Errol Morris on Photography Video Reflection

Photographs are connected to the physical world. It is a true investigation into the world in which the photograph was taken. “Vally of the shadow of death”- barren landscape covered with cannon balls. You don’t know which one came before the other, the cannon balls or the trench. Did he pose the pictures? What makes an honest and truthful photograph? They shouldn’t be posed and only observe from a distance, they are neither true no false. The pictures are vested in language. They are all somewhat posed in some way. You can never see the absence of something in the photograph. You don’t see everything around it just the picture no the before or after or even what is right or left. You have to investigate to find out. if you want to understand you have to look at little details to find the larger questions. They become iconic bc they have a power over us and a power that takes us in. They have taken on meaning to people. I completely agree on the statement that pictures take on different meaning to different people. I personally have a stronger connection to some pictures more then others. As for the statement that everything is posed I do agree with that because a person looks at the view of the shot that they are taking and finds the best angle, which is the same thing as posing a shot. 

Ways of Seeing Video Reflection

Seeing something without having to be there. The camera is like an eye. Now things can be seen in a million different places at different times. the images come to you. Thinks like original paints still have their own look but reproductions distort somewhat. When you are zooming into a picture you can change the meaning of the painting. Even showing different types of movement of showing off the picture can change the composition of the picture or painting. The meaning of the image can be changed with what surrounds it or what you see after it. I am not sure I would suggest to watch this move to anyone else. I did get what they were saying in the movie but it was ver outdated. Thinking about it now I do get what they were saying about how zooming up on pictures can change the whole composition of the poster. People relate what they see in pictures to what they see in their own lives. Basically the overview of the movie was that context means everything. 

“Photos Change Everything” Reflection

Photography can have so many different meanings. It can tell so many different stories and symbolize so many different things. It is a moment captured in time that will always be there for one to remember. Taking photographs is like a second nature to people no a days. It is so easy to capture things with our phones so that we can keep a little piece of that moment forever. Photography changes what we want by pictures of things that a person has a desire for. Weather it be beauty, an object, or even happiness. Photography shows us what our human eyes cannot see on their own. It also changes who we are in a way. We choose to group ourselves with different ideas and concepts that all go back to other examples or stereotypes that we have seen pictures of. Photography has an influence on what we do and what we plan on doing. When looking at pictures from around the world that influences our choices on where we would like to go or travel to see in the future. Photography also changes what we remember. With the visual aid of photography we are able to see and image and remember it wether it be a memory or a picture of a specific building for a test. With out photography we would be living in a different world. People wouldn’t know what other animals looked like from other countries or even what other countries looked like unless they saw them with their own eyes. Photography really is an amazing creation and we should not take it for granted.  

“On Photography” Reflection

Ever since 1939 when the creation of photography was invented the human race has been using it non stop. Photographs surround our world everywhere we go and every time we think. It helps give out information and communicated different things to people everywhere. To photograph something it helps put you into power of capturing an image or a moment in time. You have to be able to give that moment justice and capture it just right so that it can be remembered. It is different then just writing about something because one must be able to imagine and come up with it in their head. By being able to have a picture they have the ability to see what it actually looks like and keep that image in their brain. We take pictures to remember. It could be a memory, a person, or even a feeling that you had at the time. Photography is all about the connections that either the photographer has with the picture or that the viewer gets from the picture. 

“A Viewer’s Guide to Looking at Photography” Reflection

The goal that one must have for analyzing photos would be to understand them and gain insight from them. Take the time, appreciate them, keep out all prejudices.There are 4 steps to analyzing, the first is description. Describe everything as neutrally as possible and keep opinions out. Also make sure you get the details, lines in the picture, color structure, relationships, shape of the photo, texture, perspective, space, lights and shadows, quality of edges, time, quality of photo, and harmonious color. The next step is formal analysis. Still without passing any judgments have a interpretive tying together of these facts: geometric shapes, parallels or repetition, theme, contrast, over all composition and balance. The third step is to put the photograph into interpretation. Making no judgments but asking the question “why”. Look at symbols, straight forward, trying to say something specific, feelings involved, what does the photo remind you of, what is the picture really about, is it important because of the subject or the treatment of the subject, what is the photographers statement to the relationship of the photo. Lastly in the evaluation ask yourself what standards should it be evaluated, is the most important at the top and not important at the bottom, how original is the statement. If the following questions can be answered about the photo it will be enhanced: do other photos from this person have the same theme, quality, history, or position? This guide to looking at photography has some very good points. Descriptions to pictures are always required so that the viewer will be able to understand the picture and pick out the small details with the aid of the description. When they say not to pass any judgments in the formal analysis and in the interpretations I highly agree with that because a person should keep an open mind when first looking at a work of art. Take the facts and why and how it makes you feel and then when you evaluate the picture at the end you are able to form an opinion with the art work.  

Master of Illusion pt. 2

Leonardo DaVinci was a man was was skilled and examined every little aspect of his work. He did research over the eye to find out the perspectives of it. The absolute simplest form is the sphere. Adding light and shadow to a sphere creates depth and helps define a 3D form. The masters became even more skilled when they started using this technique in there paintings. Bodies began to stand out making the paintings look 3D. The next technique Leonardo invented and began to use is the anamorphic image. This could hide double meanings behind a work of art. The high renaissance was was when all the techniques were invented during the renaissance and the beginning of illusions in many amazing artworks.

Masters of Illusion pt. 1

In the Renaissance, linear perspective changed the way many artists perceived and looked at art, it opened up a whole new world for the masters of the Renaissance. This was a new discovery that changed art forever. Vanishing points were the beginning of linear perspective and it led into many mediums of art. Not just paintings but sculptures as well.The Trinity, a work of art introduced to me in my Art History class, was the first piece that ever used true linear perspective. Durer, a German pioneer, wanted to bring these same linear techniques to the human body. His drawing he constructed looked as if it was computer generated. The lines were perfectly spaced and equal.