Human Sex Trafficking

Summary:  

Human sex trafficking has always been an issue with no spotlight nor media coverage in the United States, as to most people, it mainly goes on overseas. The United States has had issues on human trafficking for years, as according to the article, it states that “it is estimated that there are almost 300,000 women, children and even men who are trafficked for sexual purposes in our own country.” For the boss, the pimp, it fills his pockets, “a single pimp can earn more than $1.5 million every six months with 6 women or children in their “stable”. An underground hustle that can earn more than the average drug dealer on the corner, by just selling sex in the dark nights is detrimental to somebody’s physical health, but mostly mental health.

Communication Problem:

The problem is to shoot and make images to spread the word on the human trafficking issues around our local communities.

Image Ideas:

A model with the right props can give the right feel for an image for the article, like money, signs, handcuffs, rope, or even a wig. When editing the photos, a darker tone, more gloomy look would create a more meaningful message for the images.

 

Human Trafficking In Our Own Backyards

Summary: This article talks about sex trafficking, an issue that we associate as a global problem. Many of us not being aware, that it is literally still happening in our community. We are not aware who is part of it, but this hidden reality has taken almost 300,000 women, children, and even men for sexual purposes in our country. The article discusses signs you can tell if someone may be a victim and many of subjects have suffered from anxiety disorder and sexual diseases.

Communication Problem The idea is to demonstrate recognition that this global issue is happening in our very own neighborhoods.

Image Ideas: For my image idea I would be working a lot with models being tied  or taken and possibly with there eyes closed. I want to show the facial expression of desperation and some sort of internal/emotional pain. The shots would be medium and close up. While the lighting would be focused on the model’s face or hands. There will be a lot of shadows on certain areas of the model, to display the darkness of this unfortunate position.

 

Human Trafficking

Article

 

Summary:
America has an understated epidemic of young people being pulled into the prostitution industry, a problem that most people assume affects remote regions of the world only. However, there are rehabilitation efforts aiming to heal the abuses these victims suffer and reintegrate them into society with prosperous futures. These efforts would benefit greatly from people being generally informed and working with authorities to rescue the trafficked and persecute the traffickers.

 

Communication Problem:
Human trafficking in America is a subject most people are not aware of, and so they should be made aware to recognize potential victims and offer them an escape from their captors.

 

Image Ideas:
Because of the article’s emphasis on aiding and healing victims of human trafficking rather than the ugly realities they have endured, I feel that showing human connections is the best way to go in portraying the intent of the article. Photographs of individuals expressing care and love for one another as human beings and type that is a call to action to join the movement dedicated to turning the tide on these crimes.

she being Brand & Coming Home Detroit 1968

Summary: she being Brand is a poem about driving a new car. e.e. cummings describes the experience in a sexual way. The words he uses make you believe that he is talking about being with a women for the first time but the woman is a car. Coming Home Detroit is about the destruction one sees when driving through Detroit. From air pollution to street pollution.

Communication Problem: For this shoot the concept is shooting a toy car. Since it has to be 1 car for both pieces I have to find a way to make each photo specific to the writing.

Image Ideas: Shooting a 1964 red mustang. For she being Brand i wanted to take a dark close up shot where the red would look really bright and mysterious. For Coming Home Detroit I was thinking about shooting the car on plexiglass to get a nice reflection and maybe photoshopping fog.

Potato

Summary: This article is about the transition from normal farming to genetically engineered foods. In this article specifically the food thats being genetically engineered is potatoes. It talks about how farmers need to use chemicals and pesticides to grow the amount of food we need and those things can be really harmful. Genetical engineers are trying to find a way to manipulate the DNA of the potatoes so they can protect themselves from those chemicals.

Communication Problem: For The Botany of Desire should show the genetically engineered side. The Idaho add should be the complete opposite earth tones and bright. It should be what you naturally think about when you think about farms.

Image Ideas: Potato being injected with chemicals. Making the potatoes look huge like genetically engineered ones do.

Image Results: I was happy with my results. I was about to take a photo of a potato with a syringe on plexiglass to make with reflective. And for my Idaho I used a photo of a potato and added a farm background to it and made the potato look big.

“she being Brand” & “Coming Home, Detroit, 1968”

Summary: “she being brand” by e.e cummings is a relatable poem to anyone that has a car of first love. Cummings describes the car in this poem as if it was a beautiful women.  I found it very interesting that there are some many human personalities that a person can give to a car.

“Coming Home, Detroit, 1968” by Phillip Levine this small excerpt talks about how a daily drive through the city of Detroit has gotten so bad that its a challenge just to drive though the streets. Where he even explains that the rivers stop at the concrete floor of the city. and how the smog from the factories cover up the rays of the sun. Overall this is a good way of opening peoples eyes and tell them about the harm they bring with all these factories and cars.

Communication problem: For the poem should communicate a sensual feeling. something relatable where a warm color palette is used. As for the second story, the image should show the dominance  of cars and industry.

Image Ideas: For the poem I imagine a close crop of a car, with a bright pink or red to show sensuality. To give a warm and inviting feeling. For the story I imagine a small group of cars facing one large car to show how society lines up to a greater industrial power. With a dark and cool color scheme it should be easy to portray.

