Title

Think of a title for my piece was a challenge. I really wanted to sum up my photographic essay in a clever compact. Whilst discussing Dijck's 'culture of connectivity' in class we were talking about the technical name for this generation which is 'Generation Z' we talked about how it could be said to stand for Zombie- I might play with this concept in my title. 

Individual photographs will probably be more intricate in relation to the factors which change across the essay. I would like to incorporate some kind of social media related jargon and play with the concept of constantly waiting for '.... liked your profile picture' '.....shared your post' '....added you as a friend' etc   

Circulation and authorship of the image

Who owns the authorship of an image?

Some artists use the work of others to create their own for example (agdhf) and her use of flickr images to create a larger image. So who is actually the 'author' of said image??

Is this ethical? For some artists to take credit for other artists work? Interesting the learn that it should be considered acceptable for an artist to use the work of others if they use it in a different and new way, making it something different and new - making the seond artist in the process the author because they are the creator of the new work.

Interesting to know I could incorporate the work of another into my own. 

Cultural, imaginaries and landscapes

Editing landscape photography has produced some very visually pleasing and interesting outcomes. This kind of manipulation can make comments and communicate messages with the audience of the photographs. It might represent a different side to the same reality. These products can be very powerful in their symbolism and narrative. The concept of cultural imaginaries combined alongside landscape photography is a very interesting topic. It is unlikely that I will look further into this though as my main interest lies in portrait photography but this idea is appealing.

Analog to digital: Indexical Function of photographic images

analog photography has often been referred to as a reflection of reality because it uses the natural bouncing of light into the camera. In contrast digital technology uses coding to create image.

The reading talks and questions whether an image existing in a digital newspaper is less reliable or 'real' than one printed in a physical newspaper. This is a concept I find interesting. Is an image less real if it only exists in digital form?

Does the ability to enhance and manipulate digital image make it less real. This is one reason why some consider analog photography to be a better representation of real life. But in my opinion it is down to personal experience and presentation which reflects in image- digital or analog. Every version of reality is someones 'real' experience.


I don't think that whether a picture was created using analog or digital photography can determine whether a photo is real or not.

Project development

Thinking in depth about the composition of my photographs, I have planned certain aspect which I will intend to make consistent through my photographic essay.


Coloured image:
 Initially I considered making all my photographs black and white, to draw the attention of my audience to the most important element of the photographs, the person and the technology. But I feel that coloured image would be more appropriate in helping me to depict to my viewers aspect such as historical context, social context and to present environmental and situational components such as what the subject is doing? where is she?


Framing:
I want my framing to be consistent throughout my photographic essay, I did want to experiment with close up shots but I think it will be a lot more effective and have much more appeal as a narrative essay if all the shots are consistent in how they capture the subject, from the same slight high angle and a mid shot showing the subject and her surroundings without being a long shot. I want to use the surroundings as the punctum element of my work, making the photos interesting to the audience.

Composition:
I want to compose my photos in a way that it can be seen that my subject is aware of the photographs being taken but there is no direct address made between the subject and the viewer. I do not intend to break the fourth wall in my work

Thinking photography - Burgin

Does photography impose a point of view?

Photography has a way of showing us elements of the photographer. Portraying messages through their eyes, through their viewpoints, often presenting a very specific point - allowing audience to see this in the same way as the photographer did/does. Framing and composition of image plays a huge part in this.

Burgin makes it clear how important ideologies are, so that they can be reinforced or subverted by the photographer. Therefore making social, political, economical etc statements through image. The same concept might be captured and presented by different photographers in different ways therefore showcasing different viewpoints the same subject at the same point in time could be captured from conflicting viewpoints and this may result in influencing the audience in different ways.  

This reading was very helpful in highlighting the power of the photograph and how it represents the photographer and his or her viewpoints in many ways. It is interesting because it takes a set of coding to create an image but it must also be decoded by the audience on the other end. This is something I will consider when composing my images what kind of stance I am taking towards ideologies set and how I am constructing a view point.

Technology, youth and photography research

Whilst researching the concept of youth and technology to gain more insight into my theme, I came across a project which is similar to mine in many ways.

Sebastian Kainey from Australia created a photographic project which also explores modern technologies ability to isolate western youths and develop a strong dependency on electrics and social networking.