On Photography

Question 1:
 When Sontag states that "Even when photographers are most concerned with mirroring reality, they are still haunted by tacit imperatives of taste and conscience," she means that photographers want to photograph reality, but they don't seem to be happy until they get the picture they want. Photographers try to separate themselves when photographing, but we still make decisions and choices. Photographers try not to put too much into it, yet they still choose if they like the picture or not. They do this without thinking. They unknowingly put themselves into the photo. For example, the Farm Security Administration photographic project. It tried to illustrate the depression and poverty, yet the photographers were given specific requirements to go by. The photographers would go out and take dozens of photos and wouldn't be satisfied til they got a picture of what they thought the depression and poverty should look like. I agree with Sontag's claim. Even though photographers think they are being objective, they are still including a sliver of their opinions into the photograph.

Question 2:
In this quote, Sontag says that with photography a person can verify that they have done something or gone somewhere.  Sontag then goes on to say that the pictures are evidence that the vacation or trip was made and that they had fun. She says that when people are on vacation they can take pictures to show that they are having fun. She says "They have something to do that is like a friendly imitation of work: they can take pictures." I agree with Sontag's claim. Many people use photography to show that they were there and to show others what they were able to see. My grandparents travel all over the world. They always take pictures to show everyone what they did, where they went, and on what days they did what. My step-grandma makes a schedule and puts that in the scrap book as well as the pictures of her and my grandpa for example when they were in Italy they got someone else to take their picture while in front of the leaning tower and to make sure everyone could see that they were there, that it wasn't just a picture offline. These pictures clarified to everyone that they were in Italy and they had actually saw all these beautiful things and they had fun while in Italy.

Everyone Screams Red!

When this project was first explained to the class, I immediately thought of having my subjects all have the color red on to unify my photos. I thought of this so quickly because I had just put the red Ohio State sweatshirt on my dog, Buttercup, seen in the first photo. That day there was a chill in the air. When it starts getting cold out, Yorkies need to have something on them so they don't get too cold or freeze. We don't usually put the hood up on Buttercup, but it gives a good laugh. However, once I started thinking about all the different photos I could take I started to realize that I was going to have more photos than I would knew what to do with. For example, on Wednesday, I sat in the hallway of Ovalwood and when classes let out the color red was screaming throughout the halls. There were people walking all over the place, that those who weren't wearing red kept getting in the way of the shot of those who were. It was also tricky trying to shoot with a fast shutter speed with the lighting in the hallway. However, I adjusted my settings and tried to work with what I had.

I tried to make the color red as exciting as possible. I tried to get different angles of my subjects and add my dad in. He always seems to get his personality across to the viewer even through a simple photo. Two examples of this is my third and last photo, the one of my dad and the other of a kid going down the stairs. My mom even got in on my project. She had my camera and began to take pictures of my sisters and I while sitting on my grandparents couch. Ironically, we all had red near us at the time. I also tried to zoom in on my subjects so that other distracting objects couldn't be seen. I also made the photos black and white to take away distracting objects and to emphasize the red. I think that by doing this it helped illustrate the unifying red in my photos.

When I first began shooting for this project, I was trying to get my subjects in red and not to realize that I was taking the picture. However, trying to take pictures of people while they don't know is pretty difficult, and it made me look like a creep. So my idea that people wouldn't know I was taking their photo didn't happen like I planned. In most cases I asked the person to stop and not look at me so I could take their photo. Most people laughed and agreed, others were unsure but still were good sports about it and let me take their photo. One girl had on an all red dress and she wasn't sure what to do when I asked to take her picture. So she walked through the door extra fast and unfortunately my shutter speed wasn't fast enough and the picture is a bit blurry. This project made me realize that trying to take candid pictures is a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. However, most of my subjects worked very well with me and allowed me to take a good photo, just like my dad and his weird, yet funny faces.

