Wednesday, 10 November 2010
humanity
What it means to be a member of humanity.
What does it mean to be human? That is society’s question that still remains in today’s world. To be human is to have emotion and language. To care for your family, friends and peers is to be human. To speak their language is also to be human. Humanity is what separates us from animals. We are at the top of the food chain. We are the fittest and we survive. Why? We have intelligence, logic and reasoning. Intelligence in humans is to make complex inventions crucial to our survival. Humans have logic to avoid those careless mistakes that could cost us our lives.
We also have reasoning to get ourselves out of danger against an opponent, whether it is physical, mental or emotional. We are the only species on Earth that knows of one more possible cause of death, old age. Most of us also believe in an afterlife, those that have religions anyways. Every single species on Earth has needs, but we have one more reason of why we are human. We also have wants. We could want something and not need that particular thing at all. We also have factors that shape us, that make us human.
What shapes a human’s life? Society, environment and nature all shape every human in this world. Society’s morals, customs, and cultures can influence how a person behaves in front of others. We humans also tend to imitate our parents and peers in what they do, thus environment influences our humanity. Maybe we just are born the way we are. It’s in our genes to be human, it’s our nature. Our species are the only ones that can be spiritual. Our spirituality also influences how we are human. While society and environment influences how we are human, we have a level of responsibility alongside with society also.
What is a person’s level of responsibility for his actions? What about the level of responsibility for society? When we perceive a particular act of society, we can choose to follow it or dismiss it from our attention. Isn’t society just a bunch of people choosing to act a certain way or dismissing it from their attention? Individuals are more responsible for their actions than the responsibility of society for influencing those individuals. In fact, we are ninety percent responsible for our actions and society is only ten percent responsible for our actions. We know why we are human, but we don’t know why we were put on Earth.
What is humanity’s purpose? Why are we here? The reasons of us dwelling on this earth are mostly spiritual in nature. The reasons could be philosophical as well. Most people have a religion on this earth. Christianity states that humans are here on this earthto care for God’s creations and worship Him. The philosophical side of the question is that we were put here on Earth to obtain new information and gradually evolve to greatness.
We are perhaps the only species on Earth to try to philosophize and spiritualize about why we are here. Yet another reason why we are separated from animals themselves! All of these factors combined make us a unique species on Earth. Yet, with all this information on ourselves, we still have countless questions of our origins. We still wonder today how we came to be. We wonder how we are such a unique species. We at least know one major detail of ourselves. That is, we are Homo sapiens. We are humans!
from http://socyberty.com/philosophy/what-it-means-to-be-human/
The basic human wants
After thinking for a while, I came up with the following list of those fundamental things that every human wants:
- attention
- importance
- companionship
- entertainment
- sex
- knowledge
- time
- relaxation
- success (at any challenge/goal)
- earn/save significant (relative to the individual) amounts of money
- and even though it’s sort of implied: power to get any of the aforementioned items
http://www.itstime.com/jun97.htm good website but too much to copy and paste.
Maslow's hierarchy of needs
Tuesday, 25 May 2010
Loretta Lux
"Colours are extremely important to me. I love colours. Colours can be used to evoke feelings or convey certain states of mind. However, recently I have started to explore black and white photography. I am interested in the mental process which translates black and white into colour." Quote from Photo-Wisdom by Lewis Blackwell
James Mollison
"Photography is the most amazing key to the world. I feel very privileged to experience the world through photography, and to have met the people I have because of it. It is incredible to have photography as a witness to my life and what I have done." Quote from Photo-Wisdom by Lewis Blackwell
Erwin Olaf
"In the early nineties I was anti-Photoshop. It changed when I did the project Mature: I had these women who I wanted to give grey hair, and so I had them wear wigs, but I wanted to touch out the underlying hair. A small thing, but it opened up my eyes. What particually attracted me when I started working digitally was that you had good colour management, better than with film. So this allowed me to move from mostly black and white to working with reduced colour. When I first began with the digital I made a series of over-the-top Photoshop images. Nowadays I use it in a more modest way." Quote from Photo-Wisdom by Lewis Blackwell
David LaChapelle
"I think my images have always been big, it's the magazines that got smaller, to misquote Sunset Boulevard" Quote from Photo-Wisdom by Lewis Blackwell
I think its pretty safe to say everyone has been in love with the work of LaChapelle at one time or another.
