Plato's Cave

2) Susan Sontag makes the claim that while photography is "a way of certifying experience, taking photographs is also a way of refusing it- by limiting experience to a search for the photogenic, by converting experience into an image, a souvenir" (p. 9). She uses the example of travel to demonstrate this, people go on vacation, to "get away from it all," yet they feel they should be doing something. since they are not at their vocation, they take photographic images.
This definitely resonated with me. When go someplace, it seems I am using my camera, or at the very least, my cell phone, to capture images of the place or event. Whether visiting a location of natural beauty, a place of historical significance, or just being with friends and family, there is always someone using a camera to capture the memory of that moment in time. Even for this class, my camera has been with me at get-togethers with friends, as well as places where hardly a soul was around. But am I taking pictures to fulfill an assignment, capture a memory, or to fulfill the need to "do something."

3) Susan Sontag makes the statement "All photographs are memnto mori" (p. 15). When a photographic image is taken, we do so to freeze time. One reason for this is because we know our time is finite. We all have certain amount of time on earth. That is why we take photographs of our children during trick or treat, our families during holiday get-togethers, and those we vacation with. We know these people will not always be  with us, whether by death, or due to life circumstances. Photographs allow us to remember times together.
Additionally, moments are finite. Actually, finite is not a strong enough word. Moments are like a vapor, here, and then gone. Photographs have the ability to capture those ephemeral moments. There are two photographs in my personal life that remind me of this, and both very similar, taken about 18 months apart.  In both images I am actually wearing the same maroon shirt, In the first shot, I am holding my son, Nathan, when he was a few days old, and both father and son are fast asleep. In the second shot, wearing the same shirt, I am holding my days old daughter, Emma, and am in almost the same postition.
Photographs are a captured moment, which reminds us that our time is finite, and photographs help us freeze time.

Family Portraits?

     For this project, I wanted to show a slightly different take on the traditional family portrait. The images I have presented are those of an old friend and his family. I do want to give a bit of background on this family. Dan Weaver and I met at band camp our freshman year in the summer of 1989. I remember when he started talking about this girl he met during our senior year in 1993. that girl is his lovely wife, Barb, who he married in 1996. They're 5 boys are Joseph, Benjamin, Samuel, Lucas, and Nathan.

     I wanted to show that family portraits don't have to show a studio setting with properly coiffed and dressed children wearing smiles that are, more than likely, forced. I wanted to show a family that enjoyed being themselves. I wanted to demonstrate portraiture that gave better idea of who the Weavers are. Even though I took photographs that showed a more "traditional" family portrait, the ones I have posted are a better representation of this amazing family.

     This type of portraiture does have limitations. I think the biggest limitation would be that I'm not sure i could take these kind of photographs of someone I was not well-acquainted with. Conversely, being the subject of this type of portraiture would probably not work as well with someone the subject was not acquainted with. Something that this series does do is opens the door to a lot of improvisation. The picture of Barb jumping on Dan's back and of Dan and Joseph holding Lucas by his legs just happened on spur of the moment.

Assignment 3

For this assignment, I decided to focus on one of my favorite places to go in the area, Mohican State Forest, and the Clear Fork Gorge Overlook in particular. I had visited this place many times, but this time I had noticed, possibly for the first time, how this is a place that showcases the beauty of nature, as well as a demonstration of how nature can be corrupted.
This first and third photographs are examples of how the Clear Fork Gorge looks on a typical early autumn day, with the leaves starting to turn brilliant shades of orange, yellow, and red. The second photograph, also shows how a place of beauty can have its ugly side, namely the defacing of the overlook platforms.
The fourth and fifth photographs are also a strange contrast. In the fourth image, it seems those who planned the walkway took extra care in not taking down this tree, by constructing the walkway around it. This is in stark contrast to the trees being felled around the parking area. There was no evidence of rot on the remaining stumps, so why take down the trees?

Old News

The exhibit of Jeff Sprang's Old News took what could be considered mundane and showed the artistic value of what could be considered common. The body of his work spanned several decades. The difficult part was to decide which photograph to disseminate. The one photograph that struck me was one from when I was a small boy.
The piece dated January 31, 178, titled "James Truly, Buried Alive" is comprised of two images, one of a man in a hospital bed positioned above the image of a a large tractor trailer rig buried in snow. Mr. Truly waited in this semi for fiver days awaiting rescue during this cataclysmic event.
For me, this piece demonstrates the human side of disasters. This put a human face on an event that I grew up hearing about. This piece demonstrated how the Blizzard of '78 didn't just snarl traffic, but impacted people
 I would like to know how, from all the photographs he took over the course of his time at The News Journal, how did he decide on these 34 pieces?  During the blizzards of '77 and '78, how were you able to access the locations to take the photographs? For the Ohio 96 photograph, it almost appears that you may have been driving around, and just came upon the upside-down sign. Was this the case?