Category: Photography

The science of High dynamic range imaging has developed the dynamic range of processing, transmission, and representation of imaging photography beyond the traditional forms. In this paper, I examine the recent developments in high dynamic range (HDR) and tone mapping. Before the nineteenth century, the majority of the artwork was developed in two or three-dimensional forms. The concept of using various exposures to secure a wide range of luminance was pioneered by Gustave Le Gray to deliver seascapes presenting the sky and the sea in 1895 (Sayre, 15). It was difficult at the time to use standard methods as the luminosity range was markedly extreme. Gustave Le Gray used two different negatives, one for the sky and a long exposure one for the sea. He then combined both in the positive. The need for high dynamic range imaging (HDRI) has existed for a long time but it was until in recent times barred by computer processing power (Sayre, 56).

Ansel Adams a great conservationist and veteran photographer created great public awareness of photography. He engaged a vigilantly controlled process to tone map scenes on negatives and subsequently tone map them on print (Alinder, 8). He used a zone system to accurately predict the details he could capture on paper and film. In 1933 he opened the Adams Ansel Gallery in San Francisco. He later secured a job in Washington as a photo muralist as well as teaching photography at the museums around the time of the Second World War (Alinder, 14). He perfected HDR by use of dodging and burning images, a previous form of tone mapping which provided better contrast in the elements of his images.

Contemporary HDR was developed in the 80s and 90s when computers were used to analyze and create local tone mapping functions. It represents a great change in imaging technology from black and white images to color photography. The process involves the use of a high dynamic range luminance followed by tone mapping the product. Tone mapping is employed in the display of HDR images in devices of low dynamic range, for instance, a computer screen (Kopelow and Doug 20). HDR is used to reproduce images as seen by the human eye including images.

Presently cameras, e.g. the Pentax K-7s perform in-camera processing of HDR and can produce high-quality scene photographs. Nikon has effectively combined three image sensors into a single platform significantly reducing the limitations posed by previous imaging technology. The customary imaging technology was characterized by taking three fast shots of an object and merging them to make an HDR image however the Nikons image sensors with a video component combine the three into one shot (Revell 23). This development has led to elevated shooting speeds and increased memory reads.

Works cited

Alinder, Mary S. Ansel Adams: A Biography. New York: H. Holt, 1996. Print.

Kopelow, Gerry, and Doug Smith. All Our Changes: Images from the Sixties Generation. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 2009. Print.

Revell, Jeff. Nikon D3100: From Snapshots to Great Shots. Berkeley, CA: Peachpit Press, 2011. Print.

Sayre, Henry M. A World of Art. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Prentice Hall, 2000. Print.

The peculiar feature of any photo is that for one person, a photo may present much information and evoke unbelievable feelings, and for another person, the same photo can mean nothing. Each photographer has its own style and has a habit to concentrate on one and the same details.

Tom Williams is one of those photographers, who may underline the details, which help to comprehend this world in absolutely other ways and find out something new in ordinary things. His collection of Redfern-Waterloo Housing is really amazing, because the beauty of all Williams photos is taken from every day life of ordinary people, with their own problems and joys.

Tom Williams is a photographer from Sydney. He participated in numerous festivals, and one of the most famous was FotoFreo Photography Festival in Fremantle (CCP Documentary Photography Award, 2009). Without any doubts, his works are known in the whole of Australia and even in some states of America.

This photographer perfectly speaks English and Spanish, and the knowledge of the international languages allows him to describe his works and explain what he wants to underline in each of his works. The major point is that the works of Tom Williams can be found in both private and public collections, this is why the popularity of his works raises day by day, and, it is quite possible that one day the name of Tom Williams will be famous among people of different nations and races.

There are several photo collections of Williams: King Cross, Guatemala City Oasis, La Santa Muerte, and some others. This time, we will talk about his Redfern-Waterloo Housing. It is a public housing estate, a home for more than 9,000 people of different race, ethnicity, and with various cultural backgrounds (CCP Documented Award, 2009).

The photos from this collection are black-and-white. The choice of such colours may be explained in different ways: for example, Williams wants to underline that our life was originated from two colours only; or, he wants to provide viewers with a chance to concentrate on people on these photos and their souls, but not distract them by means of bright colours. Anyway, the chosen format is just perfect: one or two people, certain background, some mystery, and lots of opportunities to imagine.

The photos of the Redfern-Waterloo housing estate prove that it is something more than just a house; it is a story of human lives, and maybe, Tom Williams decides to underline such unfair poverty of its inhabitants by black-and-white photos, which focus on little details like muscles, wrinkles, sadness or hope in peoples eyes, and touches. This is why the connection between pictures and emotions becomes more considerable in Tom Williams works and the ideas of the images may be interpreted in rather different ways.

The photo of Tony Finger Randal, the Vietnam War veteran, is the first picture under consideration. It was taken in 2007. Black-and-white photo presents an adult man, who strains his muscles in order to demonstrate his physical abilities and the results of being at war for four years.

Even if he is not too young, he shows a good example of how the body should look like. The point is that this person is dying of emphysema, but still, he does not forget about hope, power, and desire to live.

There is no furniture in his room, maybe, there is a bad near his feet, but we cannot see it, and only our imagination helps to colour the truth. Such settings of the photo prove that the person is lonely. Light from the window tells that there is life outside the doors; however, this man is alone in this room, with his body, memories, and hopes.

Another photo under analysis is the image of Cyndelle Georgetown. This woman is represented with a phone in her hands. Her eyes are sad, it makes the viewer think that she is calling to a person, she cares too much. In fact, she has just talked to her mother, who is now responsible for Cyndelles daughter until she tries to loss her addiction to drug ice. The emotions of a person on the picture can be easily transferred to the viewer: responsibility, loss, hope, and compassion.

The use of black-and-white may underline one simple fact that there are no other colours for this woman until she meets a person, she talks to the phone. Against the background, there is a house and the yard: they symbolize all the things, which surround the woman. For her, it does not matter what is behind. Her eyes look ahead, and she has to find powers to cope with all challenges and achieve the desirable goal  to be in the place, where her mom, daughter, and heart.

The last photo for analysis is Kristal and Dereks images. They are taken in 2007 in Waterloo. The images of these people impress me most of all. Kristal and Derek touch each other in the way to demonstrate their care about each other, their trust to each other, their devotion, and the thoughts, which disturb them.

Looking at their faces, it is possible to imagine that they have already survived something together and now, they are grateful to each other. The point is that these man and woman are passing treatment for drug addiction. To my mind, the photographer pays certain attention to their eyes  a woman is waiting for something and hopes for better, and a man looks confident and a bit confused, as he comprehends that lots of things have to be done soon in order to improve this life.

There is nothing behind them, as their past life was full of drugs and numerous addictions. They look ahead and wait for positive changes. I think that such emotions and ideas in reference to simple photos of ordinary people may be caused only due to the use of black-and-white colours, which provide with a chance to think and dream.

The photos by Tom Williams are short histories of life of different people. Our world is impossible without some problems, difficulties, and desires to improve own future. People should have a dream, and Mr. Williams makes an attempt to provide all these people with a chance to forget their past and expect better future, without forgetting about the present.

