Unit 8 Activity 4

 Tommy Ingberg

Melinda Gibson

Both images above are artistic photomontages, focusing around people and have ideas beyond realism. The top image shows a headless man flying away with a bundle of balloons replacing his head. The bottom shows the silhouette of a man laying on the floor. The silhouette is filled with a forest-like scene. It's also been made to look like the man was cut out of a previous image and replaced. The images seem to represent the dreams and imagination of humans. The bottom image could have been made to be a smooth silhouette, remove the cutout feel, but I personally like the style. The picture could also have been filled with any scenario; the forest most likely reflects the person's inner fantasies, such as a love for nature.

Unit 8 Activity 3

• As editors exercise their ever-increasing power over information control, what limits would you impose on them as to the extent to which they can manipulate the photographic image? 
• Devise a series of guidelines that will control the release of images that have been constructed for media use so that the public is aware as to the extent of the manipulation. 

There should be different guidelines for what the media and editors are trying to display. A fictional piece should be able to have zero limit to what you can manipulate. However, when the media tries to display something for sale or is passing an image off as real, there should be many guidelines. If models are modeling for weight loss, clothing, or body appearance, there should be no liquification of their frame. Acne and makeup models should not be editing to remove blemishes, and so on. If model's pictures are modified in any way, the media should notify the public, like saying so in a commercial or writing it directly on a billboard.

Unit 8 Activity 2

 B. Clinch

Lewis Bush

Both of these photomontages show loyalty and following of people during war. The top image is from the 1930's while the bottom image is modern. The top image could either be for or against the leadership of Stalin. It may be trying to unify the people under him, and the buildings and planes represent the technological advancement of the U.S.S.R. On the other hand, Stalin may be being portrayed as a gigantic tyrant, oppressing the blind people below him. I don't know what the word in the middle means, but it would probably explain it better. The second picture shows the cult following of nuclear weapons. These weapons are disguised as a church, showing a fake facade of the government; a welcoming outside with a hidden evil behind it.

Unit 8 Activity 1

Henry Peach Robinson's "Fading Away"

Photomontages began to be made in the late 1800's. Photographers would expose certain sections of negatives to make a single image. Many people criticized this process, most likely because it could be considered "fake" photography. Skill may not be needed to get true art if you cheat and make it up. It isn't real. Photography was about the real world, and these innovators of photomontages made photography fake. People truly couldn't believe what they saw. In my opinion, however, I think it's very unique and creative. You can use your imagination and create things unseen and create emotions that simply couldn't appear if it was a "real" photograph. In today's age, photomontages are very popular. Partially because I feel there's been a surge of new creativity, but most likely because of technology. Before Photoshop, creating a photomontage was painstaking and took hours, possibly days. Now you can do everything on a computer easily, and it often looks better too. Pictures are better quality, colors are richer, and the photos merge together more smoothly. I think there's a correlation between the technology and creativity surge as well; it may not be that the imagination is new, but all of the creative photomontages just could not be done before. With technology, we can really express ourselves much better.

Unit 7 Activity 2

These are two pictures with a side-by-side comparison of the women. One is an obvious exaggeration of appearance, the other showing different hair. The top image shows the extremes of how a woman could look either attractive or unattractive. The right side is obviously more appealing, her face is more composed, her makeup is clean, her hair is made, and the lighting is better. The second picture is much more subtle, on the left the woman's hair is frizzy, and neat on the right. It's advertising a hair product, most likely. But it seems ridiculous to say the left side is less attractive. The media does play a huge part in what is or isn't attractive. Nearly all media revolves around fashion and appearance. Commercials tell people what is or isn't necessary to look better, celebrities bring in new trends, when looking for what is or isn't appealing, you look to a celebrity. To an extent, admiring these celebrities is a good thing, it gives confidence, something to strive for, and dreams. You can admire someone, but integrate the style with yourself. But completely obsessing over something in the media is not a good thing. You can become so self-absorbed in mimicking somebody or wasting your life trying to be something you just aren't

Unit 7 Activity 1

"Make a personal list of the categories you belong to or have conflict with and visual symbols that are associated with each. Aspirations and expectations should also be listed."

Age/ Generation - A teenager in this new generation of technology, which is rapidly changing and developing. I feel a lot of pressure now, preparing to become an adult and going to college. Suddenly all of these things are being thrown at my face that were just never emphasized all too much until now.

Gender - Male - a lot of times I almost feel looked down upon being there are many stereotypes of a "man" I just don't fit. I enjoy art and music, I'm not big on sports or fighting.

Race - White - I don't really feel any expectations or certain aspirations I'm supposed to conform to or try to have.

Religion - None (Atheist) - This affects how my family views me more than my peers. My mother's side is fairly Catholic and many would just see me different if they knew I didn't believe in a higher power. My mother just blows it off, she'll sometimes show her concerns, but most of the time it's out of her mind. My father has always accepted my views, and is one of the main reasons I have this view. He  is not an Atheist, but has open views of religion and has always welcomed new opinions.

Class/ Caste - Middle Class - Sometimes I feel like I'll end up being stuck into this class. I don't worry over it, but I'd like to achieve dreams above it. The older I get the harder these dreams seem to get.

Personality - Quiet and introverted, deep thinking on subjects. This one definitely harms me; I have trouble breaking out of my shell, and often end up by myself. It's just really hard to be open and converse with people I don't know. I've been told that it sometimes comes across as snobbish and that I don't want to associate with people; it's just really conflicting to speak up and express myself with strangers

Intelligence - Fairly smart. I could probably have more opportunities if I tried for them. I guess I don't utilize my intelligence

Political Persuasion - Leaning towards a democratic view. Belief in equal rights and a fair amount of government involvement for those in need.

Unit 6 Distortion Assignment

This assignment was heavily based on editing a photo to obvious degrees and bend reality. The particular assignment I chose said to make a cover for a book that is about paranormal phenomena. I based my subject on astral projection, and depicted a "soul" leaving it's sleeping body. It is hard to see, but the soul has open eyes, as if it is waking up from the dormant body. To achieve this effect, I edited three different images, adding opacity masks and using a blurring tool. I then merged them together, giving the appearance of a leaving spirit. The hardest part of this project was getting everything to blur without it looking choppy or having defining lines that would make the image look fake.