Photography "My Life in the Time of Covid-19"

Ultimately my series for the final project is going to be in the subject of Covid-19, so my hands were strongly tied for this series. I decided to put a focus on things my family bought for us to more easily survive this pandemic. The first photo is of an adjustable dumbbell we bought days before the store that sold them closed. The only things that I could show in that photo was the adjustment labels, so I took the picture from overhead. The second photo is of the toilet paper that we bought. In total I think it is 150 rolls. I had to ensure that the entirety of the rolls were visible in the photo. The last photo is the best one, albeit imperfect. Its of the box for the Nintendo Switch that we bought. The Switch itself is not the interesting part. The interesting part is the effort that it took for me to get the switch. I had to watch a stores website for days waiting for them to go on sale (and they would sell out in less than 1 minute). I then had to drive an hour each way to go pick up the Switch. All of that isn't shown very well in the photo itself, however I did tilt the box such that the curbside pickup sticker and Switch logo are clearly visible. Since this was a documentary series and the subject was more what we bought instead of why we bought it there was less of a conveyable message through photographic techniques. I have a really good series coming up that is much more comprehensive of life with Covid-19 so hopefully that one is better.

Week 10 Exhibition Analysis

I chose Karen Knorr's Gentlemen.

1. These photographs are taken for those who aren't conservative members of the white male, upper-middle class in England. The point of these photographs, is to put a spotlight on the beliefs and standards of said class. The beliefs are presented in a way that makes it seem as if a member of that class is explaining their values to a young one who they want to be like them; this is of course presented in a tongue-and-cheek manner.

2. This was taken in the 80's so it is difficult for me to label this type of masculinity since I haven't encountered it much. However, the men in this series appear to be representing a time much earlier than the 80's. Sure, they are older in these pictures, but the time period the appear to be dressed for, and the time period represented by the rooms they are in look to me more like the 30's and 40's. Reading the captions reinforces this idea because they are heavily focused on things like honor and pride. These ideas don't hold very strongly amongst men these days.

3. Some of the other series showcased masculinity in ways that I had never associated with masculinity. Almost none of the photos were of men doing manly things. It was as if they were showcasing femininity dressed like a man. For instance, one series used the clothes of the men as the primary way to showcase a person's masculinity. Masculinity has nothing to do with the clothes someone wears, it is the differing perspective that men have that makes it masculinity. Clothes cannot properly represent that.

4.
       i. Rotimi Fani-Kayode

a.  Something that is notable here is that the background is left in focus. I don't know what the meaning behind this picture actually is, but I can tell this focal choice allows the subject to be compared to others in the background, along with making it easier for the viewer to gauge a time-period for the photo.

b.  Based on the content of other photos by the photographer (which include men who don't adhere to norms), I deduct that he is LGBT. Given the masculinity subject of his photographs, I think the overall message might have to do with the fluidity of masculinity, and that you can be masculine while doing unmasculine things and exhibiting unmasculine behaviors.


       ii. Richard Billingham, Ray’s a laugh

a.  This photo was taken with a wide-angle lens, despite one not being necessary to capture the subject. This was done as much as is possible without cutting off part of the subject of the image. The photographer also took the photo on the level of the subject, despite him being on the ground. These two choices frame the subject well. One other think I will note is the use of the colour blue. Every photo had bland colour, except for something being sky blue.

b.  This photo does an amazing job of conveying the disgusting nature of his fathers' alcoholism. He is wearing a suit, and slumping on a broken toilet. The toilet, in my opinion is the dirtiest one I've seen in my life. This shows how bad the situation is in the eyes of the photographer. The other photos in the series were also dirty, but this one was by far the dirtiest.


       iii. Mikhael Subotzky Prisoners sleep in an overcrowded cell

a.  Obviously the biggest choice here was taking the photo from above, as opposed to face-on. This choice allows the photo to highlight the overcrowded nature of the prison while also showcasing each individual as a person, instead of a prisoner. Aside from that there is some use of colour here with the blue clothes of the prisoners.

b.  The photo appears to have be trying to bring attention to prison overcrowding, along with advocating for the decriminalization of crimes that really aren't crimes in order to alleviate this. Additionally it comments on the condition of the prisons, the prisoners appear cold and underdressed here. The photographer might be a former prisoner.

Week 10 Activity 1

Top left photo:
1: This photo likely represents the refugee aspect of the article, since multiple people are shown traveling. Amongst the 4 photos this one does the worst job of representing the article.
2: The photo supplements the idea that the refugees were poor, and struggled when they were traveling.
3: It shows some malnutrition for the people who are affected. The techniques used do not emphasize this, however.
Top right photo:
1: This photo if of a child who has arrived at an aid camp. He appears to be sick in some way and is being treated by a physician. This explicitly visualizes the last bit, almost to the letter.
2: It doesn't make a comment. It verifies what the article is saying. The kid is clearly sick, by the looks of it from malnutrition.
3: It shows how much the refugees are affected. Whatever the nurse/volunteer is putting onto the child; I've never seen anything like it before. In my mind, that means his condition is really bad/unusual. Also since I've never seen that before it will always stand out to me.
Bottom left photo:
1: This photo also illustrates the extent to which these people are undernourished. Its even sadder to see how young this child is and how much he is in need of food. The article, of course talks about these people not getting enough food and water so this photo makes sense.
2: This photo doesn't make a comment on the article, it does make a comment about the efforts of people who are in the position to help. It does a really good job of emphasizing the seriousness of the situation.
3: What changed for me is this picture actually energized me towards the situation. That is, I feel the urge to do something about it. This is easily the best photo of the four.
Bottom right photo:
1: This appears to be a photo of the affected traveling to a new area. This was mentioned in the article in the second sentence.
2: The photo does a good job of painting the journey as 'dry', as the article puts it. Although it isn't obvious, there are barefoot people in the photo, which is what the article said.
3: This photo diminishes the journey that these people had to make. As bad as it sounds, the photo makes the journey appear possible. I'd have liked for the photographer to have taken a photo during a much tougher leg of the journey.

This photo is easily the best one of the bunch. As I stated before, it paints a strong tragedy (severe malnutrition) onto someone who deserves it the least (child). It has shock value. I can imagine many others choosing this one as the most significant.