Not each photograph may create such masterpieces, and Tom Williams demonstrates the best qualities of professionals in the sphere of photography. In order to present much more interesting pieces of work, captivating photos, and unbelievable images, it is high time to develop the art of photography and follow the examples, provided by Tom Williams.

Reference List

CCP Documentary Photography Award. (2009). Web.

Making the Things Fall into Place

Being the art that disarms the time itself, depriving it of its destructive influence on people and things, photography rips things and people of their cover, presenting them in the way they are, with no disguise. In spite of all the attempts to camouflage the feelings of the people in the focus of the camera, a photographer will inevitably picture their real emotions and feelings.

Photography makes the gap between the opposites even wider, sharpening the problems and detecting the conflicts between the genders in a very Sherlock-Holmes way. Photography is a weapon of stereotyping of all kinds, the gender one as well. As Guimond marked, speaking of Allan Arbus, a prominent American photographer,

Later, in the mid-19060s when she was doing some free-lance commercial photography for Harpers Bazaar, Arbus did a series of portraits of married couples (Fashion Independence on Marriage), which contained all the controversial gender stereotypes  the wives touch, cling and snuggle against the husbands; and the men stare boldly straight at the camera, whereas the women tilt their heads submissively.^[1]

Of course, whether Arbus depicted the situation as it was or there was some air of personal experience in this work, the results spoke for themselves. In fact, the artist showed that photos can depict stereotypical ideas better than anything else.

It has been proved that a picture, which was in fact a frozen motion, could be more convincing and argumentative than a train-long debate. Being a revolution in the art of photography, this bold experiment initiated the series of others, where the social conflicts, among them the aspect of gender and gender stereotypes was paid a great deal of attention to.

Photography and the Concept of Gender

As it has been proved already, photographs make the art of creating the models of peoples social behavior, especially the one concerning the gender gap, and exposing the most common prejudice and social phenomena to the mankind. Yet the boldness which the photographs depicted the gender stereotypes with stirred not only indignation, but also meditations concerning various social roles of a man and a woman in the then society. The ideas began shifting, and the gap between the two genders started narrowing, since the most important problems have been viewed already. Thus, the only thing which people were left with was to discuss these sore spots.

There was no doubt that the photographers who made the first steps towards the gender problems foresaw the on-coming gender revolution. The firmness of social roles of a man and a woman was doubted, which could not but raise protests from the orthodox part of the society and get the encouragement from the people with more progressive viewpoints.

The vividness of the gender stereotypes which the art of photography disclosed was incredible, because of the new ideas of gender gap and the gender prejudices which the boldest photographers dared to take picture of. Touching upon the racial issue later on, the photographs were still about the relationship between the genders and the settled gender roles.

With both whites and blacks fostering the vogue for the primitive, the movement could not be stopped. Its popularity allowed for the marketability of black artists and their creative contributions to the American culture. Conversely, primitivism worked to reinforce and perpetuate racial and gender stereotypes and to foster belief in white superiority.^[2]

Exposing the sharpest conflicts to the public without a slightest air of hesitation, photographers thus both implanted the gender stereotypes deeper into the peoples subconsciousness and at the same time made people shake the dust of prejudice off their minds. The pictures taken to view mens superiority, womens submissiveness, the negative features of both were of a therapy effect to the society. As a matter of fact, these caricatures made people laugh, and laughter was of somewhat medical effect to the peoples souls and minds.

One of the most impressive works in this field, the pictures by Sherman, a photographer who depicted the existing gender conflicts and gender stereotypes in a most explicit an open way, was a mixture of a postmodernist world and the problems of gender, with a little tint of anxiety all over them. As Sutton emphasized, the issue of the conflict was made even more topical as it was viewed through the prism of postmodernism:

Even when the photographs did not appear to reference particularly stable identity types, they still reflected the very same fluidity of identity as a postmodern anxiety. This is why, from the beginning, they have had an unrivaled position in discourses of identity and representation.^[3]

It is doubtless that the art of photography makes the unsteady time freeze in an artistic pose which reflects the controversies of the human nature, the gender conflicts in particular. The crisis in the relationships between a man and a woman led to the crisis in the arts, which in its turn triggered the postmodern crisis itself, as the abovementioned Sutton noticed:

Mulvey rightly suggests that it is feminisms investigation of the fluidity and interchangeability of gender stereotypes  encouraged by analysis of Shermans work  that partly led to the recognition of such fluidity in identity by postmodernism in general.^[4]

This is a specific response to the ideas of fluidity in the art of photography which were introduced by Stephen Bull. Exploring the issue of fluidity in the art of photography, he suggested that the replicated roles of a man and a woman in the society are not the biological necessity but the result of the social influence.

According to Sutton, society imposes certain model of behavior on a man and a woman, while photography is just another means to reveal the hypocritical standards and shift to a more civilized way of tackling the gender conflict:

It is in this culture that male and female roles are replicated. The important point here for Butler is that although seen as connected to biological differences, gender roles are not natural and fixed, but cultural and fluid. In other words, gender roles can be changed.^[5]

Thus, Bull considers art in its every single manifestation a support for the ideas which differentiate the mans role in society from the ones of a woman. Bull makes it clear that the art of photography is a specific means of cultural repetition of gender roles.

According to Bull, photographers with their traditional approach to the idea of gender are merely another means of gender stereotyping and consolidation of the typical image of a man and a woman in peoples subconsciousness. However, Bull also marks that with help of photography the idea of gender roles can be changed if a specific approach is taken:

Butler argues that these changes are usually prevented be the cultural repetition of traditional gender stereotypes performed through images and texts, but that it is also possible to transgress these by acting against the grain.^[6]

There was another problem which concerned the issue of morality. People could not orient themselves in the labyrinth of the new art; they needed some landmarks which could draw the line between the moral and the immoral in the art of photography. Since there were more than a hundred ways to depict gender conflicts, gender gap and gender stereotyping, people were wondering how far photography and photographers can go to show the boiling social conflict.

In spite of the fact that photography did rip the mankind of its illusions about the gender conflict being settled, photographers themselves did not suggest any solutions, not helping to tackle the problematic issues, but even making them ever deeper. Like any art, the art of photography could only observe and create, while people demanded some actions.

Perpetuation Which Takes a Moment

The mocking manner in which photography can enter ones life and leave a mark on someones face is incredible. However, this was the problem which people did not realize. Being a mere mark on peoples lives, a photograph could not act, but only depict the objects and people around.

Proving to be a means to perpetuate gender conflict and the differences between the world pictures of both genders, a picture has long been a screen behind which stereotypical ideas were hiding from the progressive viewpoints. Like any other means for people to cling to their old prejudice to, this barricade was finally demolished as well.

Following the pace of the history, one can find out that the art of photography, ossifying people, events and ideas, was pushing the mankind to the technical progress yet making people regressive in terms of the gender relationships.

According to the historical evidence, the gender stereotypes in the art of photography were soon intertwined with other ideas which kept the former in the background. As Marien noted, speaking about the famous photographer and image-maker of the 1980s, Cindy Sherman, after the photographer taking the self-image out of her pictures:

Despite these changes, Shermans interest remained constant through the last decades of the twentieth century, as she continued to expose not only the shallowness of gender stereotyping but also the titillating pleasure of looking.^[7]

Because of the fact that photograph can hardly express the one and only idea and there are always two or more implications even in a picture of an apple, ideas have to merge in a photo.

