Monday, March 16, 2009

reading icons


Photo by: J.R. Trevino
In the 1997s Mercedes Benz Advertisement it talks about "what makes a symbol endure?"Its main idea is to tell how the Benz  logo came about and the powerful message it holds. Safe,Innovative,beautiful that's what Benz logo stands for.I think a logo should be flexible enough to be put in any merchandise.It should be proudly worn by its fans and people that believe on what it stands for. Personally I love the peace symbol and the happy face symbol but in this case I went with a more American sports fan symbol.
That's why I picked this picture of my cousin and his friends in the Dodgers game with a lot of merchandise from the baseball team.I think their logo even though its not one of the most famous in the world it definitely holds a high place in the sports world and in the hearts of Americans. They are proud to wear the logo and the color blue. They not only wear it in games but they have pieces that have their Dodgers logo on them.

reading icons


Photo by Ana Chavez

Wonder by Richard B.Woodward
In this article Woodward's main idea is to describe the uniform wonder woman wears and how it came to be.He also describes who she is, what she wears and what she stands for and how its is iconic."if academia has recently focused on contemporary women such as Madonna and Martha Stewart,then surely Wonder Woman deserves attention."I also like how he says "give them an alluring women stronger than themselves to submit to and they'll be proud to become her willing slaves"I think a lot of modern men look for a real life model of wonder women.I think a good song that expresses what I'm trying to say is Miss independent remix by Ne-yo



She Got Her Own (Miss Independent Remix) feat. Jamie Foxx and Fabolous - Ne-Yo
This article also clearly stated how not only women love a man  in uniform, but men also love a strong women in uniform that's why I picked this picture that I took last Halloween of girls that were wearing costumes of real life uniforms.I believe a lot of young women dress like a uniformed girl for Halloween because they look up to these real life heroines and classify them as sexy and powerful. The pregnant girl also represents to me a strong women outside the uniform.

Monday, March 2, 2009

Challenging images


photo by :Ana Chavez
Omayra Sanchez by Isabelle Allende
In this article Isabelle expresses how the photo of the little girl impacted her emotions,opinions and her life.She states  "the wonder of photography is that it does what no words can" Her thoughts and feelings about the picture and the mood and things that it reminds her of in her life.I also believe that pictures are worth a thousand words so that's why I picked this article because I believe that pictures create a mood and can impact your life.
That's why I picked this picture that i took in Newport,CA. I was trying to capture emotion.Just like the person captures emotion in Omayra's face.Even though my picture isn't as emotional filled as the one of the little girl I think it serves its purpose.I think in my picture of this girl( who I did not stage) I captured multiple emotions. 
A sense of solitude,reman-icing,happiness,mystery  or maybe sadness , it just depends who looks at it.I really liked it also because I didn't know the person but I could almost picture people feeling the ocean breeze and smelling the beach she is looking towards when they see this picture.Or relating to whatever stage they think she is in.

Challenging images


     Photo by and manipulated by: Ana Chavez
Ethics in the age of digital photography by John Long
In this article John Long main idea is the credibility of photojournalists. How pictures impact the news and how journalist need to be more mindful of what images they are putting out in the media.He also argues that pictures need to stay truthful and not be manipulated if they are going to be for documentation purpose or if they are going to be in newspapers that people trust. With so much technology these days you can practically black mail anybody or manipulate images that can cause strong emotions.In his article he says "no one has the right to change these photos or the content of any documentary photo.It is our obligation to history to make sure this does not happen."
In honor of digitally manipulated photos I manipulated one of my own so you can see to what extent technology can mislead people, and create a person that is digitally manipulated to appear with enhanced features.

Monday, February 16, 2009

capturing memorable moments




I've always like to look into other cultures. I find interesting that all of them have their differences. That's why I chose to read the essay Fish Cheeks by Amy Tan. Ive read the Joy luck club and immediately like the way she wrote.I think she really captures many feelings people feel when they are from a different background and they are the first generation in the U.S. In this essay she explains how embarrassed she was when her crush the ministers son and his family came for Xmas dinner to her Chinese home.She explains some of the customs and food that her family usually prepared and how she wanted to disappear.I especially liked what her mother told her when she gave her the skirt "But inside, you must always be Chinese. You must be proud you different. You only shame is be ashamed."those are powerful wise words.I also believe that even though you are born i the U.S. you must love and embrace your roots and the culture that your family has.
Since I am Mexican I uploaded this still from a DVD called the spirit of Mexico which is a mariachi playing his violin.  He looks like he loves what he does.That DVD is all about mariachis and their passion for the Mexican music, many of them were not even born in Mexico but they appreciate the music and the culture.

capturing memorable moments

This  picture I think is a very good example of "alone in the booth you forgo the behaviors and attitudes expected when a camera is forced upon you" this is a quote in Babbette Hines article Picture Perfect. She describes how she is fascinated by the self photography aspect of taking pictures in a photo-booth. She likes how truth or fiction can easily commingle,how these little photographs have no barriers you can take them alone or with friends or lovers.She also says she likes to imagine stories behind the little pictures that are not her own.
I like how she can relate to that picture and picture herself in their spot.Thats why I picked this picture that was taken some time in the 1960s in a photo-booth.  I found this picture in one of my moms old albums all I know of these pictures is that they were my moms relatives.I can easily picture this lady taken her son to watch a movie, tickets probably cost $2. Or maybe she wanted to capture the happiness of that moment.I find this art of self photography fun I especially like the older fashioned ones that have a curtain in the back, most of the modern ones are not the same and they dont print out the authentic ,old school photo-booth pictures. 

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Projecting gender as a woman


     Photo still from Disney's Mulan
This picture is from the movie Mulan by Walt Disney pictures.I chose this still from the movie because I believe it fits with the fiction piece "GIRL" by Jamiaca Kincaid when Mulan has to go through this ritual to bring honor to her family as a young Chinese woman. In Jamaica's fictional piece she described in a way how it would be to be a young woman as though someone is dictating it to her.Like in her piece a quote that stood out to me was "on Sundays try to walk like a lady and not like the slut you are so bent in becoming,"older women with older customs always put down young women and modernization. They don't believe in equality and always try to tell their young girls how to act.To me they are saying to put on a mask like Mulan is wearing with the makeup on this picture. They are telling you to hide who you are and to do the things they are expecting you to do,but I always think that there is nothing wrong with being different not all women like pink and want to be a house wife.
That's why I chose the Mulan picture and the part of the movie where  the older  women tell her that men want women that are thin with a little waist, that wear makeup and that are obedient and quiet.I really frown upon a lot of older customs that only humiliate women and don't show what women are capable of when not pressured to be a house wife.In Jamaica's piece it was all about how to be the perfect woman for  a man to even consider marring you and make you their house wife, and how it would be a disgrace to be something other than that.