Sontag reaction

   Sontag says that photography is "A way of certifying experience......also a way of refusing it." I understood this statement. She used the example of a tourists photographing themselves by something that they've seen, but just because they have seen it, does not mean that they have experienced. To any one that looks at a photo of a person by some beautiful monument, he or she would believe that this person experienced this place inside and out. A person would think that the person in the photo could any questions about the building and know more. I feel like Sontag was trying to show how photos can be deceiving to a person who looks at a photo. I agree with Sontag, I believe that photos can be deceiving to the person viewing it. They only tell a part of the story, they don't tell the entire story. It is definitely a difference between someone just snapping a photo in front of a beautiful building than someone going inside the building and learning about the construction and when and how it was built. It's easy to snap a picture and move on to the next place.
  Sontag also said that photography is "momento mori". I believe that she said this to tell about how photos can capture a person at that moment but as time passes they can look back and see how they change. If nyou take a picture of someone at a young age, and then they take a picture after they begin to get older, it reminds that person that you will not live forever. I believe she is trying to say that people can become more aware of life when they see old pictures that they could have remembered like it was yesterday. Time can go fast to a person but nobody really thinks about it until they see an old photo. I agree with this statement because I've seen photos that I remember exactly what I was doing that day and I realize how much time has really passed. I know that it is the same way for people who are in their 40s and look back at a photo of them in their 20s and think about how things have changed. Sometimes its a sad thing for people to do.

     This is my 8 year old niece Ayana. She is the youngest of five and she is the only the only girl. Even though she is the smallest person in the house, she is, by far, the most dominant. She gets what she wants from any and everyone in the house. She definitely knows how to get her way. I chose her as my subject because everyone outside of the home thinks of her as an angel. She is an honor roll student and has been all through school, but at home, it's an entirely different story. Her brothers know better than that angel that everyone else sees.
     I went to the house to watch my niece in action. I attempted to catch her in all of her dominant actions. In all of the photos, she showed some sort of dominance over everyone in the house, even the dogs! It's just so funny that she is actually small for her age but she has the power that she has. Although I spend around a lot of time with my niece and nephews, I never realized how much she shows her dominance over everyone. I've watched her grow and watched her slowly take advantage of her brothers in the slickest ways.
     It was interesting that it only took me a couple of hours to catch fifty plus pictures of her is her moments of dominance. I didn't think it would be that easy. I guess she is a dominant person all day, she is not afraid to show it. She is a smart and fiesty all at the same time. She does show her dominance in school because it is hard for anyone to tell her no. It would be hard to deny a person that does any and everything and even more than what she is asked, it is just considered a reward to the teachers.

      I did my series of photos at my house. I decided to do my home because it has such a major impact on what I do in my everyday life. My goal was to show how things are in my home. I could use so many different words to describe it, but the two word that best describes it is BIG and ACTIVE! All of my photos show a sense of business in my house, even the more calming photos seem busy in some way or another. Some people see my home as chaotic, but to us, its just busy. There are only two people that actually live in the house, but with my family constantly running in and out, there seems like many more than that. A minor theme I wanted to capture was how close of a family we are. We spend a lot of time together even though there are many age differences, we are extremely close. Even though it is extremely busy, it is the true definition of a 'home'.
      The photos I captured were random things around my house, They captured not just me but the lives of my family. Once I actually started capturing photos, it made me look differently at my house as a whole. I had never before thought of it being 'busy', I thought of it as a place of relaxation. I guess to a person on the outside, they would feel like relaxation doesn't exist or is in a way transparent in my home, literally!  I definitely didn't think the items in my home are as active and busy as everyone that is there. The photos capture that contradiction in how I see my home and how it really is. I hadn't noticed the connection between our lives and the environment and how strong and accurate it really is. There also many photos that symbolize how my family can be close and calm even though there are so many of us.
     The main thing that this helped me to do is see my house like outsiders see it. It helped me to understand what it is that they see and how they come to the conclusions they come to after being to my home. Everyone that ever comes over always leave feeling comfortable and relaxed. They never feel like they are left out or the odd balls in the house. One thing for sure, if you come to my house, you have to do something, there is no sitting still!

Assignment 3

     One photo that stood out to me from Mr. Sprang's gallery was a photo taken of the people that were protesting at the inauguration of President Nixon. All of the photos were amazing but the one that stood out the most to me was a photo of a group of people, some of them had their hands on another's shoulder, some just standing around. This photo stood out to me because I felt like it had a lot of meaning to it. I loved the how the people showed the unity by standing together.
     This photo stood out to me because there seemed like there was so many different emotions in the photo. There were people with looks of disgust, there were looks of worry, there were intense looks. I could tell that there was so many different emotions and it was intruiging. The photo spoke so loudly when I saw it. I could only imagine how serious and intense this atmosphere could have been at this time. That is just one of those times where you have to be there to have experienced the feeling.
    I would love to know how the atmosphere was at this time. I would like to know how serious the people were there and how long they were out there? I wonder what the people were like while they stood out there? I absolutely LOVE this photo!