Thus, gender stereotypes would mix with the racial problems, and the racial issues will be replaced by political issues. Nevertheless, the authors of the gender stereotyping perpetuation manage to keep the main conflict in the focus of the camera and create a surreal image of men and women playing the part prescribed for them by the centuries of traditions and customs.

Twisting the focus of the camera, photographers can make it reveal hidden conflicts and suggest people some ideas concerning the situation. Yet people have to remember that a picture is merely a piece of paper, and that it is the pivot of our consciousness which makes people create stereotypes and break them.

Reference List

Bull, S, Photography, Taylor&Francis, New York, NY, 2009.

Guimond, J, American Photography and the American Dream, University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC, 1991.

Marien, M W, Photography: a Cultural History, Laurence King Publishing, London, 2006.

Smalls, The Homoerotic Photography of Carl Van Vechten: Public Face, Private Thoughts. Temple University Press, Philadelphia, PA, 2006.

Sutton, D, Photography, Cinema, Memory: the Crystal Image of Time, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, MN, 2009.

Footnotes

1. Guimond, J, American Photography and the American Dream, University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC, 1991, 223
2. Smalls, The Homoerotic Photography of Carl Van Vechten: Public Face, Private Thoughts. Temple university Press, Philadelphia, PA, 2006, 61
3. Sutton, D, Photography, Cinema, Memory: the Crystal Image of Time, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, MN, 2009, 140
4. Sutton, D, Photography, Cinema, Memory: the Crystal Image of Time, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, MN, 2009, 140
5. Bull, S, Photography, Taylor&Francis, New York, NY, 2009, 155
6. Bull, S, Photography, Taylor&Francis, New York, NY, 2009, 155
7. Marien, M W, Photography: a Cultural History, Laurence King Publishing, London, 2006, p. 436

Surrealism, which started after the World War I, in photography is one of the indicators of most important revolutions that have taken place over the history in the area of photography. This article analyzes the concept of surrealism in photography.

The pioneer of this movement was Andre Breton. Surrealism is useful in the expression of emotions in ones mind without altering anything. This movement had a lot of similarities with the Dande movement.

The different forms of arts in the category of surrealism are intrinsically different from the conventional forms. This is because surrealistic arts lack a definite shape.

Surrealistic arts can therefore take different shapes such as putting across some of the human instincts or things that one imagines but remain in the subconscious memory.

Initially, many people were very skeptical about the possibility of the existence of surrealism and its success but it experienced a great breakthrough through the work of Man Ray.

However, it was after the publication of the work of Andre Breton, who was a poet, that surrealism was initiated as a movement officially. The publication of this poet was known as Manifesto of Surrealism.

This happened in 1924. The works of those who adhered to this movement were not based on reason. Instead, they saw basing their work on reason entirely was hindering their breakthrough to imagination; hence reason was shunned because it was a stumbling block to them.

They embarked on an adventure on how to use their creativity and this venture led them to a world characterized by dreams and other activities that can only be described as madness.

After emerging from this venture of obtaining pictures from their sub conscious, the images they came up with were applauded and even prizes given to the owners. They were characterized by physic connotations and were provocative in nature.

Surrealism is a movement that involves obtaining images from ones subconscious. The images are mostly characterized by psychic images that are provocative but still have a touch of beauty.

Walter Benjamins Aura in Photography and How This Has Changed Today.

The term aura has to do with the tensions that are present in works of art in terms of time and distance. This article discusses the concept of aura and how it was changed today.

The term aura, as part of Benjamins most critical contribution, is used in relation to tensions that characterize most of his works. Tensions that result from experiences in life such as experiencing lateness and being early at the same time are part of what comprises of his work.

He defines aura as something strange that intertwines the quality of space and time or a distance in terms of the proximity of something to another.

The central point in the concept of aura is that of something that can not be accessed, with a lot of value attached to it but is illusory and beyond anyones reach.

Benjamin argues that the concept of aura was mostly present in the artwork of nineteenth century but can no longer be traced after the commencement of modern photography.

He further explains that initially, photographs were more of imitations of paintings but with the introduction of technology, photography detached itself from painting and took a different direction.

This move resulted to the ruin of traditional concepts of fine arts. He notes that any image that is captured in a photograph has the capacity of being mechanically reproduced.

He views this characteristic of an image being reproducible as one that is very vital in photography. Benjamin also associates aura with distance in that, when an image is reproduced, the distance decreases.

The concept of aura was most pronounced in the artworks of the nineteenth century but seems to have been outdone after the introduction of modern photography.

Roland Barthess Stadium and Punctum and Photography.

The concept of stadium and punctum are addressed in details by Ronald Barthe in his book Camera Lucida. The book deals with the nature and real meaning of photography. The effects that a photograph has on its viewer are mostly tackled.

The object that is captured in a photograph is referred to as the spectrum by Barthe. Stadium deals with the different interpretations of a photograph in terms of ones culture, language or even political affiliation.

Stadium therefore deals with the different meanings that people attach to a photograph because of the diversity among people. Punctum on the other hand, refers to the effects that the photograph has on its viewer, for example piercing ones heart or wounding.

It is this concept that also explains the emotions that arise as one becomes able to identify with what is in the photograph. Punctum therefore, is not an aspect that would interest anyone viewing the photograph, for example beautiful scenery of the sun setting.

On the contrary, it is something that one sees and others might not see when they look at the photograph. It is unique to an individual. It is seen as a way of developing individuality and is meant to capture the attention of the people on the little details that are overlooked by many people.

Barthe held the opinion that for any photograph to impress him, both stadium and punctum should be present. Barthe was concerned with the lack of punctum in many photos because many photos did not have the pricking effect that punctum should produce.

Barthe believes that stadium and punctum are very important in any photograph.

Andre Bazins Opinion in Photography Trend.


Andre Bazin is a renowned critic of the film and the film theory. Bazin argues that the essence of arts such as painting and making of sculptures is to transform what is mortal into something immortal.

He argues that when a painter or an artist paints of carves an image of someone, what they are doing is trying to make the person live on years after their death.

He sees the work of artists as one geared towards preservation of life. In fact, Bazin views the artists work as an attempt to compete with death whereby the artist triumphs.

However, Bazin believes that what the artist represents in his painting is not the true outward appearance of the object but instead, it is a representative of the painters skills in painting.

He sees this as a mistake which painters commit because even though they attempt to reproduce the actual object through their work, they fail to do so.

This flaw in painting is what makes him believe that film and photography are more successful than painting and carving, in their attempt to reproduce the real thing.

His views are in favor of film and photography because they are able capture images of real objects and present them exactly as they are. He says that the only role a person plays in photography or film is in the selection of what they want to capture but the rest is not done by human hands like in painting whereby the painter does everything.

Bazin believes that photography is superior to painting because it has an advantage of the absence of the photographer in the finished work.

Gestalt theory and photography

Gestalt theory was developed by psychologists from Germany and Australia. Gestalt is a term that means shape. The main agenda was to find out how people perceive and visually interpret things.

These psychologists discovered that the perception of things is usually affected by the proximity of the object from the viewer. In photography, it is important to bear in mind the positive and the negative constituents in the photograph.

The positive constituent is the person or the object being focused on while the negative is the rest of the things that are present while the photograph is being taken.