Gas Stations

I believe Gas Stations are a common place for all Americans to go. For me, it is a weekly ritual to fill up my tank. With the gas prices increasing and decreasing everyday, it is difficult to determine when the best possible moment to fill up your tank is. In this project, I wanted to show the relationship we have with gas stations, for the fact that they have become an important place in everyone's driving life. I chose the photos that I believe show the steps that everyone goes through while standing at the pump.

When I first started taking these photographs, I was taking them straight on. I realized that this won't capture what I was trying to say, so I tried taking them from different angles and zooming in on a specific object. This really helped me try to take what could be distracting out of the photo and let the viewer focus more on the detail of the subject. I also let more light into some of my photos so the colors were able to pop out more, like the third photo with the gasoline buttons. I really wanted the viewer to look right at the buttons and different kinds of gasoline then what was in the background that wasn't important to the photograph. I really wanted my photos to intrigue the viewer.

While taking these photographs, I wasn't sure how I was going to show that gas stations are a part of everyday life. I ended up taking around 200 pictures without even know it. I was really getting into trying to capture the gas stations and everything that tend to come with them, such as the air tanks, the different signs, the promotions they were advertising, and just regular advertisements like Sunoco being the official fuel for NASCAR. Usually, people have a routine, and once they get in that routine they don't usually see the details that can be around. I wanted to show the detail in my photographs.  Then, when I went to look through all my photographs I was able to see even more detail that I hadn't saw when I took the photographs. For example. in the last photo with the receipt, in the glass covering the amount of the sale, the reflection of the car is showing. It surprised me that it came together like that and fit in perfectly. For this reason, it is probably my favorite photo that I took.

Old News Interpretation

Jeff Sprang's exhibit "Old News" really had me wondering about all the photographs that were hung around the gallery. The photograph that really stuck out to me was Life Flight. It was taken on July 24, 1985, after an automobile accident in northern Richland County. You can tell that it had been taken many years back due to the style of car that was apart of the crash and the emergency vehicles that were on site, as well as the style of short shorts the males in the photo were wearing. The shorts also tell the viewer that it was a summer month.The digital silver gelatin print allows the viewer to focus on what is really happening in the photograph, not the bright colors that would have taken been in the photograph due to the season. The point of view of this photograph allows you to see the emergency response teams, the ambulance, firetruck, and most importantly the life flight helicopter. As well as seeing the response vehicles, the viewer is also able to see the car smashed into the tree and how much damage was done from this accident, along with everyone that was at the accident helping out. There are so many different objects to look at in this photograph, but your attention soon becomes turned to the helicopter that is rising in the air.

When I look at that photograph so many questions run through my mind. What happened that the car crashed? What was happening at that exact moment in time that the photo was taken? Are the people that were in the vehicle alright? What I believe happened in this photograph is that maybe the driver was driving too fast and lost control, or tried to get out of the way of another car. I think these things because from what I saw in the photograph it didn't look like it had been raining so the roads would not have been slick, it almost looked like a nice sunny day out. One thing I love about this photograph is that everyone in the photo has their backs turned away from the camera. This usually doesn't happen in most photos. However, due to the severity of the event that had just occurred no one is focused on who is taking pictures. In doing so, it allows Sprang to make more emphasis on what is going on and takes the attention of the viewer straight to where everyone is looking, the life flight helicopter. This photograph was taken to document the accident and to tell others about it. Many people use photographs like these to try to promote better driving or for people to slow down, because in an instant things can go terribly wrong.

When I look at this photograph it makes me realize that even though you don't think so, bad things can still happen to you. It also reminds me that when driving, you don't just have to watch out for what you're doing and how fast you're going, but also be alert to what is going on around you and trusting in the other drivers that they are being mindful while they are driving, as well. Three questions that I would like to ask Mr. Sprang would be:
1. How do you hear about the events occurring? Are you walking around seeing them happen or getting alerts from others?
2. What would be your advice to those beginning to take photographs?
3. What made you want to become a photographer?