The following photos are ones I have chosen for my Photography and Ethic assignment. They are one's I have taken personally in the past year. Two were taken during the Occupy Toronto support movement in the fall of 2011, and the third from the Smoke's Poutinerie Anniversary Event, that took place in the Fall of 2012.
I chose these photos because they are similar in many ways. They are basic images with simple content matter, that immediately draws the eye of the viewer. Second, they are images which propagate a message, view, or product. The objects in the images were all created with the specific purpose of getting the viewer to adopt a certain view or idea. This is premise of why I chose to edit these specific photos, to highlight that within the current sphere of media, the images that reach us can be manipulated in many ways to benefit those who produce them.
I began my process by colour correcting each photo. This was done purely to yield a higher quality, more clear photo. After that I began to alter each one individually. While each one is altered to display different content, they all contain a manipulation of the words displayed on banners, posters, or signs. Each one was changed to show something more absurd than before. This was done with a specific purpose.
With the presence of media in our culture bombarding us from all angles, and the interests of those who want our attention directed at them, we find ourselves in a cacophony of messages. We are being told to think a certain way by everything, and it becomes difficult to distinguish between which messages are genuine and those that aren't. Photos, soundclips, and video can all be altered to push a message. It is our responsibility as not only consumers of media, but as producers of it. We must work to make sure that our photos and messages that are given to the public push a message that is honest and real, not one that exists to trick the viewers into consuming it.
My photo edits were very simple in nature, but they served a very serious purpose. They represented the responsibility of media to not mislead the viewer with propaganda but instead with genuine insight. The represent the responsibility of the viewer to dissect what they are seeing and decide if it is worthy of being accepted. Most importantly it represents the responsibility of all to question all of what is real and what is observed. Our senses can be tricked, so it is never wise to be comfortable with accepting any aspect of life as absolute.