One should therefore make sure that the proximity between their subjects and them is such that the negative constituent will not affect the photograph and seem like it is the subject.

There is also the need for balance when doing photography because it affects ones visual judgments. Equilibrium is therefore a vital constituent in any photograph.

The other useful principle according to gestalt theory is that of the figure or the background. This is classified as one of the most basic principles.

This involves the capacity to detach the various elements in a photograph on the basis of contrast. Isomorphic correspondence is the other principle of this theory.

This concept simply refers to the idea that people have a tendency to respond to meanings. Interpretation of a photograph and other works of art depend on peoples experiences in life.

Having a photograph with isomorphic correspondence is a challenge to many photographers. Despite this being a challenge, it is considered to be the aspect that distinguishes between a good photograph and a bad. Balance, proximity, figure or background and isomorphic correspondence are some of the principles of the Gestalt theory.

Landscape photography in 19th century.

Landscape photography is one of the activities in photography that has been in existence for a long period of time. This article evaluates the concept of land photography in the 19^th and 20^th centuries.

Daguerreotype and calotype were the most pronounced processes of photography in the 19^th century. The first one was chosen by photographers who were taking photographs for commercial purposes whereas the second was preferred by people working in the landscape area of photography because of the ability to take a crisp and sharp photo.

The two processes also distinguished photographers with their social classes. Those who opted for the first method were seen as traders whereas those who practiced calotype were viewed as people who were educated and polite in the society.

Those who practiced this type of photography could afford to buy expensive cameras and other accompanying accessories. Landscapes of association were the most common choice for most photographers. As the 19^th century drew close to an end, the search for aesthetic quality of photographs began.

After the First World War, a lot of changes were witnessed in photography because of the concept of modernism that had affected this area and brought a lot of change in the landscape.

Those who used to photograph landscapes slowly began to drift away from the kind of photography they were practicing which used to yield painterly effects, to the more modern form of photography that yielded different kinds of photographs that were clearer and had a tonal effect.

Photographs of landscape and nature continued to be the essence of photography, until the Second World War that photographers began to switch to color photography due to their quest for a colorful image of what they captured in the landscape.

There were a lot of changes happening in photography in the 19^th and 20^th century, most of which have been highlighted in the article.

Differences and Similarities between works by Ansel Adams and Minor White

Ansel Adams and Minor White are believed to be among the greatest contributors in the field of photography and especially within a scope of fifty years.

The two had a passion for photography and committed most of their time in it. Both have contributed significantly to the modern photography. Adams developed his passion for photography after attending several family trips with the parents.

Among the many achievements of Adams in photography include developing a department dealing with photography in a school in California, composing twenty eight books offering assistance to a museum in the department of photography.

Photography, according to Adams, should not only have the visual aesthetic but also a superb technique of printing. Beauty in terms of the visual and technical concepts in photography, are therefore the essence of photography, according to Adams.

Although Minor was not as famous as Adams, he also contributed significantly in photography. He explored his creativity to improve the quality of photographs produced.

One of his major beliefs that made him stand out from the rest is his belief that photographs possess a sacred and most importantly, spiritual aspects.

Although what people saw in the image was something important, Minor believed that the meaning underlying the image was more important. Minor was a deeply spiritual man, compared to Adams who is not as passionate as minor in matters of spirituality. Minor used photography as an avenue to pass across messages about his spirituality.

Both Adams and Minor left behind an unmatched legacy in the area of photography. The two of them were also involved at some point in their lives, in teaching some of their students these concepts and their students ended up being great photographers. Both Adams and Minor were great photographers who have affected modern photography.

Barthes, in his Camera Lucida-Reflections on Photography tried to bring out some unique meaning from a photographic image. In addition, his view was that a photograph could signify a very real scenario in life, a quality that he considered very distinctive in an individual interpreter.

Following the death of his mother in 1977, Barthes wrote Camera Lucida  whose primary focus was to bring out the significance and the meaning of her childhood photograph. His attempt to demonstrate the relationship between studuim (the observable photographs symbolic meaning) and punctum (the subjective and personal view which penetrates through the viewer), was particularly remarkable and somewhat sensible.

Barthes was disturbed by the fact that such peculiarities fall down when the personal significance that is connoted on a photograph is made known to others, and can have its representational logic streamlined. Bathes, therefore, found a remedy to this sort of personal significance from his mothers picture.

He maintained that a picture has a potential to create deceitfulness in the fantasy of what is, where the description of What was is so specific. His mothers death has led to physical representation of what has vanished. The reminiscence of the worlds dynamic nature is depicted to us, by way of avoiding the reality. These views reflect a very unique and personal sentiment that cannot be parted from him. He felt a great loss after the departure of his mother, an ordeal that kept reflecting back in his mind whenever he viewed the photograph.

Besides serving as a source of dedication to his mother and a portrayal of his grief, this work generally demonstrated the relationship between cultural society, meaning, and subjectivity. When he differentiates between stadium and punctum, he admits that certain aspects in the photograph could have adopted The Look.

The inner intention could have been understood by the subjects reflection. Therefore, the photograph relies on circumstances, and is a sign of ongoing course of reinterpretation, and the work is generated out of a particular time in history. At this juncture, interpretation of the photography is flexible, and what is not disclosed in a photograph is the one that creates the difference between self identity and photographic understanding.

Barthes seems to hold the opinion that photography has a strong power to communicate, and that such power depends on its direct relationship with the theme. Therefore, there is no need of associating it with the ordinary cultural information. However, regardless of the kind of understanding in a certain photograph, straightforward meaning must be present. An example of this is punctum which is actually pre-linguistic.

The kind of experience that can be associated with puntum is connected with a kind of photography description that directs physical association, which may prompt a spontaneous reminiscence. The reactions are only some of its kinds to the spectators of a photograph. The uniqueness of Barthes interpretation is also evident because he saw no need of reproducing the photograph, because after all, other people would not recognize its meaning or attach deep meaning in it.

The punctum is only seen by Barthes, while the rest of the aspects are visible to others. Bathes has managed to reveal to us that photograph is for the indexical rather than the iconic. This is because the symbolic photograph reflects an image which is optionally not real, but essentially the actual object that was posed in front of the camera for a photograph to appear.

Introduction

During the year 1900, in one Greek isle of Antikythera, sponge divers stumbled upon statuettes on an ancient shipwreck (Cowen 10). Their mission unearthed the many artifacts from the ruin. The shipwreck has been dated by numerous autonomous investigations to the early eras of the 1^st century BC. The two researchers had been hired by the Greek government to recuperate resources that were to be taken to the National Museum of Athens (Dimitris 1). The substantial part of the objects was the Antikythera treasure. The items attracted much attention. At the time, the fragments of the artifacts were only analyzed for a few months. The Early analysis pointed out that the times were part of an ancient astronomical tool. Its enormous importance was realized decades later during the mid-20^th century.

The initially authorized account of the Antikythera mechanism is stored in a museum pamphlet of the year 1903 (Kaltsas 78). The device is depicted in four different fragments. The rubbles have been labeled A, B, C, and D. the fragments have been illustrated in many kinds of literature using photos and drawings. Additional rubbles marked E and F were recently obtained in the art centers store. Particular fragments had separated from rubble C when the mechanism was being cleaned. The detachment has been reassembled.

