, I used the focal zoom tool to enhance, and bring out Big Ben. I wanted Big Ben to be the prominent image. In combination with the exposure tool, I cropped the photograph, which ended up eliminating the amount of excess sky, and I was happy with the end results. By cropping the photograph the other images appear larger. The second modification I made was again with the 'gooify' tool. I have to admit by the second time using it, it became easier for me, and I learned how to maximize it's potential. Again I avoided 'gooifying' the entire image. I focused on only the main images in the foreground. I am happy with the way Big Ben looks. Thirdly, I began playing with some of the editing tools. I adjusted all the colours, since neutral shades and brown dominate the original photograph. I played with the sky, and tried to change the atmosphere from dark, dull and grey, to a more positive mood. It added colour shading, and highlights to make it look as though the sun was shinning. I found the paint brush tool very time consuming, but also very effective. The paint brush tool made me feel as though I was an artist, with a blank canvas to be creative with. I also used the paint tool to add some green to the buildings. I used the focal soften tool to blur the background slightly. This allowed the foreground to be more present to the eye, and take away unwanted focus on secondary images. This tool was very easy to use. Lastly, I used some of the advanced editing tools to again make the photograph look more like a painting. I found the focal pixalate tool the best for this outcome. The finished result can be seen below.


To conclude, my main focus was to present a photograph as a more traditional format of art. Although, I believe that photography is art in itself, some people don't have the same beliefs, and feel this particular way. I have always embraced the photo medium. The end results I feel not only portray my photographs as surrealist paintings, but also transformed two very bland photographs into two more interesting pieces of art.

Assignment 1: The Role of Portraits in the Early Days of Photography and Portraits Today

Jean Fouquet(1450).
The earliest portrait miniature,
and possibly the earliest formal self-portrait.

1. When photography entered the public domain in 1839, some would say that the ‘portrait’ helped popularize photography with the masses. When photographic portraits first originated they played a huge role in social development, especially in Western Europe. Photographic portraits were first used as a way for people trying to climb the social ladder to visually display and affirm their new social status. Not only to one’s self, but to the world around them. I believe that this mentality is still prevalent today. If you think about facebook, it allows people to display their ‘lives’, or snapshots of their lives to their entire social network, as well as strangers. They use their self-portraits, or photo’s as a way to show society, and their friends what they’re up to, what they’re about, and even to display their material possessions. (Jewellery, make-up, hair, tattoos).

Portraits have evolved through time, and one popular phase was miniature portraits. It fulfilled people with the desire of personal charm. It allowed people to carry with them small portraits of loved ones, or far away family members. Miniature portraits were still used as social/status symbols, but began to die out when middle classes became more secure. Today I think of miniatures as a symbol of the past. Some people may have lockets which contain miniature portraits of deceased, or older family members. I believe that the 21st century’s answer to the miniature portrait is wallet sized snapshots, like the kind you could receive each year through school.

Another type of portrait that became popular in the middle of the 18th century was the silhouette. A silhouette could be created by cutting profiles from black shiny paper, and were favoured, because they were much less time consuming, inexpensive, and easy to create. The physionotrace eventually phased out miniature portraits. Physionotrace was created using a machine that combined both the silhouette, and the technique of engraving. Silhouettes are still used to today, predominately in graffiti, or artistic works.

One other area of the portrait is the Carte-de-Visite. A small photograph usually made from an albumen print and then mounted on a thick paper card. This type of portrait became a craze for a while in Europe, and North America, and is still present in today’s society. Sports cards, postcards, and Hallmark greeting cards, are examples of the Carte-de-Visite today.

2. In the past photographers were artists (painters), inventors, tradesmen, and local citizens who recognized the potential for income, in this new and aspiring field. In the past photographers could be largely characterized as inventors, or scientists. In the past you really had to hone your craft, and build your skills to a certain level. The equipment and technology used then was more complex, and required a much larger devotion then photography in the present. Since the medium was so new and exciting, many changes and advancements were made in a short time. Today with the advancement of technology, average people can become photographers in their own homes, no laboratories, or studio’s required.

The subjects of photography in the past were; Key social figures like politicians, royalty, and celebrities. Landscapes and distant lands that were new and exciting for people to finally be exposed to without having to travel to those destinations. Family members, loved ones, and friends were another popular subject of photography. Historic events, for example images of war, poverty, culture, and religion were other sources of popular photography.

I believe that the subjects of photography haven’t differed much from the past. People are still interested in documenting the same issues and curiosities through photo’s as in the past. What I do think has changed and evolved, is that in the past it would be rather difficult for a painter, or photographer to create a self-portrait, of him, or herself given the labour and technology of the time. In today’s age taking ones own photograph is extremely quick, easy, and affordable. Another difference I have noticed is that in the past photography seemed like more of a male dominated art form. Today there are many famous female photographers. In addition to gender, class also played an important role. In the past wealthier people could afford to have the portraits done, or buy photo’s of landscapes and celebrities, and most times people of lower classes were excluded from this.

