7. When it comes to mass producing images, this is where my journalism studies comes into play. As a photojournalist, my stuff has been in newspapers and magazines and then sent out to a lot of people. I think in our world today, with lots of people shooting digital and then putting it online right away, there is going to be distribution that isn’t really ethical, or shoots people to fame with their photos. I know I’ve uploaded photos, and then got contacted to have my stuff featured on other websites or used in brochures. I’m personally fine with having my work become used for advertising or commercial uses.

8. A picture is worth 1,000 words, indeed. Documentary photography is something that I feel is used so strongly today. It turned from documentary photography to documentary films, and those kind of films usually speak to people in a way that others cannot. Documenting life is preserving our past. I love to look at old photos of the world because it gives you a context that just stories cannot. This is the reason we have museums, so we can see documents of the past. Photos show us a way of life that will be around forever. Without these photograph documents, we wont know where we came from or where we are going.

9. I think using words in photographs is so powerful. People think that photos should just be about the image, but words can create such a strong mood and boost the photograph to another level. Some of the coolest projects involve people incorporating words into the photos, whether it be with a handheld sign or using a billboard in the background. Irony and hypocrites is a usual subject when dealing with words in photos. Also political stances are popular in word photos too. It’s amazing how much words can add.

10. The last reading was about dear old Photoshop. I love Photoshop with a passion. I’ve been using it for about 8 years now, and I will never give it up. It is the best thing since sliced bread, if I can even say that. I know there’s a lot of controversy about using the program, but there are such great things it can do that aren’t controversial. I will also admit that I use it for the wrong reasons (to make people skinnier, etc), but in the end, it does more good than bad for my and other peoples images. 

4. To continue on from the third reading, I still love to look at photographs in sequence of motion and time passage. It’s such a cool way of interpreting the world and putting it into an artistic form. As humans, we are always changing and traveling forward through time. In photographical sequences, you can show this and it’s art. I kind of feel like even Facebook is like that. You can go back and look at all your pictures from the beginning, and it’s almost like a slideshow of time and movement.

5. In photography, we are always having to deal with lights and shadows and trying to incorporate it or take it away from our work. I do a lot of portraits, so I have to make sure I find a place where the light will be appropriate, but the shadows wont come in and ruin the subjects face. And then there are times where I deliberately want a shadow to add to the mood. Light changes the subject so much. The symbolism of light and dark in our society is so strong, with superhero movies and the light and the dark side of the force. We need to learn how to use light to our advantage to create photos.

6. When it comes to sources of light, I am a fan of natural lighting. Occasionally I will use the lighting studio if I want something to look a little more professional. I am a very avid hater of flash though. I will never use flash unless I absolutely have to. Even with a nice Speedlight or something, I’ll still steer clear, just because I don’t like to mess with adding extra light when it’s not needed. Even if it is needed, there are ways to get around not having to use flash. I should start bracketing more. I feel very confident in my light assessing abilities, but bracketing always help.

1. Because I already know how a camera works, this chapter was a little unnecessary. I guess it’s always helpful to refresh though. I thought the explanation of the human eye was interesting though. Our eyes and brain connect in such a confusing way, but it all seems to work out in the end. I’d really love to try the camera obscura on my head. I’ve always wanted to see a real one in a huge room, but one on your own head would be a fun project as well.

2. Again with this reading, I already know how to do B&W film processing, but I guess it’s helpful to refresh. I have a love/hate relationship with processing film. It takes a long time, so it’s sort of boring, but at the same time, it’s amazing to finally pull your film out of the holder at the end and see what you’ve created with your camera. I need to get into the habit of making contact sheets. I always feel like I don’t need to make one, but that’s just me being lazy. I’d also like to start using Lightroom more because it’s so much better than iPhoto (which I’m using at the moment), and it’s more professional.

3. The idea of images in sequence is an interesting concept to me. I’ve always thought that stop motion stuff and pictures that obviously move were really interesting. Maybe it’s because I’m so interested in film and motion pictures. I love that you can do it through photography as well. Obviously that’s how movies began, because early photographers wondered if they could put a bunch of photos in succession and create a moving being from it. I think showing movement and the passing of time in photography is a creative way to let it not stay static and unchanged.