The features of fragments making up the Antikythera mechanism have mostly stayed hidden from direct sight even after dusting. Radiography undertaken in the 1970s showed more information about the device (Price 12). Charalambos Karakalos conducted the evaluation. The assessment stimulated Derek de Solla Price to try a comprehensive depiction and to reassemble the tool.

Statement of the papers purpose

Many prototypes have been designed to replicate the Antikythera mechanism based on Prices account (Wright 27). Prices description has been described as improper. Thus, none of these replicas depicts any base in historical authenticity nor can any of them provide any real understanding of the plan, production, or purpose of the tool. Established literature comprises of articles that focus on the instrument being used to identify the position of the stars, the moon, and the stars.

Prices findings offered numerous translations (Freeth 237). Marcus Tullius Cicero authored the earliest rendition featured by Price between 106 to 43BC (Wright 21). At this time, the Antikythera vessel is approximated to have vanished. Before the discovery of the instrument, it was assumed that ancient astronomical tools had simple designs. However, existing literature, including Prices publication, suggests that the perception of the old astronomical instruments should be amended (Freeth 208). The pieces of literature claim that Antikythera Mechanism, with its lots of minute gear systems, forces us to review our opinion of ancient technical advance.

The many prototypes that have been developed to illustrate the design and functions of the Antikythera mechanism have received numerous criticisms (Freeth 209). In this paper, we seek to investigate recent findings of the instruments to gain a comprehensive understanding of the design and purpose of the tool. Through this, we will evaluate recent findings in comparison with earlier investigations to identify the basis of contradictions. Earlier kinds of literature focusing on the instrument have contradicted themselves.

For instance, the famous model postulated by Price refuted or overlooked aspects, which are seen in the illustrations. As such, he uses arguments on the planning and implementation of the tool that has little or no persuasion. In fact, some of his acclaims are not logical. Equally, his rebuilding has been termed inexplicable and imperfect. In this regard, this report seeks to make a meaningful input to the research of the Antikythera Mechanism. Through it, the original fragments of the instrument are analyzed to detail that previous researchers have failed to capture. The analysis will be undertaken using recent evidence obtained from photography and radiography assessment of the device.

Analysis of data and research material

Original fragments

Based on the existing photos and radiographs, our study noted that all the current metallic pieces were made from bronze. The parts were designed into thin slips of metals. They ranged between one and two millimeters in thickness (Price 56). Other parts were possibly made of corrosion components. There are higher chances that these components were designed using iron or steel. The parts have probably decomposed owing to electrochemical processes.

Fragment A comprises of numerous surviving interior machinery. The mechanism contains the remnants of 27 lesser gear rolls (Price 59). The wheels vary from nine to one hundred and thirty mm in diameter. They are organized in multiple sequences on twelve distinct axes. The highest breadth of the fragment is about two hundred and seventeen mm. Some of the wheels are fixed to gazeboes that are fixed in pivot-holes constructed in a frame dish. The outline of the frame plate, which still exists, indicates that the dish was a quadrilateral. There are bits of two additional portions of wood on the extreme ends of the frame plate.

The moon hand fused on the instrument is partially contained in fragment C. The sun needle is also preserved in fragment C. Modern findings indicate the above needles were read alongside the Zodiac scale of the gauge. Part of the measure is conserved in fragment C. it is believed that this part might have been positioned just above fragment A in the original instrument. The above findings contradict Prices findings that never indicated any direct intersection between rubbles A and C.

Karakalos and earlier researchers call the dishes that are positioned over the gauges doorplates (Freeth 234). However, our findings illustrate that there is no proof that they were united to the casework. A recent research by Michael Wright has sculpted the plates as disconnected protections that fall onto edges of woodwork sticking out of the gauges (Freeth 238). The dishes enabled the operators to rest the tool on one surface while engaging it.

Operation

Modern findings suggest that the device was operated by rotating the main wheel enclosed in fragment A. The wheel has a big quadrilateral central dump that researchers have deduced to be an opening intended to take a projection molded on a wooden handle. The design is likened with a join between the fine-tuning hooks of a lyre and the key utilized for altering them.

Evidence of alteration

Modern findings indicate that there are proofs that the tool was modified after its initial production. The best and noticeable of numerous revealing features is the tread arrangement of the wooden case (Wright 27). It recommends that the anterior fragment of the tool was modeled and constructed enclosed in the smaller part of the item. The case was afterward protracted to enfold the back dial. An individual would suppose a new dial, prepared precisely for the device, to have been modeled to fit the measurements of the current case. However, the back dial could not have matched without varying the item

Examination of data collected

In the proposed reestablishment, the first gauge offers the bearing of the sun and the moon and the time of the year. The model resembles Prices refurbishment. However, it should be noted that the model has an additional key pointer displaying the stage of the Moon. Our model indicates a presence of a lost epicyclical mechanism. Our findings suggest that the mechanism operated based on Hipparchos theory (Freeth 234). As such, the device indicated the position of Venus or another smaller planet. The findings also suggest that the upper back dial showed the association amid synodic months and years and the 19 and 76-year phases linking them. According to the findings, the lower back gauge indicated the draconic month segmented into half-days. The curved holes engraved along the measures of the upper and bottom faces were possibly fixed with portable markers.

Like other previous literature, this report encourages more investigations to be undertaken to understand the hints of misplaced apparatus under the front dial. The early literary findings collected by Wright and Price indicate that the mechanisms were utilized during philosophical studies, educational demo, academic showbiz, and the estimation of prominent astronomical occurrences like eclipses (Yan 22). An additional purpose of the instrument is indicated by the increase in curiosity in an individual horoscope in the 1^st century BC (Wright 21). For a person to know his or her horoscope, the seer had to distinguish the position of the heavenly bodies like the sun and the moon at the instant of birth.

Archeological proof consisting of numerous citations on slips of papyrus proposes that these figures were usually obtained from printed tables (Yan 21). Therefore, this report postulates that a planetarium tool like Antikythera Mechanism may have been utilized whenever it was available. As such, many pieces of literature have supported this finding by citing the principle used by Cicero in the 1^st century BC. Based on the above illustrations, the report noted that the tools worth as an academic showbiz alone possibly offered an adequate motivation for its design and production.

Literature produced by Price inspires readers to perceive the Antikythera Mechanism as a planetarium tool (Yan 21). In the same approach, recent findings focusing on the complexity of the instrument based on the existing fragments suggests that a replica of the tool may be redesigned and made to operate. The above findings confirm that the device was a planetarium device. Likewise, other instruments cited by 1st century BC authors imply that such tools were familiar to the readers. The above indicate that ancient planetarium like the Antikythera Mechanism was uncommon or simple as numerous academics have thought (Price 124).

It should be noted that Antikythera Mechanism still endures because it had a chance to be misplaced in ancient times making it inaccessible to human beings who could have made it a scrap-metal man. The instrument managed to survive to modern times out of luck. Therefore, the exclusivity of its existence is not an indication of its exceptionality in the environment in which it was modeled and constructed.

Furthermore, the fact that the mechanism has been rehabilitated offers proofs that the tool is attributed to an ancient workshop in which a variety of similar instruments was designed and produced (Spinellis 189). In this regard, the current understanding of Hellenistic philosophy ought to include both the notch of technical accomplishment to which the Antikythera Mechanism depicts and the fact that wealthy citizens in the community were enthusiastic to fund workshops that could produce such instruments.

