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Photography

  • Writer: Caroline Harding
    Caroline Harding
  • Nov 16, 2023
  • 5 min read


Adjectives


Realistic, fantastic, observing, documenting, reality, truth, perception, watching


Supporting materials
:

  • A camera (phone or professional grade)

  • A computer

  • Storage on a computer or phone

  • Photo editing software (such as photoshop)

  • A capture card

  • Camera stand

Different brands and types:


Experimentation

I took this photo on campus using my phone and experimented with taking something in color and transforming it into something that is black and white.


It was interesting to note just how different the photo felt in black in white despite still being the same subject. I feel like the black and white photo felt older, more mysterious, and dark than the color version.


I took this photo of the start of a bird's nest in some trees. I decided to play around it some photo editing software on my computer to see if I could make the colors more vibrant and less dull. For this experiment, I used photoshop.

Before (original photo)


After (edited photo)



While I prefer to edit photos in photoshop because it has more options and is generally easier to achieve certain effects, I can also edit photos on my phone. These are screenshots of my iPhone's own photo editing software that allows me to change specific aspects of the image, such as the brightness or saturation, apply different filters, and edit the ordination and size of the photo.


Critical Discussion Questions associated with photography:

  • What is photographic gaze? 
What impact can this gaze have on the viewed? Who is being viewed?

  • Does photography always speak 'truth'? In other words, is photography objective? 


  • Are you an ethical photographer? What does it mean to be an ethical photographer?

  • Is editing (e.g., photoshop) good or bad? 


  • Questions of privacy and consent (artist example Arne Svenson's New York neighbors series https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/arne-svenson-the-neighbors-190516 )

  • Who owns a photo? Can a photo be owned?

  • How have racist elements been built into photography technology


Safety/health considerations


One concern to consider when exploring photography is privacy issues regarding who is having their photo taken and where the image ends up (for example, you should not be posting images of students to social media without their explicit consent.) Additionally, while digital photography poses no serious health risks, darkroom photography does have a significant amount of health concerns associated with it. Working in the darkroom can expose the occupants to many toxic chemicals in a short amount of time, and continued exposure to these chemicals can be potentially hazardous to one’s health. Therefore, there should be limited access to the darkroom, and the space should be well-ventilated. Students should not have any drinks or food in the darkroom. Additionally, appropriate protective equipment (such as gloves, goggles, etc.) can be used to help prevent experiencing any contact with the chemicals. Hands or any area of skin that comes into contact with the darkroom chemicals should be washed off with soap in water either immediately after contact is made or any time the student exits the darkroom. Lastly, all chemicals should be placed in an appropriate waste bin and should not be rinsed down the sink.


Project ideas


Pinhole Camera

Link to steps on how to make your own camera using cheap objects everyone has.


With this project, students will learn how a camera works and functions, which will give them deeper insight into and appreciation for digital cameras. This is also a very inexpensive and accessible project at everyone can participate in. I would ideally use this as an introductory project for a photo 1 high school class.


Accommodation possibilities
:

  • Remotes can be given to students to help take pictures with

  • Digital cameras can be used in place of darkroom photography for students who might not be developmentally ready to engage with the darkroom

  • Photography stands are also available to hold a camera steady while someone takes a picture


Appropriate age group and behavioral expectations


I think that I would introduce photography to slightly older elementary students. This is because I am worried that younger students might not have access to their own cameras. Furthermore, I am also concerned that they might break the ones that I provide to them, which can add up to an expensive cost. In regards to darkroom photography, I would hold off on introducing that until students are in high school because there are a lot of safety and health concerns that are associated with that form of photography, and I would want to make sure that my students are developmentally ready to handle the responsibility of following the rules to stay safe in the space.


Artist resources


Cara Romero

Cara Romero is a Chemehuevi photographer from the United States. She is known for her dramatic digital photography that examines Indigenous life through a contemporary lens. She aims to use her practice to combat the academic and media portrayal of native culture as dead or bygone.


"Evolvers," by Cara Romero, 2019. Photography.


"GAEA," by Cara Romero, 2018. Photography.


Hasan Elahi

Hasan Elahi is a Bangladeshi-born American interdisciplinary media artist whose work has an emphasis on technology and media and their social implications. His research interests include issues of surveillance, sousveillance, simulated time, transport systems, and borders and frontiers. In 2002, Hasan Elahi’s name was added (by mistake) to the US government’s watch list. That led to an intensive investigation by the FBI. After months of interrogations, Elahi was finally cleared of suspicions but advised to keep the FBI informed of his whereabouts. Which he did -- fully, by opening up just about every aspect of his life to the public. What started with a practicality grew into an open-ended art project, with Elahi posting photos of his minute-by-minute life online (hotel rooms, airports, meals, receipts, bathrooms), tracking himself on Google Maps, releasing communication records, banking transactions and transportation logs, and more.


"Stay v1.0," by Hasan Elahi, 2011. C-print, 30 in.


"Altitude v3.0," by Hasan Elahi, 2007. C-print, 40 inches x 30 in.


Projects:


For the assigned photography project by my professor, I took three black-and-white photos of things that drew my attention while wandering my neighborhood.



I found it interesting how, when I was looking to take photos, I was much more aware of my surroundings than when I usually walk around. I felt like I noticed a lot of things that I otherwise would have overlooked. It was also interesting to note that I focused a lot on areas where nature interacted with human-made things. For example, a basketball forgotten about in the woods, a flower poking through a railing, and a half-alive, half-dead tree in front of a church. I think that this project reveals a lot about my interests and what I am focused on in the world. However, It was also interesting to consider how all of these pictures are all images that I carefully constructed and composed in some manner. One question I am left with is wondering how photography can be used to bend the truth.


For my independent project, I took photos al all the birds that visited my bird feeder for 3 hours in one afternoon. Then, I picked out 16 of the best images and compiled all those photos into one image. Through this project, I wanted to explore what birds are native to my area that eat the food my family puts out for them.

This is the birdfeeder that I was looking at. To take these photos, I used my iPhone camera.



After sorting through all my pictures, I decided that these are the 16 best photos I took. So, I compiled them into a grid where each photo was grouped into 4 columns by visual similarities.


Then, to get my final image, I alternated where each photo from each collum fell to create an interesting diagonal pattern. I took inspiration for this format from John Baldessari's extended series, "Blasted Allegories" (see below).




I wanted to show one example of one of the photos I didn't choose for this project. I scraped this photo because my finger is covering part of the screen, and the bird I was focused on is on in a good position. One thing about photography is that you have to take a lot of photos to get some good ones.

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