I think its pretty safe to say everyone has been in love with the work of LaChapelle at one time or another.
Andrew Zuckerman
"It is an antiquated idea not to want to talk about how you made things. It comes from a time when people thought they would have their ideas stolen. I am not scared of anybody repeating me because it is impossible, as I am moving forward; I am somewhere else. I am thirty-one years old, in the first section of my career. I have just completed my 10,000 hours practice, as Gladwell would see it. I hope I am getting closer to exposing my DNA through my work and fulfilling my curiosities in my work, and not doing this in a selfish way - I want my work to continue to be broad in its subject and appeal to affect people." Quote from Photo-Wisdom by Lewis Blackwell
Zuckerman is one of those people that really amaze me. Mainly his images of animals, but those of people aswell. His lighting is always exceptional and something that isn't seen so often. Along with the patience that shows in his work with the animal shots. Although this is supposed to be for my people research I got totally carried away with the animals .. so the people are at the bottom!
Zuckerman is one of those people that really amaze me. Mainly his images of animals, but those of people aswell. His lighting is always exceptional and something that isn't seen so often. Along with the patience that shows in his work with the animal shots. Although this is supposed to be for my people research I got totally carried away with the animals .. so the people are at the bottom!
Ste Peg
Ste Peg
"I love apocaly sceneries, but I also like to find the traces, the magic, the secrets and the treasures hidden in ruins.
What is dead is alive again: the light plays with the shadows, the sun rays invade the rooms making the rust shine and coloring the crusty walls, the rain filters from the holes in the roof, creating surreal mirrors on the floor.
With my pictures I try to capture the essence of that all, in moments when innumerable emotions hit me and what is outside seems to disappear."
This quote from Peg's website http://ste-peg.com/aboutme.html really sums up urban exploring for me. He portrays all of the feelings you get in those buildings extremely well. The thing I find the most beautiful about his work is the peacefulness and tranquility he acchieves in such derelict places. His work really inspires me and makes me want to keep on exploring!
"I love apocaly sceneries, but I also like to find the traces, the magic, the secrets and the treasures hidden in ruins.
What is dead is alive again: the light plays with the shadows, the sun rays invade the rooms making the rust shine and coloring the crusty walls, the rain filters from the holes in the roof, creating surreal mirrors on the floor.
With my pictures I try to capture the essence of that all, in moments when innumerable emotions hit me and what is outside seems to disappear."
This quote from Peg's website http://ste-peg.com/aboutme.html really sums up urban exploring for me. He portrays all of the feelings you get in those buildings extremely well. The thing I find the most beautiful about his work is the peacefulness and tranquility he acchieves in such derelict places. His work really inspires me and makes me want to keep on exploring!
Sunday, 21 February 2010
Edward Burtynsky
Edward Burtnysky, born in 1955, Ontario, explores the intricate link between industry and nature combining the raw elements of mines, quarries, manufacturing, oil production, shipping and recycling. Information from http://www.edwardburtynsky.com/ 21 February 2010.
"The world is my raw material and I take the idea I want to do and let the research carry me to the location. Then I use the skill I have as a photographer to try and translate that particular place into an image that somehow sums up the idea I was in pursuit of".