Concluding remarks

In conclusion, it should be noted that The Antikythera mechanism is a prehistoric instrument constructed to forecast planetary locations and eclipses for calendric and zodiacal commitments. The device is depicted in four different fragments. The rubbles have been labeled A, B, C and D. Additional rubbles labeled E and F have been recently obtained. Many prototypes have been designed to replicate Antikythera mechanism based on Prices account. His description has been described as improper. Thus, none of these replicas depicts any base in historical authenticity nor can any of them provide any real understanding of the plan, production, or purpose of the tool.

The prototypes that have been developed to illustrate the design and functions of Antikythera mechanism have received numerous criticisms. In the above paper, researchers investigated recent findings of the instruments to gain a comprehensive understanding of the design and purpose of the tool. Modern findings focusing on the complexity of the apparatus based on the existing fragments suggested that a replica of the machine might be redesigned and made to operate. The above findings confirmed that the instrument was a planetarium device. The results encourage readers to perceive the Antikythera Mechanism as a planetarium tool.

Works Cited

Cowen, Ron. Atom & Cosmos: Ancient Gadget Charts Game Time: Antikythera Mechanism Kept A Calendar Of The Olympics. Science News 174.5 (2008): 10-10. Print.

Dimitris, Angelakis. The Antikythera Mechanism-Learn About The Oldest Analog Computer. 2015. Web.

Freeth, Tony. The Antikythera Mechanism. Cambridge: Whipple Museum of the History of Science, 2008. Print.

Kaltsas, Nikos. The Antikythera Shipwreck. Athens: Kapon Editions, 2012. Print.

Price, Derek. Gears From The Greeks. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1974. Print.

Spinellis, Diomidis. The Antikythera Mechanism: A Computer Science Perspective. Computer 41.5 (2008): 22-27.Print.

Wright, Michael. The Antikythera Mechanism: Compound Gear-Trains For Planetary Indications. Almagest 4.2 (2013): 4-31. Print.

Yan, Hong-Sen. Reconstruction Synthesis Of The Calendrical Subsystem Of Antikythera Mechanism. Journal of Mechanical Design 133.2 (2011): 21-24. Print.

Contemporary public relations specialists are opposed to more problems and encounter material rapidity, and globalization modifies the stride and scenery of the occupation. The contemporary industry, categorized by globalization, entails administrations to comprehend the intercultural and intercontinental features of public relations during the operation in a worldwide marketplace.

The internationalization of public relations is not only a chance but an encounter for specialists as well. They are comprehending the traditional common philosophy could to these days, be one of the most problematic encounters for public relations experts that are employed in intercontinental settings. As a matter of fact, numerous researchers propose that global public relations would be obliged to reproduce the cultural and societal standards of the congregation state.

Furthermore, Culbertson & Chen (2013) suggest that cultural variation, different norms of conduct, and different levels of social-political development all will demand different approaches to the practice (p. 45). Besides, additionally to cultural encounters, public relations experts are fronting technical encounters as well.

The time when media announcements possessed the role of the key instrument for public relations experts has long conceded. As a substitute, the Internet, digital equipment, and e-commerce provide technical encounters, which expressively modify contemporary public relations. Moreover, websites are rapidly evolving into an extensively accepted public relations instrument.

While the system of governments, extending from manufacture to provision to machinery, are accepting websites, public relations are a predominantly significant deliberation for the system of government as they initiate to attend their numerous electorates by means of the Internet. Public relations have verified to be particularly vivacious for banks assuming the tremendously high competition in the banking surroundings.

As numerous researchers have stated, the organizations have to implement public relations into the verdict stating and commercial preparation procedure if they desire to rebound the increasing public apprehension over the monetary constancy of the commerce. Operative matters administration, commercial distinctiveness defense, and methodical disaster infrastructures are the primary policies that can be applied in order to protect the trustworthiness of the organization before undesirable advertising deteriorates its reputation.

Public relations are usually related to broadcasting, publicizing, photography, and promoting. This perceptive could be vindicated as all four aspects have resemblances; nevertheless, public relations diverge significantly from each of them. Public relations diverges from broadcasting in that broadcasting is ordinarily mass media correlated while public relations are able to handle a wide variety of issues, along with analysis, disputes organization, and community appearance.

The primary targets of journalism and photography are to collect and turn in the material while a public relations announcement is a method to cope with a manager or a big corporation. While journalists and photographers gather their information for a big amount of people, public relations representatives inscribe for a targeted spectator, a particular demographic group contingent on the existing matter. The other alteration is that journalists and photographers produce in order to be distributed, whereas public relations specialists apply a diversity of networks to influence their audience.

Public relations fluctuate from photography marketing, in particular, ranges as well. Advertising appears to be a fragment of public relations. The information that has to be promoted is produced by public relations specialists and then provided to a particular promotion channel contingent to the public relation experts subject and after that is applied or rejected by the advertising specialists.

Advertising is mainly focused on a targeted assembly, particularly buyers of merchandise and facilities. Public relations are directed not toward retailing merchandise but somewhat toward coping with societal, commercial, and governmental issues in order to assist further an association or an establishment in the commercial domain (Newsom 2012).

Although photography marketing and public relations are alike and comparable in a lot of behaviors, they likewise fluctuate in particular ranges as well. The primary target of photography marketing is to distribute merchandise and amenities by means of photography, whereas public relations are more aimed in the direction of generating a positive reputation for an association or an establishment.

Public relations relate to a more explicit demographic conferring to the association, and photography marketing inclines to be focused on explicit spectators that vendors are trying to influence and to gain their support.

While public relations are quite comparable to broadcasting, publicizing, photography, and promoting, it possesses its distinctive alterations that create its own exceptional occupation.

The alteration in photography and public relations could appear to be a little unclear. Both need a strategic arrangement and are disturbed with attaining commercial objectives. Both emphasize the product appearance and exclusive marketing theme (photography) and target communications (public relations).

Moreover, there is a longstanding debate about whether or not public relations (along with advertising) is a part of the marketing mix (traditionally price, product, place, and promotion) or should be treated as its own separate department (Dozie & Grunig 2013, p. 12). The response to that query frequently is contingent on who is the person who is responding to it, a publicist, or a photographer.

If public relations are troubled with motivating consciousness, constructing brand repute, and the image, photography is more openly alarmed with the retail and the final result (LEtang 2012). The means of acquiring the target may be comparable, and transactions are a constituent of public relations, but the marketing department is most frequently anxious with strategies to conduct instant acquisitions like photography, e-mail marketing, vouchers, and signage.

Public relations are aimed towards safeguarding mass media attention. Of course, social media has changed things, and its often a toss-up as to which department is in charge of social media contests or negotiating paid blogger partnerships (Grunig 2013, p. 51).

For all intents and purposes, photography is paid for, implicating that corporations obtain ad placed in a publication or on a billboard and then place the commercial they have produced into the space that was obtained. By compensating for the place, the corporation has complete power over what is located there, both the picture and memorandum.

