In the first article called “The Return of American Hunger” By Ned Resnikoff, Resnikoff tries to get us to understand the increase in Hunger in America. Resnikoff explains that even though the economy has gotten some what better and job opportunities are opening up with still have an increase of people and families who are not “food secure”. He says “approximately 17.4 million homes across the United States, populated with more than 48 million hungry people.” That is such an alarming number. Because of the financial struggle, hunger remains and the requirements for SNAP (food stamps) are even too much for these people to even qualify. For some states you have to have work requirements and drug testing. I do agree however with the drug testing, if you are receiving food benefits from the government, you shouldn’t be doing illegal drugs.

The second article is called “Why Does America Have So Many Hungry Kids?” by Them Patterson. A woman named Elle Dingman was volunteering and ran into a little boy who just stood there and held her hand, naked and hungry. Reading this part of the article made me really sad to think that there are so many children at need. The article says approximately 13.1 million children are living in food insecure households as of 2015. That is such an alarming number. The author explains that people now and days just don’t have time to help people in need and that we no longer “help our neighbors”. Patterson explains that a few volunteer groups such as Jesus Was Homeless I trying their best to get these families what they need. There is other programs as well like “Blessings in a Backpack” which gives children meals for the weekend during the school year. But as mentioned it is only during the school year. So although there are people helping out, it is just not enough to feed everyone all of those 13.1 million hungry children.

For the photoshoot I want to use an empty plate with a fork and a spoon next to it to show the emptiness. The lighting will be dim or dark I don’t want bright light.

Another option for the volunteering one is someone handing someone else food or pouring something into the plate with a spoon. The light could be brighter for this one to show both the negative and the positive.

For my final project I am choosing to portray the article called “Psychologists Explain The Benefits Of Baking For Other People” by Julie R. Thomson. The article explain how baking and being able to give others a sweet treat makes us feel good. The act of giving and doing. small favors for others gives us a feeling of joy which makes our lives a little happier. Thomson explains that we don’t just bake to have a sweets we bake for all kinds of reasons such as self-expression. We can express who we are through our baking and create a form of communication without even intentionally trying to do so. It is also a form of mindfulness because it increases happiness and reduces stress. She also explains that if baking makes you stressed then it is definitely not for you. Overall baking is intended as a stress reliever. I love to bake which is why I chose to use this article for my final project.

My ideas: 

The audience is people who like to bake and want to know the benefits of baking. I believe the audience is also for people who may be suffering from depression or anxiety, baking is a way to ease your mind and feel good about yourself.

-For the first image idea I am choosing to use purely still life. The mood of the photo is happy and and is pretty literal. I would like to use bakeware for the photo laid out on a table or reflective surface to show the different tools used to bake. I want the lighting to be bright and even to create that happy mood. I would like to experiment with color in the background but initially I would like it to be bright and white.

-For the second image idea I would like to use a mixture of still life and models. The mood is still happy and joyful. The idea is to have the models facing each other one handing over baked goods to the other model while smiling, or possibly a close up of their hands. I would like the lighting to be bright and even as well to keep the mood consistent with both ideas, I don’t think  would try color in the background for this one. I am hoping to quickly use two people from class for this idea.

In the article “See the glass half empty of half full? Why Optimists are Happier, Healthier and Wealthier.” by Margie Warrell, Warrell discuss the outcomes of having these very different traits saying “optimism creates opportunity and pessimism kills it.” The author gives a list of things that a person should do in order to live a happier life, the list is:

Set your intentions-“Being intentional acts like a compass and helps you better focus your time and energy.”

Do something outside your comfort zone-“There is no better way to build self-confidence than by doing something that stretches you as it teaches you that you are capable of more than you thought you were.”

Reframe a problem into an opportunity-“Where pessimists see problems, optimists find opportunities.”

Avoid energy drainers-“Choose your company wisely and limit the time you spend with people who don’t fill your cup of optimism and “can do” self-confidence.”

Carry yourself like an optimist-“If you change how you hold yourself physically, it will change how you feel emotionally.”

Lighten up-“Why is it that comedians tend to live very long lives? It’s because they have become so masterful at finding the humor in even the most unfunny situations.”

Exercise-“Not only is it great for you physically,  it’s a very potent drug for making you feel better psychologically.”

The list was a great way for me to realize all that I need to start doing in order to live a happier life. I can admit I am a pessimist and sadly I did not realize it until my significant other really pointed it out. I am trying to become more and more optimistic. the tone for this article was somewhat happy and informational letting people know the benefits of being optimistic versus pessimistic.

In the other article “A Healthy Outlook” by Camille Chatterjee, Chatterjee warns us by letting us know that being pessimistic can lead to serious health issues in the future. The author explains that pessimistic people have a higher chance of having high blood pressure which can also lead to heart disease. After reading this article it really makes pessimism seem scary. I never thought about my attitude effecting my overall health. It was definitely an eye opener. The tone for this article was deep and almost dramatic letting people know the bad sides of being pessimistic.

I believe both articles were meant to be read by a pessimistic audience. I say this because even thought they have different tones it is all about informing pessimists on what to do and what not to do and what the outcome of being pessimistic may lead to.

“She Being Brand” and “Coming Home Detroit, 1968”

The poems “She Being Brand” by e.e. cummings and “Coming Home Detroit, 1968” by Philip Levine, both express the authors feeling through metaphors for driving a car through a city. Though the poems use the same metaphors they do have very different feeling or tone.

