Photography

“We are making photographs to understand what our lives mean to us.” - Ralph Hattersley

Final Reflection:

The photo above is my all-time favorite photo from photography this semester. I am most proud of it because I got to not only show off my photo taking skills, but also my editing skills in photoshop. I think this photo shows the best of both of these skills. This project refined my skills as a photo editor and taught me how to problem solve the issues I had with lining the photo up properly, as well as the constant errors that I experienced with photoshop crashing on me.
This class has taught me that traditional photography is very tricky because it really tests your chemistry knowledge and application. This type of photography takes time and requires a lot of patience. I really appreciate the photographers who took the time to work with these materials when they only had this to work with. The advent of digital photography has made photo taking less of an amazing thing because the time to take and have one has decreased.
I think that the best way to improve the class is to give students more time on assignments, especially if they are completely new to the ideas of photo taking. It can be very easy to fall behind and feel anxiety from having new assignments seemingly every class. But I still enjoyed the class very much and will happily recommend it to anyone who's interested.

Margaret Bourke White. At the Time of the Louisville Flood,1937

Photo Analysis:

The photo above shows a group of African Americans lined up with belongings seemingly moving away from the Louisville Flood. The people are standing in front of a sign that reads, "Worlds Highest Standard Of Living - There's no way like the American Way". The wall also exhibits a white family driving in a nice car.
In the photo, there is rule of thirds present, as your eyes will look at the words on the wall, and then see the people in the car, and finally seeing the people lined up in front of the wall. I also can see leading line, as the people are lined up in a way so that your eyes would follow where they are heading, the frame unfortunately cuts off where their destination is.
The photographer set up a certain irony, in that the white people who are living the "American Way" are overshadowed by the people who are leaving due to a flood. The people being African American is also another irony. The wall setting up a predisposition that the American Way is for White people only.
I think this is a successful photo because it shows not only a message, but the photo itself is interesting and pulls an audience into it. I have no direct criticism of the image. I think it is a strong photo because people might be able to relate to its message.