photo manipulation and ethics

1) a. the main point of this article is that editing and retouching photos has come a long way, and sometimes, it can be a good thing, but others, it can be a bad thing.

b. i think it's unethical because a photo is supposed to be about truth and raw feeling, not about manipulation. it's not about tricking the viewer into pathologically appealing to the photo, it's about making the viewer pathologically appeal to the photo with your own talent.

2) a. i think that this photo of these pyramids being moved closer together is the least ethical of the ones i was shown. the photographer claimed they were edited to be closer to make the picture more vertical, which i think is fine, as long as the intent is not trying to manipulate the viewer into thinking something that wouldn't normally be there.

b. the edited cover of oj simpson on time magazine is, by far, the most unethical manipulation i saw. they darkened the picture, it seemed, intentionally. it's subtle, but in my eyes, completely unacceptable and racist, no matter what oj did or didn't do.

american soldier videos

1) the videos and other features enhance the photographs because it gives people who are more interested in the story something else to look at when they're done with the images.

2) the videos are, in some ways, better than the photographs, because there is audio and movement, giving the viewer more of an idea of how real it was for fisher.

3) the photos are, in some ways, better than the videos, because it can catch raw emotion in a split second before it goes away. it's a still shot of feeling, and sometimes that can be more powerful than just a video.

american soldier

photos:

1) the most powerful photo for me was when fisher was laying on the cot with a gun in one hand and a phone in the other, talking to family, most-likely. i think it perfectly describes army life.

2) the sequence the was most powerful in my opinion was the last one, 'coming home'. it was full of happiness and joy.

3) the images are put in chronological order to tell the story.

captions:

1) past-tense.

2) they help you get to know the characters of the story and the overall situation that fisher is in.

re-written captions:
(all in 'coming home' sequence')

1) ian reunites with an old friend after returning from iraq in 2009.

2) friends celebrate ian's returning with a party at a local bar.

3) family and friends gather to welcome the soldiers, and ian's father stands with a banner, waiting for his son at the airport.

marlboro marine

sinco used audio and text to get his point across, other than photography. the effect of the slideshow was heightened by the text for me. the most powerful photograph in the slideshow was one, when sinco was following soldiers at war, of a man lying on the ground as people rush by him. the most powerful sequence was the whole set of pictures of him at war. the voice of miller enhances the slideshow by making the photographs more real. the photographs work to tell a story by showing miller at war, and then the aftermath of when he got home.

reflection

1) my first challenge in my shoot was capturing the right moment. i wasn't really sure when i took the picture, if a hand in the background would be moving and turn out blurry, or i would catch someone in the middle of talking. i ended up just trying to get as close as possible and deciding that the closer you get, the less chance you have of catching the wrong moment.

2) the technical aspect i thought about the most was lighting, and how the picture would look when i took it. i would try my best to stand near a window, check the light meter, or find a classroom with good lighting.

3) i tried my hardest to do simplicity, but it was definitely hard for me to do in a crowded classroom. the composition rule i found myself trying the most was the rule of thirds. i would place someone off-center, to add interest to the image.

4) i would definitely choose a different subject and setting to shoot from. i would try something more along the lines of fashion photography, with specific models and props to move around, lighting to play with, and room to be creative.

captions

a train collides with an un-attended car parked in the middle of the tracks. the owner of the car, frank jaynes parked his vehicle on the train tracks in a drunken stupor. (above)

panda at a large north korean zoo escapes and finds a new home at a local playground. two weeks ago, garth the giant panda found his way out of his exhibit at a north korean zoo and made himself comfortable on a quaint, snow-covered

children's slide. (left)

a poodle gets a new haircut. portia marqui, wife of a wealthy oil heir in new york city, brought her standard poodle to the most well-known animal grooming salons in the united states. (right)

processing black and white photos

load the film onto a reel, and place it in the tank. in total darkness, remove film from the cassette, and pull the flat end off with a can opener. unwind and remove the end of the film by peeling off the tape that connects it. load the film onto a metal or plastic film reel, and load the roll. place the loaded roll into the film tank and cover it as directed.

lay the chemicals out in front of you, and make sure the temperature of the developer is ideal, around 65 and 75 degrees. pour the developer into the sealed film tank and cover it. develop the film for the time recommended on the packaging. when done, take the lid off the tank and pour it out. pour running water into the tank for one minute to stop the development, and then use a fixer with hardener to soak the film for 5 to 10 minutes. remove the tank cover completely and let the film sit in cold running water for five minutes. to remove all traces of the fixer, pour a tankful of hypo eliminator and agitate it for two minutes. one final wash for for five minutes.

carefully pull the film out of the tank and use washing pins or film clips to hang the film to dry in a dust-free area. after 1 to 2 hours, the film should be dry. cut the film strips into six negatives long, and store the negatives in clear, glassine envelopes or plastic negative pages.