Sunday, December 12, 2010

Final Photo Slide Show Pre-Editing.

DOF 3







DOF- Last and Post 3

In some recent feedback, it was brought to my attention that there is no fluidity in my blog and I would like you all to see what I do, “Nutshell” it for you for lack of a better term.  I am a woman in a free country, a country that is free because of the sacrifices of many selfless men and women; I can be employed equally thanks to Title VII of the Civil Rights act of 1964. (HeinOnline.org)  If I were in many other countries on this planet I would be persecuted for many things, one of which is being a woman. Afghanistan, Africa, China just to name a few. I am white, I am outspoken, and I believe firmly and firmly on many topics that most people don’t want to talk about sex, religion, politics & race. “1 in 3 women will be beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime. In some countries, this statistic represents as much as 70% of the female population.” (Careusa.org)
During the 19th century women started to vocalize their desire to vote, to participate in law making by taking an active role in government (wikipedia). In 1869 the fourteenth amendment was proposed to give black men the right to vote, but still no rights to women. Fifty one years and five amendments later women won the right to vote in the United States (wikipedia). During that same time period the camera became one of the only mechanical devices linked to women. George Eastman  had a history making advertising campaign in the late 1880’s that brought the camera into the home, since women’s primary careers were in the home at that time it is only logical that women gain interest and become amateur and professional photographers (Gover).  Lets fast forward and jump into my life and how all of what I just said ties into my life.  I want to bring your attention to Rick Doble and a term he introduced to me “Photo- Expressionism- I suggest the term “photo-expressionism “for digital photographs that are as personal and expressive as the expressionist paintings of the recent past.” (Doble).
I cherish my camera, I can photograph my favorite things, places and people. I can document moments that become memories, or events that are important in our life. I can change a lot of the aspects of my camera or even the image after I’ve taken it. I also cherish my freedom and cherish that in this country there are laws and people that are working to protect my freedom that allows me to express myself in a blog about freedom and photography and how they tie together. To take an active role in how laws are made and enforced, how your freedom is exercised and protected, to continue to ensure that the freedoms enjoyed by us are still available to our children and grandchildren we MUST vote. Voting is not a right it’s a responsibility, that should not be taken lightly. Be cautious in your choices; be sure that the person you are voting for will work on your behalf, someone who shares in your values and ethics, and someone who will speak for the people that she or he is representing. Don’t choose someone strictly on party affiliation, choose wisely and research how they have performed before they were on the grand stage of campaigning when sometimes saying the right thing at the right time to the correct media is what may get them elected, make sure that the person you are choosing is true to their beliefs and comes as close to your own as possible. If you don’t vote, you leave the choice of leadership to someone else, is that a gamble you feel you can afford? Don’t just vote in the presidential elections either, vote every time you are asked, in city elections, county elections, statewide races. Yearly, every other year or every four years it all builds to the bigger picture, it all makes a difference and it all means you are taking an active role in your freedom, and mine. Thank you to those that do vote Thank you to those that serve this country to guarantee my freedom and that of my children, thank you to those who have died in that battle. Thank you Sir John Herschel , Joseph Nicéphore Niépce and Louis Daguerre for discovering and perfecting the art form called photography. Here’s to George Eastman for making the camera accessible to the masses. (Wikipedia - History of Photography)

Works Cited

Careusa.org. 12 2010 <https://my.care.org/site/Donation2?idb=462488233&df_id=8180&8180.donation=form1&autologin=true>.
Doble, Rick. Is Digital Photography The New Expressive Visual Art? 12 2010 <http://www.rickdoble.net/xtremeself/photoexpress.htm>.
Gover, C. Jane. The positive image: women photographers in turn of the century America. Albany: SUNY Press, 1988.
HeinOnline.org. 12 2010 <http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/mnlr51&div=47&id=&page=>.
wikipedia. 2010 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_rights>.
Wikipedia - History of Photography. 12 12 2010 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_photography>.


Monday, December 6, 2010

Portraits


Being recently unemployed I have been more house bound than usual. I took this weekends weather as a sign that I would not complete this assignment the way I wanted to. I wanted to get to a place I hadn't been in a while and shoot people outside my comfort range. T suggested that I go visit him at deer camp. Great idea I'll get that unique shot I was seeking being in a crowd of retired men in their natural habitat for this time of year, what a great solution and oh yeah OUT OF THE HOUSE!!! whoot whoot! Arriving shortly before what I thought would be lunch time I would find them all returning from a morning in the woods rosey cheeks, grey beards and camo clothes....another well laid plan shot, literally, one of the group had harvested a deer that morning and all the pals were not returning as I thought they would be. They were in fact exiting and in a rush to get to the weigh station and brag to their fellow outdoorsmen. I was left with my same subjects in a new environment. Think quick.....now what? Leave it to my father in law who said "why not take the family for a little hike and see who you can see and what you can see in this area" So we bundled up and set out. We saw no one but each other and the pristine wilderness, the peacefully falling snow and the beauty of being out as a family. When I took W off my back in his backpack he was all smiles and having a wonderful time being out. I couldn't help but capture him on film, snot and drool and all. I was so happy to get my shot! T isn't understanding why I want to take a picture of him all messy that's why is looks so skeptical:) I also love this shot because you can see the Father -Son resemblance so well! And without trying applied the rule of thirds:)
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Thursday, November 18, 2010

Dimensions of Freedom-2



This week starts the “lame duck” session of congress, something any citizen should be leery of. A Lame duck session of congress happens in even numbered years when congress gets back together after the November Mid Term elections, some of the returning members have been elected out of the offices that they currently occupy, however they are responsible for returning to attend to unfinished matters.  We the people should be leery of this sessions for one of two reasons, either the member that has been voted out just attends for the sake of attending and isn’t invested in making sure that their job is accomplished to best serve us, or they work their tails off to achieve their agenda, possibly one that doesn’t best serve us. Every administration talks the talk, of working together to best serve the nation.
In Barack Obama’s acceptance speech when he was elected President he stated "In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people," Obama said. "Let's resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long."
"I reject the ugly politics of division," George W. Bush said in 1999 when he first ran for president. "I'm a uniter, not a divider."
Today we send our newly elected representatives to be schooled or in the jargon of the office “orientated” in the how to of the system to which we have elected them.  I have a great concern that the old dogs that we have rejected in the latest election, by not voting for them again, are teaching the new dogs the same old tricks. There was a large movement by the tea party to encourage the new recruits to avoid some aspects of the training. So that they may keep a clear eye on job we have sent them to do or their eye on the prize so to speak. While for the moment the president still has the upper hand in the numbers on the house, soon the winds of change will blow and we certainly hope for the better. We the people have shown our true dislike for the way things were, and now we can certainly hope that by electing fresh people with fresh ideas to the capitol we have regained the upper hand.
Alas this conversation will continue as it has for centuries and there will always be two sides. Someone will always feel like they have the “upper hand” let’s look back to the inaugural address of Thomas Jefferson where the one of the most controversial and debated, taught and discussed lines “we are all republicans: we are all federalists.”  The battle to work together has been raging for centuries; presidents have used the promise of bipartisan leadership in inaugural speeches for as long as we have been a country.
Let your vote be your voice, let your voice be heard, stand true to your values and ethics, vote with those ideals and stand firm, and then perhaps we will see the walk being walked as much as the talk is being talked.