Results: For “she bing brand” the image came out light and sensual. It starts to resemble a album cover. Overall though I feel it portrays e.e cumming poem fairly. As for Phillip Levine’s story I lined up the car to look as if it was a car meet. I looks like a military brigade getting ready to storm a city. The dark color tone show how strong the car industry really is.

Final Project (Repurpose)

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/climate-change-will-accelerate-earths-sixth-mass-extinction-180955138/?no-ist

 

Summary:
Due to rapid climate change, animal species around the globe are going extinct. However, because of the diversity of life on the planet, predicting which species are at greatest risk is a difficult task. Some creatures will not be impacted severely in the near future, while others will disappear outright if measures are not taken to lessen the damage done to the global ecosystem. If patterns continue to follow their trend, the rates of extinctions will increase thusly, threatening all forms of life regardless given enough time.

Image Ideas: Still life of a globe, acrylic ice and water to simulate melting. Copy: “It’s Not Too Late”. Dire lighting, dark and moody and dramatic. Conversely, harsh light can be a metaphor for the unchecked heat trapped in the planet’s atmosphere and can be paired with effects done in post, such as backgrounds of burning forests and bodies of water that have been rendered dry due to changing weather patterns.

Materials

Paper towels, acrylic ice, water bottle (with water) globe

 

First Week Results:

I found that the globe was very reflective in this week’s shoot. Most of the shots are marred with a glare that has to be rectified for next week’s shoot. There are a few salvageable photographs that can be given a type treatment, but the idea still has some room to grow and be realized.

 

Second Week Results:

The reflectivity of the globe was mitigated this week through distancing of light sources and a more complimentary setup that allowed for more dynamic photography. The ice was used more effectively by being stuck to the globe, keeping the base out of the shot entirely while there was a greater emphasis on running water and falling ice. The use of colored backgrounds also make the resulting photographs eye catching and impactful.

Third Week Results:

The third week was spent pursuing the idea of photographing a polar bear and penguin without a preliminary concept as to how this would be done. After a thankfully brief period of experimentation, a concept of shooting the water in a tray with the ice and animals emerged and led to some strong results which utilize the strengths of still life photography. The water, ice and subjects warranted some interesting lighting setups and poses that ended up being very convincing.

“she being Brand” by e.e. cummings & “Coming Home, Detroit, 1968” by Philip Levine

  1. Summary: The poem by e.e. cummings is a metaphor. It seems like he is writing about a driver’s excitement to drive a new car. But as you continue reading, you realized e.e. cummings is using the pronoun of a female to describe the “car”. With that in mind, the poem is actually about a man and woman’s first sexual experience. The poem by Philip Levine is about a person driving through dirty street due to a riot. This is a lot darker than the first poem.
  2. Communication Problem: For the first poem, it is to show how a car is female. The second, it is to show a person driving through chaos.
  3. Image Ideas: A red car to represent female. Two cars in front of each other like they are kissing in a dark background to show it’s night or dark bedroom. One car can be smaller which the other bigger to show female and male. Car on dirty road with random papers and broken signs. This should also be in a dark background to show the chaos and riot.
  4. Results: I really love the colors for the “she being Brand”, because it looks romantic. Also like how it’s a close up to show the “intimacy” of the cars. I like how lonely the car looks for “Coming Home, Detroit, 1968” and the photo looks like an actual car in a dark road with the sign on the side instead of a toy car.

Topic Seven: “she being Brand” & “Coming Home, Detroit, 1968”

Summary:   “she being Brand” by e.e. cummings is a piece of poetry which talks about a new car in an exiting way. The author talks about a new car almost like he describes a woman and gives the car some humanistic personalities.

“Coming Home, Detroit” has significant different mood and here the car is a part of another picture. The author talks about changes in Detroit during race riots from his POV and experience. The same ride to work  turned out in something different and dark. The whole city became tragic and gloomy. I see burned pieces of newspapers on the streets and black and white scenes of the city which was colorful and bright some time ago.

Communication problem:  First image should show a car in triumphal and shiny way. The picture should represent beauty and excitement. The second image should be more contrast and dark for showing negative approach.

Image Ideas:  For “she being Brand” image: shinny and bright colors, small contrast between key light and fill light. “Coming Home, Detroit” image  should have dark shadows. The main idea is to show the mood through using light and focus.

Results: “she being Brand” image looks positive and promotional. I absolutely love the background which looks like mountain landscape. The reflection under the car reminds me of a frozen lake. “Coming Home, Detroit” image looks dark and moody. The diagonal composition and unusual font placement make the photo interesting. The car line in composition goes down and it brings more negative meaning.

She Being Brand/Coming Home Detroit

She Being Brand: The author’s expresses the excitement of driving a car for the first time through the street of Boston. The poem uses a metaphor of passion, ecstasy and intensity as if the author was having his first time sexual experience.

Coming Home Detroit: This poem is gritty and completely opposite from She being Brand. The narrative of the poem describes a scenario where hard times have been of great impact on the people living in the city.

Communication Problem: To develop an story with a strong composition, showing sensuality, excitement and a ambience of passion.

Image ideas: I would like to use props like candles, smoke(incense) and water to manifest lust, passion, and affection.