Robert Frank’s photos are now just a window of the past injustice amongst blacks living in America while Scot Olsen’s photos are a vivid reminder of the failed times we live in. I would consider both sets of photography as first hand documents in the process and long history of the fight for equality in America. Feelings of inferiority can be felt in the times that Robert Frank has taken why the sensations of anger, violence, and pain can be felt through the images of Ferguson. After decades of fighting for equality, one would have thought that by now America as a country would have made some drastic improvements. However in the past few weeks with photos surfacing from Ferguson, it seems that the some odd decades that have past has just been a continuing cycle of injustice. In a sense, if both Robert Frank’s and Scot Olsen’s photos were shown side by side it would create the feeling of deja vu.

The photos from the article and the short video were quite interesting. Both pieces shed more light on the problem of California’s farming lands going through a terrible drought. As the average person that does not live in California or is not involved in farming, it is hard for us to find out or even be directly effected by what is going on in California. People as a whole wouldn’t have realized that a drought was even occurring in California until they would have gone to the store one day looking for a case of their favorite tomatoes or fruit, only to realize that they are no more. The video and photos help raise awareness and hopefully with enough recognition some sort of mass action can be taken in order to combat this issue.

I completely agree with this article. There are simply too many factors that promote the theory that this photo was staged. One must think, in the midst of a gun battle or battlefield how is it possible for a photographer to capture such a photo with absolutely no gore? Another question I personally thought to myself was how is it that the cameraman left that scene unharmed? The trajectory of the shot and the soldiers physical response did not add up to me, but if the photo was not staged I salute Mr. Capa on such a powerful photo. However if it was staged, I would probably feel the same way. The photo was distributed in order to portray and evoke some sort of feelings, and in my opinion the photo did just that.

This article was very amusing to say the least. The requests that the artists listed made were quite hilarious and they completely fit their descriptions. My favorite ones were the requests Frank Sinatra, Busta Rhymes, and Prince made. As for the photos, Henry Hargreaves did an exceptional job. He did an exceptional job of giving life and character to such simple yet odd foods through his photos.

After watching this film of Georges Melies, A Trip to the Moon, I would indeed regard it as a masterpiece. Of course in today’s society, this piece would be looked at as the work of an amateur of some sort. However, in 1902 there was not another body of work that had the sophisticated special effects that A Trip to the Moon did. One scene that really stood out to me, were the explorers traveling across the mushroom filled landscape. Another scene that left an impression would be the animation of the missile traveling descending from above and plummeting in the ocean. While watching this film all that came to mind with this being the first sci-fi movie, was that these scenes resembles images straight out of a dream. With early photography, people were just limited to an instance of a piece of history that could be preserved for a long time. With early film, that gave people the option of documenting entire life events or situations with the ability of playback. Melies was able to take his imagination and project it on to screen, in a manner that would create awe in all of its viewers through early film

Here is a breakfast dish known ass eggs benedict. It is an English muffin topped with Canadian bacon, a poached egg, chive, and hollandaise sauce. With the way the picture was taken, viewers can almost get a feel of how it actually tastes. The bright green color of the chives evoke feelings of freshness. The browned tips of the bacon lets us know that it was sautéed somewhat and has a slight crisp to its taste. Along with the bacon being sautéed, the picture also lets us know the muffin was toasted due its crisp brown surface. Finally the hollandaise sauce and runny glow of the poached egg, evokes the sensation of a soggy (for lack of a better word) yet firm egg with a creamy hollandaise sauce.

As we all know, breakfast is perhaps the most important meal of the day. Its from this very first meal in the day, that our body receives the energy and nutrients to perform the tasks that our day requires. This New York Times article, sheds light on the importance of breakfast for children and the typical breakfast for children of different nations. Ranging from hard boiled eggs, sausages, sauces and in some cases pastries, breakfast from other nations completely differ to that of Americans. The most standard breakfast for American children in my opinion, is cereal and milk. The cereal of today’s market, is loaded with sugar. As we all know too much sugar and kids, are not a good combination. Ultimately the “sugar high” will crash and leave you with either a tired or cranky kid. Along with that, increases in sugar will lead to a decrease in nutritional value of the cereal. No one cares what benefits Cinnamon Toast Crunch provides, we all just know that it tastes great. This reasoning is also why I believe America has an obesity issue, because of the “it tastes good” mentality. this is what I believe a nutritional American breakfast looks like:

I believe Walker Evans’ subway portraits was an interesting view on the urban environment of New York City of that time. His style of photography, in today’s words are known as “off-guards”. Off-guards are great for photographers, because it allows them to capture their subject in a natural (practically vulnerable) state. His method of capturing the photos in my opinion were unorthodox. Usually people would like to be asked for consent to have pictures taken of them. The idea of someone taking random pictures of yourself is sure to stir up some sort of discomfort, especially in today’s society where privacy is much more of a concern. However, I believe Evans’ project rendered him helpless to any other options of picture taking. In his photos, you can see hard working, sad, tired, and sometimes emotionless faces. Not expecting to have a photo taken, none have a “picture perfect” pose or smile. These facial expressions are very similar to the faces of those on New York City trains today. The people of yesterday and today, in NYC are “working people”. The train riders in these photos, are citizens of the “city that never sleeps” . Its shown in their faces and posture. Walker Evans has done an outstanding job in capturing these photos

Documentation of spiritualism is pointless in my opinion. The idea of spiritualism makes no sense nor does it interest me. Do I believe that the majority of these pictures are altered? Yes, I do. As a society of living human beings, the border of trying to access a sort of realm of the afterlife should not be crossed. If we were meant to interact with spirits, I believe that these interactions would be hearable and visible to all with ease. People are attracted by trends and that is my only explanation of why spiritualism has its community. Nothing about any of the photos Shannon Taggart has taken represents anything to me, not to discredit her as a photographer. I do believe that there are forces in this world that humans may encounter, however I think that a hype has been built around this practice that only attracts gullible people. So to answer the question of “Do I find such documentation valuable”, no I don’t.

This is a picture of a slice of chocolate mousse cake.  The photographer was able to catch the perfect angle of the cake, showcasing the various features of the cake with hopes of moistening the palettes of those soon to digest it. Looking at the picture, you can see three different layers of the cake; each with its own unique taste. Analyzing the cake, you first start of with the chips of dark chocolate at the top. Crisp, smooth, and rich are all qualities that I am able to feel due to the picture. That was the main purpose of this picture I believe, to create the taste of the cake just by simple observation. Next are the layers of whip cream/cream/vanilla mousse and chocolate mousse. Light, smooth, and creamy are all sensations provoked also by this picture. Last but not least, the bottom layer is a chocolate sponge. Fluffy and moist are elements of a good sponge cake, and can also be sensed in this photo.