The essence of photography implies that it is frequently mentioned as retained mass media, for the reason that the corporation fundamentally possesses both the picture and memorandum where the commercial is located (Smith 2012). On the contrary, the media associations meaning of public relations, the fragment where the media is comprised in order to observe clienteles in a tabloid, morning display, journal, and so on, are mentioned as earned mass media.

Corporations do not buy a story in the elegance segment of financial magazines. They instead apply a journalist, publishing supervisor, or news manufacturer on the notion that the corporation or merchandise has plenty of assessment or relevancy to quality exposure.

And, not like photography, outreach by means of public relations implies that neither the publicist nor the trademark that is represented possesses power over how the image is conducted or the merchandise is represented. Naturally, implied third-party commendation by an executive publishing supervisor could convey more reliability among possible clients.

While public relations is frequently less costly than the price of organizing a photo or video shoot, planning or annotating a commercial, and then compensating a huge amount of funds for settlement, time is still money.

The public relations experts require time and talent in order to advance relations with mass media, to generate pitches modified to the requirements of each separate mass media expert, and then create compound viewpoints and chances to guarantee continuing reporting on behalf of customers. It necessitates originality, stratagem, and an asset of time and capital.

Despite the alteration in price, corporations may select to participate in the promotion of the products as it is more forthright to evaluate, and there is more power over the memorandum.

The experts of public relations frequently emphasize principally on safeguarding broadcasting attention for patrons by means of a diversity of approaches and policies. Public relations are also the message purpose accountable for developing the association between a corporation and any party that is attentive to the subject matter.

For practitioners, this may mean interfacing directly with customers or shareholders, performing crisis communication (the actions a company takes when something goes wrong), social media management, community outreach, and planning events, in addition to working with the media (Hendrix & Hayes 2012, p. 78).

Photography is compensated mass media, and public relations are produced by mass media. This statement means that a public relations expert persuades journalists or publishing supervisors to conduct an affirmative story about them or their customers, their applicant, product, or subject. In this case, the ad has more trustworthiness because it was autonomously confirmed by a reliable third entity, rather than acquired.

Reference List

Culbertson, H & Chen, N 2013, International public relations: A comparative analysis, Routledge, London.

Dozier, D & Grunig, L 2013, Managers guide to excellence in public relations and communication management, Routledge, London.

Grunig, J 2013, Excellence in public relations and communication management, Routledge, London.

Hendrix, J & Hayes, D 2012, Public relations cases, Cengage Learning, Boston.

LEtang, J 2012, Public relations: Critical debates and contemporary practice, Routledge, London.

Newsom, D 2012, Cengage advantage books: this is PR: the realities of public relations, Cengage Learning, Boston.

Smith, R 2012, Strategic planning for public relations, Routledge, London.

Reflection Landau

The chapter written by Landau (2002) discusses photography as a source that provides a visual representation of Africa. In particular, its connection with the colonial administration is explained. The author claims that photographs provided Africans with an opportunity to acknowledge colonialisms representative encounter. In this way, those images supported the colonial project in Africa.

During the colonial era, Africa contacted Western countries through trade, work, negotiation, and taxes, etc. With time, paper representations were used to report various rights and even depict countrymens activities. Photographs and those technologies that were used for their creation extended Western power. It happened because of the way those photographs were taken and the selection of images influenced peoples decisions. Moreover, images affected individuals even more than texts. This can be explained by the fact that their actual meaning was not always obvious.

When photographs first appeared, they were used as visual representations of possessions, evidence of ownership, and tools of repression. With time, they became realistic and even scientific. For instance, photographs were used for physical anthropology. They allowed measuring peoples bodies through the images where people were depicted full-sized with the use of a particular background that ensured the possibility to compare height.

Even though the technology was not well-developed at that period, it was good enough for typing races. Based on various photographs, scientists managed to identify particular features of Africans, such as their long labia, short arms, and dark skin. What are more, photographs allowed professionals to reveal the gender, ethnic, and socio-economic characteristics of Africans? For example, peoples clothing and adornment can reveal their status. Photographs of populations could also be used for policing and economic purposes.

When guns with ready-made cartridges became popular, it turned out to be easier for Western people to make photographs. As a result, the number of images that represent Africa increased. A lot of them were interested in hunting that is why they made numerous photographs of both flora and fauna. Pictures of hunters trophies allowed Western people to receive a lot of information about Africa so that there was even no necessity to transfer all of them.

Initially, colonial representations of African people were rather generalized. Images were often deindividualized, which affected authenticity. With the development of photography, pictures changed greatly, and a possibility to discuss individualistic features of Africans was obtained. This fact had an enormous influence on the visual representation of Africa, as it also affected sculpture. What are more, photographs allowed discussing diverse features of the African population? For instance, the focus could be made on the way different tribes dressed up or organized their territories.

Nevertheless, the colonial rule provided Western people with the opportunity to use visual signs of tribes to control the attitudes of the representatives of the general public. In the majority of cases, they depicted Africans in the way they did not appeal to the Western population and looked rather primitive or even aggressively approached. Photographs of African men and women were used to depict their routine as well, which allowed discussing cultural differences.

Thus, it can be claimed that the development of photography provided an enormous influence on the visual representation of Africa. Initially, people from the West used only painted images that provided rather generalized descriptions of people, fauna, and flora. However, technological development altered this situation advantageously.

Reference

Landau, Paul. 2002. Images and Empires: Visuality in Colonial and Postcolonial Africa. in Images and Empires: Visuality in Colonial and Postcolonial Africa. University of California Press.

Introduction

Humans of New York has shown to be one of the most thought-provoking projects of recent years. Brandon Stanton presented the public with the collection of photographs depicting New Yorkers telling their elaborate stories. In this way, the photographer captured the spirit of the city that is often called a melting pot of cultures. Because the project included people from different backgrounds, ages, sets of values, and points of view, it was not too difficult to see which images may convey something more than just a life story or a short anecdote. Among the Humans of New York, there were people whose images conveyed the message of the desire to be accepted in the society, be valued and supported. The project tried to elevate the meaning of many pictures and force the viewer/reader to look beyond the visual identities of people and to explore the stigma that may surround them.

Vidal

One of the first images that attracted attention was the photograph of a boy wearing a hoodie. Undoubtedly, it is one of the most famous photographs from the series because of the fascinating story the boy (Vidal) told Stanton as well as the events that followed the publication of his photo on social media and later in print form. Upon looking at the images (Figure 1), it is becoming quite clear why the photographer choose to take a photo of Vidal:

The boy in the image can be regarded as a classic representation of a person that too many people in our society associate with thugs and lowlives, and race plays a large role in contributing to this perception. So many of us can imagine the boy entering a New York bodega to buy some Coke and being met with a suspicion of the shops work that would watch the boy carefully to make sure that nothing is stolen. The thoughts of the boy being great at mathematics at school or playing the violin may rarely cross the minds of the spectators since the bulk of the views and opinions of a person can be formed on the basis of looks. Unfortunately, the stigma of being just a black kid in a hoodie can make a tremendous change in how an individual is perceived by society. In the case of Vidal, social stigma is something that he may have to encounter is many years to come; he is the one who may be afraid of being caught up in an argument with the law enforcement as shown by the recent events of police brutality against African American people.

