Reading Assignment Blogpost Chapter 5 - Photography Changes Where We Go -Due 10/31
Which essay from the assigned chapter spoke to your own experience the most? Summarize the main points of the essay and give a personal anecdote that elaborates on why this article spoke to you the most. Which essay made you think about photography in a new way, or spoke to experiences you may not have been as familiar with? Again, summarize the article and explain why this essay has reshaped your ideas about photography. Write your 200 word (minimum) response below. Make sure to put your name in the comment.
10/31 Rachael Brasovan
11/5 Daniel Amador
11/7 Dan Adame
From Chapter 5, the essay that spoke to me was “Photography Changes What We Travel to See” by Lisa Stevens, the recently retired curator of giant pandas from the National Zoo. In this essay, Stevens describes how the photos we see can influence our desire to go and see the objects or places in the photos ourselves. She uses pandas as an example of this. Pandas are, in Stevens’ words, “charismatic and photogenic, which explains why people go crazy trying to make good pictures of them.” When two pandas, named Ling Ling and Sing Sing, arrived at the National Zoo in 1972, the zoo took advantage of the “panda-monium.” Photographs were taken of the pandas and placed anywhere, from magazines and newspapers to merchandise and souvenirs, to draw in the crowds who saw the photos and wanted to see them for themselves. Stevens also mentioned that zoo visitors, from then and even up to today, take photos of what they see for two reasons: to capture an image of an amazing animal and to represent their own experience of that animal. They then share their experiences and images with others, possibly influencing them to go and do the same.
ReplyDeleteIn my own experience, when I see a photo of somewhere or something that I have never seen in person, I desire to go do just that. I have done that for a number of places I saw in photographs. I traveled to that new place and taken photos to show just how amazing that place I visited is, telling others to go and visit too. Until I read Stevens’ essay, I never thought about how it was a single photo I stumbled upon that influenced me to make these plans to drive and see a new place. It just goes to show how photography can cause us to travel to see new places and things.
I chose the “Photography Changes How and Where Mushrooms are Collected” mainly due to liking mushrooms and finding them an interesting fungus. In this chapter, Nancy Smith Weber explains the intricacies of mushroom harvesting and how since there are so many, it can be difficult to memorize which ones are safe or which ones are deadly. This, she explains, is where photography comes in to play. Weber starts out by saying how in the 1800’s mushroom photography became very widely done as a hobby and for scientific use. In the early 1900s, more and more publications became about and then finally a complete field guide on mushrooms came to be which included many photographs of each type of mushroom. Mushroom enthusiasts came together and photography played a big part in that due to being able to accurately depict the mushrooms instead of just an illustration. Today, photography not only plays a part in the mushroom community, but in every plant community. Being able to see a photograph of a plant in its natural environment or be able to see the colorful details of said plant helps many people to identify a poisonous plant from a safe plant. So not only does photography bring people together, but it also helps keep them safe every day.
ReplyDeleteIn the essay "Photography Changes What Tourists Expect to See", Bannon explains the significance of photographing an iconic place such as Niagara Falls. This landmark was a draw for many to visit western New York eager to witness its beauty. Once people had visited the site themselves they began to marvel at the new found way of capturing these sights in their entirety. Both Niagara Falls and photography were sights to be seen at this time. The Falls were this remarkable spill of more than a million gallons of water and here are people capturing that in a single photo. That single photo would then turn around and set the spark of travelers to come and visit.
ReplyDeletePlatt D. Babbit was a key photographer for the Falls and was known for his sense of dedication when it came to getting the shot. Bannon stated, "He strategically located his business under a roofed pagoda that both blocked the view of other photographers and protected his daguerreotype apparatus." This big draw to sites around the world is a huge attraction to aspiring travelers or travelers alike. Images that capture the place in its truest form and in its natural beauty tend to draw the tourist into going to that place and experiencing it themselves. Looking at the photographs of different places gives a preconceived visual of what they are going to see once they get there.
For me personally, these sights are amazingly captured within a photograph and they are recognizable once I reach the place themselves. However, the impact of seeing that in person and witnessing the wonder in person still changes and destroys my expectations. I can look at an image and think to myself, "Oh yes, that's going to be gorgeous!" Sometimes it will be more than I expected and other times it would not work out the way that I had imagined.
- Claire Rodgers
n the article, Photography Changes What We Travel To See, author Lisa Stevens talks about how one picture can draw in massive crowds to an attraction. To be specific, Stevens talks about pandas held in captivity and how a lot of people will take a lot of photos of these beautiful creatures. They do it for two reasons: to take a picture of the animal, and to represent their own experience of seeing the animal for themselves. When these images are shared with others, either in person or online, others will want to take action to go see the pandas for themselves in person. It is an endless cycle, and is essentially free advertising for the zoo. Photography also helps scientisits in studying the creatures, such as determining the sex of newborn cubs, or figuring out if the adult pandas are pregnant.
ReplyDeletePhotographs not only draw in crowds and help with research, but they also are used to make money. Selling the photographs as themselves, or on merchandise such as mugs and t-shirts, helps bring in additional revenue to the zoo and their research teams. Overall, photography does a lot of good to every group of people.
-Olivia Teague