CONNECTION TO HUMANITIES
OBSERVATION
I chose photography because of the possibilities it offers to humanity. They are absolutely endless and photographers with an artistic eye can manipulate and use this medium in countless ways to benefit humanity. The fact that you can freeze moments in time and share them with other cultures and peoples fascinates me. The light-tight box that allows film to be imprinted when exposed and developed and made into a timeless work of art and documentation. Throughout history photographers have used film to expose scandals, document historical events, show the tragic conditions of cultures and practices, documented types of animals, been used in school for educational purposes, labeled criminals, and many other things. For example, photos of Vietnam are extremely shocking and moving, showing the true ugliness of war. I saw a photo of the exact moment when a Vietkong was executed and it affected me to my core, a life changing photo.
INTERPRETATION
My choice is about the preservation of humanity and everything that entails. We are diverse, complicated yet simple, constantly changing, thus in desperate need of photography in order to capture and preserve all aspects of humanity that would otherwise be lost in the abyss such as photographs of the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge, the great fires in San Francisco in 1906, as well as family history.
JUDGMENT
I am currently enrolled in a beginning photography class and have been reading up on the subject thus I have been discovering a great deal of new information that has blown my mind. I think that without photography people would have trouble relating with one another, learning anything new, documenting historical events, and everything in between. Imagine a life without any photos whatsoever, only drawings. Nothing would be accurate, people would have different perceptions of everything as there would be no universal representation, no photo albums, no photos in newspapers, no family photos, no criminal documentations, no photos of hotels and vacation resorts, no documenting of wars or historical events. Life would be nothing like it is today. I feel that photography is one of the most important inventions in the entire history of the earth and has drastically altered our culture for the better.
QUESTIONING
I am learning darkroom techniques, such as how to mix the chemicals and whatnot, but I would like to know more about the initial invention, the early implementation of photography and how it has developed over time.
CLASSMATES WORK
I learned from Kendra that the Museum of Natural History in Los Angeles "...houses more that 35 million specimens and artifacts covering 4.5 billion years of history." This is absolutely astounding to me that we can even collect 4.5 billion years of history let alone collect it and place it in a museum. After reading about the museum from Kendra's blog I would very much like to go and visit the museum. I remember going to a Natural History museum as a kid and loving it. I also loved the movie "We're Back" which dealt with a similar topic and took an Anthropology class last semester and was pleasantly surprised when I actually was interested by the history of human beings. It is related to our class as it contains history of humanity and our development. Historically and culturally this museum is connected to all of humanity, not just one culture, yet has elements of particular cultures.
http://kendra-human7spring09.blogspot.com/2009/02/2b-natural-history-museum-of-los.html
