Author Archives: sheng
Homework 4
I think the photo Falling Soldier by Robert Capa is real. From what I can see, the angle of the man’s legs are off-balanced. It will be hard for the man to maintain that position and wait for Capa to take the photo without the help of props. Furthermore, even if the falling is real, like what Captain Robert L. Frank said in Robert Whelan’s article, “It is nearly impossible for any conscious person to resist the reflex impulse to brace his fall by flexing his hand strongly backward at the wrist and extending his fingers out straight.” The feeling of being off balance and falling will jolt reflexes and impulses to help prevent or to minimize the pain upon impact. Another example of reflex is when people suddenly and out of nowhere hears an explosive sound, their heart are bound to beat faster and their muscles will tighten as the “fight or flight” instinct kicked in. Personally, I feel that the issue about whether Falling Soldier is staged or not varies according to the different lenses and criteria. If the goal of the photo is to show real events, then Capa’s photo’s authenticity matters. However, if it is to show the experience of war, then it does not matter whether Capa’s photo is staged or not, because the goal is to educate people about something.
Homework 2: photographing and describing texture
Sheng (HW#1)
Social media is a like a gun. These days information travels almost instantaneously through online networking. If companies use it well, it can help the company business as more people know about it and in shorter time. Most of the time, before people even visit the actual restaurant or hotel, people search it up on google. Nice pictures and nice words can influence a guest’s decision on whether they want to come to or use this companies’ product or service. Likewise, if people put in a bad word about a particular company, the company business will start having a decline and if worse comes to worse, bankrupt. Social media is the company’s second face. Companies need to maintain a positive image in order to gain the best benefit and profit.
Personally, I rarely take photos of food, but if the times that I do it is because the food looks appetizing and beautiful. Likewise, I think other people take picture of food for the same reason. Of course, there are also people who are taking photos and posting it as a career. I have nothing against it since it is a way of earning money, but I do not like it because it is sometimes misleading. For example a restaurant might not be good, but people said it is.