Photography: A Stronger Sense Of Belonging

A photograph is a powerful tool for life. A single, unchanged image of reality can be utilized for a variety of situations. For one, one photograph could decide the lifestyle in the foreseeable future of a person that committed a crime. Furthermore, one photograph could reveal the horrors of a particular event. On another note, one photograph could hold heartwarming memories forever. In addition, one photograph could stir a controversy that will have people debating whether an entity is real or not. Overall, as Susan Sontag mentions in her book Photograph, “Photographs furnish evidence.”(Sontag); in other words, whether if it is, good, bad, or misinterpreted, one photograph can be used as evidence that something in fact happened or is real.

For this essay the works of Robert Draper, author of “Why Photos Matter,” and Fred Ritchen, author of “Photography Changes the Way News is Reported,” will be analyzed. Though both deal with the topic of photography, their take on the matter is very different. While Ritchen is a photographer who writes on “what professional photographers will be doing in the future,” Draper is a writer for the National Geographic writing on how the photographers of the magazine share “a hunger for the unknown.” Both writers, however, write on the topic of photographers having a deeper understanding of their subjects, Ritchen due to research and practice, and Draper because the photographers “sit [with] their subjects, just listening to them.” In both essays the need for a deeper understanding of the

While the picture itself may be very nice to look at, and it may be sharp and have nice colors and lighting, it typically lacks depth, emotion, and feeling. Many of us forget to look for that when taking pictures. Especially in a world where social media is a habit and cameras are in our pockets, we take pictures for others to see, and we take photos for proof – proof that we were somewhere, proof that we did something. Due to that, we forget about what we are actually doing. We forget about the experiences we should be taking pictures of, and we lose the feelings that we should capture. With our cameras in hand, our objectives are changed. Rather than having the intent to have enjoyable experiences, then taking pictures of it, we have the intent to take pictures, with the experience being a

In “Why We Take Pictures,” Susan Sontag discusses the increase use of technology and its ability to impact the daily lives of mankind. Taking pictures is a form of self-evolution that slowly begins to shape past and present experiences into reality. Sontag argues how the use of photography is capable of surpassing our reality by helping us understand the concept of emotion, diversity, and by alleviating anxiety and becoming empowered. Moreover, according to her argument, people are able to construct a bond between the positive or negative moments in life to cognitively release stress through reminiscing. Therefore, Sontag claims that photography itself can help with reshaping individual’s perspectives of reality by being able to empathize with the emotions portrayed through an image. Thus, giving

“Every time you dream at night, the dream has holes in it. You have to do something to fix those holes and make the dream become a reality,” my father often told me. Although I was very young when my dad passed away, he provided tremendous inspiration and encouragement to pursue my passions that continue to influence my life and my future endeavors. As a child, one of my favorite pastimes was acting; I would routinely act in videos with my friend while my dad filmed us. Later, I assumed responsibility for filming while my friend would act. I instantly fell in love with videography. I was enthralled with how videography could capture my point of view of the world, which prompted me to try photography. Once I began photography, I knew I wanted

In the “Photo-Cultural-Ecological Journey” activity I learned that everyone is shaped and molded occurring to their experiences in life. I was able to perceive that regardless of how good or bad your experiences were, it serves as a life map and provides a picture of where you once were and where you are headed. The five pictures I choose to present identify personal perspective in my life. It categorized and acknowledged different parts and milestones in my life, where a lesson was learned in every step of the way.

Teju Cole, in his essay “Against Neutrality,” dissected the tones behind photography- which he believes are thought of as unbiased towards the subject. The power of words and of photos is crucial to Cole’s essay. He states that images can “make a grim situation palatable” because of the photographer’s craftiness in selection (Cole 1). To anyone who isn’t an experienced photographer these tricks can be hard to see but Cole provides further insight from the historian, John Edwin Mason. Expectantly, Mason sheds light behind the misconception on photography, how the “manipulation in photography isn’t really about Photoshop or darkroom tricks”, but the style, angle and other aspects of taking photos (Cole 1).

Before starting this project, I knew very little about photography, photographers, or exactly how much impact photographical images have had on our society. I have never taken a photography class, or researched too in depth about specific pictures or photographers. This project has allowed me to delve deeper into the world of photography in order to understand just how much influence pictures can have over society’s beliefs, emotions, and understandings’. I have have chosen two highly influential photographers, Diane Arbus and Dorothea Lange, who I have found to both resonate with me and perfectly capture human emotions in way that moves others.

From when I was two years old until I was ten, my parents routinely shuttled my brother and I to the local Sears store every few months to get our pictures taken. My brother and I would sit patiently, smiling, in front of the background my parents chose while the photographer snapped away. After, all the pictures would be analyzed, the best ones selected and picture sizes determined. About an hour after arriving in the mall, my family and I would leave with multiple printed pictures in hand, ready for distribution to relatives or a photo album. Yet, after I turned ten, my mother increasingly opted to take pictures of my brother in I at home with her own camera and printer. This shift from going to Sears to get

Joshua’s research with children and youth combines political anthropology, cultural history, and community engaged creative arts to lift up the voices of kids. He has been a TA for History and Global Arts courses. Most recently, Joshua illustrated his research approach to two Photography classes so students could learn specific uses of photography as a research method. These talks sparked the interest of several undergraduates who expressed excitement that photography could be used in research. They also expressed interest in working with Joshua on future research with children in the local

Our memories often time embellish the memories we once had of such great people, places, times, and etc. We live these times up to standard that makes us reminisce, hurt, contemplate and so much more. The power of a photograph has been described to have worth a thousand words, metaphorically meaning of course, that what an image can capture in one instance, something that may not ever be captured through words. For too many centuries we have been without, what many of us now take for granted, the photograph. What we capture in a picture, has much more value than we often time see in our commercials, people, places, they tell a story to the ignorant, paint a picture for blind, give the deaf something to listen to, and so much more.

The violent markings of the photo album and its images, however, produce an equally powerful message that jars the memory as it disrupts and distorts the photographic chronicle of her life and that of her family and friends. The result is a complex visual experience that addresses the use of images in producing knowledge and making history.

Sontag claims that “photography is, a social rite, but it can also be a defense against anxiety and a tool of power (page 130).” She backs her claim by stating “photographs give people an imaginary possession of a past that is unreal, they also help people to take possessions of space in which they are insecure.” (Sontag page 131). In other words, having pictures allows people to tell stories that may not be exactly true. I agree with Sontag because I have witnessed and experienced how pictures can hurt someone emotionally while empowering others.

Have you ever taken a picture or been looking through a photo album and felt a sudden rush of emotion? Do you wonder what caused that emotion? Many find themselves captivated by a photograph and overwhelmed by the emotions that the photograph arouses. Believe it or not the arousal of emotion from those photographs was not caused by the content of the picture but by certain elements within the photograph. When a photograph is viewed it is not only the subject that triggers the overwhelming emotional response, it is the length of time that the film was exposed to sunlight, the way lighting is used and played with, and the strong detail of colors or lack thereof. While many believe that the subject acts as the primary stimuli to emotions, the

Susan Sontag said photographs sends across the harmlessness and helplessness of the human life steering into their own ruin. Furthermore the bond connecting photography with departure from life tortures the human race. (Sontag 1977:64)