3. The impact of technology on portraits in the past has greatly influenced today’s standard portrait. Technology has allowed portraits to evolve from a long tedious, expensive process, to a medium and tool found in most people’s homes across North America, and Europe. When portraits first originated, they were not easily duplicated. After many hours of hard work and labour, one copy was presented to the buyer. With the rise and popularity of portraits, the demand to reproduce and make alternate copies (now known as negatives) available was met through technology. In the past you would have to source out an artist, or photographer to obtain portraits of yourself, or family and friends. Now a days digital photography has made producing a portrait a task almost anyone can do in the comfort of their own home, for a low cost, and minimal amount of work. You no longer need to worry about preserving your portrait, because digital photography, and the advancement of camera’s has allowed us to save copies, or negatives, at home, or on our computers, back-up disks, and external hard drives. Today technology has allowed the least artistic, or creative person to be able to take a portrait that is aesthetically and visually pleasing. We can now Photoshop and edit our photographs, as well as displaying them to the public from our own homes. There is no need to worry about the cost of error, because digital photography allows us to view our portraits before print and production takes place.

Galleries and the media are not the only sources to display photography anymore. Websites like flicker, myspace, facebook, photo-bucket, and blogs allow us to share, and display our own portraits to the masses. Technology over the years has allowed us to embrace photography in our own homes, schools, and communities. It’s no longer a gender, or class specific art. You don’t have to be an inventor, or scientist to enjoy photography. There’s no need to spend an excess of money on this art form anymore. People of all walks of like can enjoy and flourish in photography.

This portrait of United States President Barack Obama represents the amalgamation of vintage portraits and digital photography. For the first time in history the office took a digital photographic portrait of President Obama. This image will become part of the permenate collection at the National Portrait Gallery. This piece was done by a street artist
-Shepard Fairey-

Week 2: Why the World Loved First Photographs

Maxime du Camp, Second Pylon of the Great Temple of Isis at Philae, 1849
Salted paper print from a paper negative


Photography which entered the public domain in 1839, first introduced the public to the most accurate representations of the ‘unknown’. With the ability to accurately capture specific images photographs served to provide people with glorious pictures of distant lands. Since the Daguerreotype was the first publically available photographic process, Daguerreotypist’s brought back pictures from exotic locations like; Egypt, Greece, Serbia and Russia. There is a quote from the nineteenth century about the arrival of the Daguerreotypes from far away lands:

“Travelers, you will soon be able, perhaps, at the cost of some hundreds of francs, to acquire the apparatus invented by M. Daguerre, and you will be able to bring back to France the most beautiful monuments, the most beautiful scenes of the whole world. You will see how far from the truth of the Daguerreotype are your pencils and brushes.”

Before the invention of the Daguerreotype people had only paintings and stories/tales passed down, about the unknown.

The Portrait was another milestone in the history of photography, which the public quickly embraced. In the past portraits were a very exspensive, and complicated process, having to sit for hours on end. In the 1860's portrits became cheaply availible to all levels of society. Portraits allowed the public to fulfill certain desires. Examples of this was the idea of leaving a visage to loved ones and to prosterity. Also, key figures in history who’s names and identities are forgotten and lost to history are immortalized in portraits, and their characters are preserved through the Daguerreotype process. Portraits also played an important social role in the rise of the middle class in Western Europe. By having one’s portrait done an individual of the assending classes could vissually affirm his social status to both himself and the whole world.

Week 1: Photography & Society

I strongly believe that there is no one aspect of society that benefits from photography more than another. If I had to choose the biggest impact overtime it would be on ‘Who We Are’. Photography has the power to capture moments in time, and allow us to revisit, or expose ourselves to something we may have never had the opportunity to see. This allows us to capture history and begin to reflect on our pasts as well as our future. I would love to believe that certain historical photographs have changed our perceptions, views, and evolution of society. Magazines like Time and National Geographic have published many photographs with important impacts over time. Photographs are mementos of time. They can represent moments of fleeting importance, or merely a scrap from the past that en captured a time and place, only revisited through the photo itself.

Historical photographs like most in the Smithsonian allow people to navigate through time. Through the photographs you can learn about different cultures (clothing, rituals, religion), how certain cites/countries have evolved through the decades, and even where our ancestors originated from.

If anyone, or their family has ever kept, or made a photo album it too acts as a reference point of our lives. When I look back at photographs my grandmother has collected of our family I can clearly see the changes I have gone through in the last twenty-four years. My friends, my travels, pets, important days like graduations, birthday’s, other family member etc. In the end most of my identity is presented in these photo’s. I believe they are a clear representation of who I am.

In order to know ‘Who We Are’, we have to know where we have come from. Through history, through mistakes, and the changes we have made through time. Luckily photographs allow us to document these moments. It is important to remember that like anything the face value of a photograph is always more than you think. If treated in the right context photographs have served as a visual representation of ‘Who We Are’, for many years, and photographs will continue to tell the story of ‘Who We Are’ for many years to come.

INTRODUCTION

Hey everyone! I'm Ashley and I'm a first year student in the Child and Youth Worker program. I took the Social Work program last year, and I am looking forward to the next 3 years at George Brown.

I decided to take this course, because I've always been interested in photography. More importantly the influence and impact photography can have on society. For years pictures have allowed us to show certain aspects of culture, religion, poverty, war, love, redemption, and the list could go on and on.

I hope this course opens my eyes to an art I've always admired, but never truly understood. Although this is an online course, I hope to get to know some of you, and wish everyone all the best!