samantha galati : October 2012

1. What did Zana describe as the reason why she gave the children cameras? Why didn't she just take pictures herself?
I think Zana gave the children cameras instead of taking pictures of them herself was because she wanted to see the world through their eyes. Building trust, friendships and independence is a very big part of this project. I think she wanted to give them a place to voice their opinion and have a creative outlet. What started as an innocent project to help children build self-esteem and make them feel like their opinion mattered, turned into children who are incredibly talented taking beautiful pictures that ended up being displayed in a gallery.

2. Why is the photographer's point of view or unique voice part of what we consider when we talk about pictures?
I don't think pictures should be all critiqued the same, especially without explanation. I think an explanation to the photograph is just as important as a well captured photo. I think that we consider their point of view or unique voice because we don't know what significance that person/place/thing has to them. What looks like a simple bed to one person, could be the place where their deceased grandmother read them bed time stories. I feel like "don't judge a book by it's cover" really applies here. We don't know what happened there, so we don't really know why photographers take pictures of what they do.

3. Reflect what Avijit first says about paintings, what does this tell us about him?
I think this tells us that he uses art as an escape from what he has to face everyday. Avijit is a very artistic person, and likes to express himself. I think that before this project was brought to his attention, he felt as though he needed to keep his feelings and thoughts bottled up from fear of judgement. I think the project has given him a chance to voice his opinion, and now he has more of a voice. We can see this towards the end of the film, where he's telling Zana why he can't go away for school.

4.How would you define "personal expression"? How are photography, painting and writing personal expression?
I would define personal expression as the deepest thoughts and secrets no one knows about put into an art form/creative outlet. I think personal expression is having what you can't say out loud put into a huge metaphor on paper. I think it's being able to say and think whatever you want, and putting it on a canvas. Taking a picture of feelings instead of expressing your own. I think that photography, painting and writing are all forms of personal expression because they are all so personal to the person taking the picture/writing the piece or painting on canvas. I think all these examples pick up on the small things that no one can see from just looking at us. They show what's really inside your head and heart.

5.How can art (personal expression) serves as means of educating others about a particular issue?
I think that personal expression can certainly serve as means of educating others. Going back to Avijit, we can obviously tell the good and bad times through his art. He uses colours and shapes to convey a happy appearance and when he is going through stressful times in his life, it's reflected in his art. Showing how stressful times effect children and their mind set is something that people in more fortunate countries should be educated about.

PART B

Traditional Photography
I really enjoy this picture because the colours really stood out to me. Her face is the clear focal point, and although there isn't much contrasting , the colours all blend well together and contrast amazingly against her complexion.

Traditional Photography
What drew me to this picture was how detailed it was, even for being taken with a regular film camera. You are able to make out the very textured walls of the building. There are also a very wide range of tones in here, darker at the bottom, and lighter towards the sky. I also like how how most of the colours are very neutral and have a brown base colour, and the very red fabric stands out amongst it all.

I don't really think there's a very educational message behind this photograph. I just really loved the bucket at the side, hitting the left hot spots from the rule of thirds which makes it very eye catching.
I love the bright colours the people are wearing against the subtle tone of the water and sky.

I think this picture is really powerful. The children are all smiling and happy, but the conditions don't really add up. I think this is a powerful picture because it can really put our lives into perspective. We were born into opportunity and these children are born into poverty and trauma. You can see in their clothing and their surroundings that they don't have the best conditions, but they still keep a smile on their face. This tells me that they have been used to all the terrible living conditions and learnt to be happy. Even though this isn't informing people about their situation, I think it all teaches us a lesson about how we are so fortunate.

Does a picture need to be beautiful to be effective? Does it help?
I don't think a picture needs to be beautiful to be effective. I think a picture can be brutally honest, and that really scares people. A lot of people don't think what they hear about in the news is real, they're almost oblivious to it. I think an image that's almost scary or feels out of place will stand out. I think that making a picture beautiful will help. I think that since it's so appealing to the eye, you will look at it longer, and absorb more information on the subject.

For this week's experiment, I tried all the styles, but my strongest style was light painting.I found that you can make part of your face visible, so you look like a ghost! Well.. in this picture it looks like a floating decapitated head, but it's the thought that counts, right? This week's assignment was slightly difficult for me because a lot of the shots required patiences, something that I lack. Fortunately I was able to capture some shots at the park and some light painting ones at home. After numerous shots and failed attempts at trying to draw shapes and writing my name, I discovered that if I put the light source under my face and move my head from one side to the other side of the room, it makes me look like a ghost. I decided to use this picture because I thought it was the most interesting out of all the ones I took. For this shot, I used my phone as a light source, and put my aperture at f16. I set my IOS low so that it captures the bright colours better, and my shutter speed to 15 seconds. Thinking about it now, I could have switched my shutter speed to a slower speed for words and a shorter time for shapes and initials.

Here are some more pictures that came out well from my light painting photoshoot. I also tired to make a pumpkin with orange and green light in the same picture, but it took too long to switch the colours, and my face ended up showing a lot in the pictures and I really didnt want that.