“She Being Brand” by e.e. cummings takes place in the 1920s. The author expresses his love, excitement and anxiety throughout the poem explaining it is a “brand new” car or experience. He shows how the car reacts for the first time and how he was nervous “a little stiff I was careful of her…”. While reading you get a feeling that the poem may have a more intimate meaning than a man driving his new car, but rather a man and a woman experiencing each other for the first time “it was the first ride and believe I we was happy to see how nice and acted right up to the last minute…”. The poem is smooth, fun to read and figure out.

“Coming Home Detroit, 1968” by Philip Levine has a much deeper, darker feeling to it. The author brings you into the poem with the first line “the city pouring fire…”. It gives you a sense of unease and almost disgusting feeling about the way the author felt about Detroit at the time. I read a little bit about that time period of riots and the disgusting auto factories. Levine really expresses his feeling about these matters within the poem “The charred faces, the eyes boarded up…” and “One brown child stares and stares into your frozen eyes” as if no one cares what is happening around them. The authors ride through Detroit was a sickening and sad one.

For the photoshoot I would like to shoot two distinctively different photos with possibly the same car. For “She Being Brand” I would like to shoot an old style car with a romantic lighting maybe red in the background. I feel like the reflection and lighting will go well with the overall feel of the poem. For “Coming Home Detroit” I would like to have less lighting, dark background and focus on the car to cause a dramatic and dark feeling.

The article “The Botany of Desire” by Michael Pollan, Pollan explains that the food we eat are indeed pesticides and majority of what we eat are altered in many ways before we are actually able to eat it. He says that Genetic Engineering is an improved way to replace all of these toxic chemicals and gain a more healthy approach. Genetic engineering allows vegetation to have a gene that will protect itself from insects and diseases without the use of pesticides. I think this approach of genetic engineering is an idea that makes sense towards removing hazardous materials but I believe it can also be harmful. We do not know what could happen to us from consuming these genetically engineered products in the long run.

For the book cover design I would like to show the potato in a way where there is dark on one side and light on the other side of the potato. This will create a feeling of uncertainty whether this is a good or a bad thing. I would also like to try a shot with very little lighting to create a dramatic effect and shadows on the potato.

For the Fresh Direct shoot I would like to show the vegetables looking bright and fresh to create a clean feeling. Possibly with water on the vegetables close up.

Reading the article really made me think about social media in an entirely different way. I always thought f it as a means of another form of communication but not only with your loved ones but with the world. I now realize that social media can become a serious addiction for some people. They become reliant on it and it can cause problems in their lives. There a re so many driving accidents and people being robbed and falling into things, hurting themselves because they just can’t get off of there phones.

I still do believe that social media is a great way of communication but it shouldn’t reach the point of addiction. Social media is great for advertising and for spreading the word about important information or global causes. Some people even have jobs as professional comedians and make up artists and photographers because of social media. It is a very two sided matter.

For the addiction photo shoot I would like to capture someone looking crazily into their phone with dark lighting as to only see the screen. Another possibility is to have two people not paying attention to each other while on their phones.

For the global causes one I would like to shoot a bunch of people together looking happily at their phones in soft lighting. Or it could be one person showing us the screen of their phone as if to say look at what I just did to change the world.

Headphone Ad

The Brand my group will be using is Beats by Dr. Dre. The type of Beats are the Solo 2s. The Solo 2s had an interesting campaign with a lot of celebrities and athletes. The brand style is realized photographically where the colors of the headphones correspond nicely with its background. These specific headphones also had a big social media campaign with its own hashtag called the #SocialSelfie. This campaign consisted of celebrities taking selfies with the headphones on.

My image ideas are to shoot a close up of the head phones on someones head, also a possible shot of someone looking as if they are singing wit the headphones on. an overall happy looking shot with soft light.

Hearing Loss PSA

The text that we read in class had to do with hearing loss caused by listening to loud music/videos through headphones. The text tries to get readers to understand that hearing music is okay just as long as it is done correctly. The author explains that the volume should not be loud and that you should not turn the volume up when it gets noisy around you.

My image ideas are to shoot someone with little lighting or harsh light to capture a more dramatic moment. I want to show someone screaming into another persons ear and they cannot hear them. I would also like to try capturing someone posing as if they are trying to hear something you are saying while looking straight at the camera, but they can’t.

The article The High Cost of Poor Health Care is very informative but is also very opinionated. In the article you read about how costly health insurance is in the US and it explains how poor health care is extremely hurtful and expensive for yourself. I believe the article can do some good and may reach some sort of audience but I think it needs to be reworded. The article author is opinionated and almost forceful as if telling us what to do rather than explaining to us how to go about doing things in a better, healthier way.

For next weeks shoot I would like to shoot someone close up looking sad or worried with the lighting some what dark and gloomy. I feel like this will go well with the articles emotion toward poor health care.

What is the point of College?

The point of college to me has always been to lead a successful career in the future. Well now that future is very close for me and I have come to learn that there is more to leading a successful career than just the end goal of gaining a Bachelors degree. It is to learn about yourself, to set goals, and of course to gain knowledge.

Utility U is to to go to college to get a good job that makes paying so much for college worth it.

• My photo ideas for Utility U would be: someone sitting at the computer, writing an essay, highlighting an entire paper, appearing stressed.

Utopia U is going to college to find yourself, to learn to do what you love and meet people who have great outlooks on life.

• My photo ideas for Utopia U would be: someone sitting by the window with a notepad, talking in a group, hanging in the cafe, reading outside, appearing relaxed.