"I work to create an image that draws people in with its aesthetic, but then has them grappling with it and wonder why they are drawn to it. They're thinking 'I am reacting against what I am seeing, but drawn to it.' Its like a forbidden pleasure. If it makes the viewer somewhat uncomfortable, that is interesting. Ultimately that mirrors the dilemma we are all experiencing. If we know of the population growth, and what we are doing to the atmosphere, causing untold grief, with ice caps melting and polar bears running out of habitat, resources being extracted at a rate that will impoverish future generations-and yet at the same time we are compelled and drawn to a quality of life with a decent job, money put aside for retirement, and we are conditioned that way. We know that with all of us doing this it creates a major problem. If we all want this lifestyle the earth can no longer support this. We would need two or three earths in resources to bring us all up to this standard of living". Quotes from Photo-Wisdom. Master Photographers on Their Art. Lewis Blackwell.
The reason I have looked more into the work of Burtynsky because I am planning a trip to Poland in March and would very much like to do a similar set of photographs whilst on my trip, based on the salt mines there and also Auschwitz and Birkenau, and use these images for the foreign/alien environment section of the places brief. I find Burtunsky's work very interesting to look at because of the colours and contrast. The images all follow a certain pattern throughout each individual photograph that makes it very interesting to look at.
"The world is my raw material and I take the idea I want to do and let the research carry me to the location. Then I use the skill I have as a photographer to try and translate that particular place into an image that somehow sums up the idea I was in pursuit of".
"I work to create an image that draws people in with its aesthetic, but then has them grappling with it and wonder why they are drawn to it. They're thinking 'I am reacting against what I am seeing, but drawn to it.' Its like a forbidden pleasure. If it makes the viewer somewhat uncomfortable, that is interesting. Ultimately that mirrors the dilemma we are all experiencing. If we know of the population growth, and what we are doing to the atmosphere, causing untold grief, with ice caps melting and polar bears running out of habitat, resources being extracted at a rate that will impoverish future generations-and yet at the same time we are compelled and drawn to a quality of life with a decent job, money put aside for retirement, and we are conditioned that way. We know that with all of us doing this it creates a major problem. If we all want this lifestyle the earth can no longer support this. We would need two or three earths in resources to bring us all up to this standard of living". Quotes from Photo-Wisdom. Master Photographers on Their Art. Lewis Blackwell.
The reason I have looked more into the work of Burtynsky because I am planning a trip to Poland in March and would very much like to do a similar set of photographs whilst on my trip, based on the salt mines there and also Auschwitz and Birkenau, and use these images for the foreign/alien environment section of the places brief. I find Burtunsky's work very interesting to look at because of the colours and contrast. The images all follow a certain pattern throughout each individual photograph that makes it very interesting to look at.
Monday, 8 February 2010
Ansel Adams
Adams took his first photograph during a vacation in 1916 in California. The characteristics of his work being a combination of superb photographic skill and a deep admiration for the American landscape. Originally, Adams wanted to be a pianist until he met Paul Strand and discovered a new medium of expression. In 1962 he joined other photographers such as Cunningham, Noskaviak, Weston, John Paul Edwards, Henry Swift and Willard Van Dyke to found the group "f/64". They emphasised the greatest possible depth of field and the sharpest reproduction of detail. They began to favour close-ups, and the rose below is an example of this tradition. In 1941 Adams created his famous "zone system" to determine correct exposure and developing time to achieve optimal gradation of grey values. He produced over 24 books from the photographs of his landscape photography of America's National Parks, which he also supported. Information from 20th century photography.
I feel that Adams is one of the most inspirational landscape photographers for me, although many people say the places do a lot of the work for him, which I agree with and would love to get the chance to travel to places like these, he is also extremely technical with film and processing and I think this is to be admired. Like the image below of the vast sky at night with the moon and the small village below, all is perfectly exposed and the houses are lit, a long with the details in the clouds, his photographs really fascinate me.
I feel that Adams is one of the most inspirational landscape photographers for me, although many people say the places do a lot of the work for him, which I agree with and would love to get the chance to travel to places like these, he is also extremely technical with film and processing and I think this is to be admired. Like the image below of the vast sky at night with the moon and the small village below, all is perfectly exposed and the houses are lit, a long with the details in the clouds, his photographs really fascinate me.
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