Wk 4: Picture Stories

When I was at school, I was the top of my grade for Visual Arts. I put in a lot of time to get those marks, but the real reason I did so well was because I loved it. Creating images is one of the most ancient human skills. The art has always been important to us; we painted pictures before we could write, and made idols from clay before we thought to make bowls. The lecture in week four, Picture Stories, really resonated with me. I loved seeing how the journalistic world still uses images to convey meaning in a story, and to attract attention to an article.

The history of picture stories was an interesting segment, below is a photo I took of some Aboriginal Artwork at Canarvon Gorge. Twenty Thousand years ago, somebody placed their hands on this wall, and long since died. Today we can see the hands of these people, it takes my breath away.

Twenty-thousand year old Aboriginal Art

Today images are used very differently. The invention of the camera revolutionised the way we saw the world, and beyond it. Below is an image that has become iconic, the man on the moon.  This image allowed the billions of people of Earth to relate to the handful of astronauts that actually made it there. 

US astronaut Buzz Aldrin on the surface of the moon

Another iconic image seen here is the collapse of the twin towers. It’s photos like this that say so much more than any words could.

The moment of impact - 9/11 Twin Towers collapse

As for the 9/11 photo, not many photographic skills were employed. It was all about the moment, proof for those who need to see to believe. However, not all photos can be trusted as proof. The Photoshop section of this lecture was confronting to say the least. In the image below, you can see Jess Alba before and after Photoshop. I mean, if they have to make her more beautiful, what hope is there for the rest of us? I think it’s pretty amazing what can be done with image editing, though it is a shame that we must be so sceptical with what we see.

Actress/Model Jessica Alba before and after Photoshop

I think that photography and video making are only going to grow in popularity in the years to come, with programs like Instagram and Viddy. People like to create and to share their story with the rest of the world, just like they did thousands of years ago, when they painted the walls of caves.