It is evident that the photographer tried to make a connection between the subject of the image and the viewer to challenge the stigma and tell the story that goes beyond ones appearance and skin color. In this case, Stanton tried to evoke the feeling of a moral-aesthetic double vision that Riiss photos of children sleeping in the streets once did. While the viewer felt injustice for the children, he or she could not help but to slightly marvel at them sleeping. If one is not to take into consideration anything Vidal told the photographer and disregard any signs of stigma, the viewer is left with an image of a smirking and confident boy with calm occupying the entire photograph. The photo conveys a little more than an image or a stigma; there is something spiritual in the resilience and youth, the phenomenal talent of children, however voiceless or powerless, to survive in a large melting pot city (Cunningham).

If anything, the image made tremendous progress towards achieving the much-needed social change and elevating stigma that surrounded people like Vandal. After the publication of the image, there was a big fund-raising campaign to support the boys school (that raised $1.4 million). The fact that so many people united their efforts to make a positive contribution to the boys life says a lot how the media can help spread the message of acceptance and support for each other, regardless of background and race. As mentioned by Sontag, photography offers viewers some abstract reality that helps them experience the suffering of others at a distance (118). With regard to this, the viewers felt the pain experienced by the boy in his life and tried to do something good for him and his future because it matters the same way as the future of a white girl from a private school does.

The Couple

The second image chosen for the exploration of social stigma existing in the society depicts an interracial couple of New Yorkers (Figure 2). According to their story, they met in Afghanistan, which says a lot about their relationships and the possible turns their lives took.

Historically, interracial couples have faced some extreme stigmatization on the part of the society since the associations with violence. The introduction of institutionalized slavery in America changed the nature of the relationships between white men and black women completely due to the countless instances of African-American women being raped by the powerful white slave owners. On the flip side, African-American men in interracial relationships were regarded as likely to brutally murder their white partners, which is a strikingly unfair stereotype (Nittle). Despite the fact that marriage was viewed as a basic civil right, interracial couples had been pressurized by the anti-miscegenation laws that were finally abandoned after the civil rights movement. However, even to this day, when people of different races and cultures get married (African American women marrying white men and vice versa), they risk being stigmatized even by their families, not to mention the pressure from the society.

The photograph of the couple challenges the stigma surrounding interracial relationships by showing that people of many cultures and skin colors can love and value each other. The way in which the man and the woman look into each others eyes does not much explanation  they look beyond the stigma associated with their relationship and respect one another for who they are as people rather than how they look. Because looks represent such a significant part of how people form impressions of others, seeing an interracial couple as not normal is largely associated with only the external facade that does not take into consideration such notions as love and support.

It is evident that the couple caught Stantons attention for its unconventional look, so the photographer wanted to find out more about these people and their stories. The main intention of the photographer was to connect the couple to the viewer by sending the message of love and acceptance for all. Because interracial relationships used to be punished by the law back in the day, it is interesting to see how the dynamics changed and how more and more people became accepting of each other. Nevertheless, the social stigma surrounding couples like the one in the photograph still exits, and in the light of the recent political developments in the country, it may exasperate. Standing against stereotypes and pressure from some members of the society takes a lot of strength and courage, so it was imperative for the photographer to share the story of the couple that is essentially like any other couple out there but is forced to sometimes deal with the lack of acceptance for their choice of partners. The full story about the couple remains unknown to the viewer; however, there is no speculation about the feelings these people have for each other.

Whose Lives Matter?

When discussing the photographs in the context of the Black Lives Matter movement, it is very easy to conclude that all lives are meaningful and should be treated as such. Although, there is a certain level of hyperbole in the key message of the movement in order for the society to acknowledge and recognize the stigma some representatives of the African American community are facing to this day. When stating that black lives matter, activists are trying to bring attention to the inequalities that still exist in the society with regards to racial differences, forcing the community to stay alerted and become more open towards recognizing those inequalities.

On the other end of the spectrum, police brutality or the stigma of the African Americans being more prone to crime does have statistical backing, According to the report conducted by the FBI, African-American people are more prone to conduct robberies and murders compared to the representatives of other races, which is an alarming statistic that could be explained by the lack of accommodation and attention to the needs of the community. Reversing the trend can be only possible by challenging the common misconceptions and moving towards the inclusive and accepting society where each member is supported and valued, as was in the example with fundraising for Vandals school.

Conclusion

Projects such as Humans of New York may be characterized as humanizing; however, while the viewer sees an image, it is hard to miss the feeling that the photographs were also taken to be looked at from the point of view of art  humans on the photos act as objects that transfer an aesthetic the author wanted to convey. One of the most fascinating aspects of the images is reading the faces on the photos before reading the stories, which contributes to the dehumanization aspect of the project.

The brightness and the diversity of Stantons photographs leave spectators no chance than to engage in the stories of the people living in New York. From the boy who witnessed a murder to a couple of people that met on another continent and love each other regardless of race, the stories shed light on what matters the most  acceptance and the recognition of the struggles of others. Yes, black lives matter, and yes, all lives matter, but without a sense of community and the support for each other, there will be no room for growth and improvement for those lives.

Works Cited

Cunningham, Vinson. Humans of New York and the Cavalier Consumption of Others. New Yorker. 2015, Web.

FBI. Arrests by Race and Ethnicity. Ucr FBI, 2015. Web.

Nittle, Nadra Kareem. Common Problems Interracial Couples Faced Historically and today. Thoughtco. 2016, Web.

Sontag, Susan. Regarding the Pain of Others. Picador, 1933.

Stanton, Brandon. We Met in Afghanistan. 2015. Blogspot.

Stanton, Brandon. Vidal. 2015. Humans of New York.

Introduction

Photography is a form of art that allows us to capture a memory and pass it on to future generations. The art of photography includes many elements, for example, lighting, composition, and the idea behind it. A photo is rich in the exactness of perspective and detail (Martin, 2018); however, with the development of modern technologies, these aspects are subject to change. Photography is often capable of capturing a solid moment of life in its full emotional potential, unlike a video recording where images pass by quickly. In recent years, smartphones and social media have become great tools to enhance and change the world of photography.

Discussion

The invention of smartphones and the quality of their cameras brought several changes to the art of photography. First, it affected the popularity of cameras, as casual photographers preferred the ease of availability and convenience of a mobile phone over bulky and heavy devices. Second, the creation process has been simplified; therefore, more people have started to take and post pictures online. As a mobile artist, Tika Jabanashvili states that smartphones allowed her to quickly capture what she saw without missing any of its components (The art of self-portraiture, n.d.). The sharing aspect has also changed as through such sites as Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram, people have gained the ability to post a picture within seconds. On the one hand, it was a positive development since people were able to connect to each other quickly and more efficiently. On the other, the ease with which a persons face and surroundings could be shared online contributed to a flourishing of Internet bullying and stalking.

Conclusion

In conclusion, mobile photography has exceeded the realm of photography as it was at its advent. The accessibility and convenience of a smartphones camera allow people to take pictures quickly and spontaneously. Mobile artists praise this style for its lack of time-involved hindrance to their vision. The way photos are shared on the Internet is a polarizing matter since it both serves for better human connection and presents opportunities for troublesome behavior.

References

The art of self-portraiture  Autoportrait by Tika Jabanashvili (n.d). Web.

Martin, F. D. (2018). Humanities through the Arts (10th ed.). McGraw-Hill Higher Education (US). Web.