The TED talk, "How Photography Connects Us" by David Griffin was both informational and compelling. It was a fifteen minute long video explaining how photography can affect one's perspective and views of a situation. Griffin began by showing a series of amazing photographs. One of them being the infamous National Geographic photo of the Syrian refugee. This particular image stood out to me because it reminded me of the photo I took for the 'Photography as Art' project of Katya. The National Geographic photo really made me think about the backstory of this refugee and her history. It has inspired me to do more than just take a picture, but take pictures of things that show emotion and make people feel something.
In the video, David Griffin also touched on the different photographers who travel the world photojournaling different issues or struggles going on in other countries. He explained that many of the most successful photographers are full of ambition and hope to visit all kinds of different cultures and communities in order to produce the perfect shot. I have also noticed that the best photos shown in the TED talk were all shot in far places from the Unites States. This observation has also added to my desire to travel the world. Ever since I was little, I've wanted to see different parts of the world and photograph them mostly because of the many beautiful places. Now that I have seen the TED talk I now want to travel to also see the not so beautiful places that tell a story.
My goal as a photographer is to make the person looking at my photos think. I want them to feel something. I want them to have some kind of thought and not just that it's a nice picture. In my landscapes I would like to make sure that I always have interesting composition that is both satisfying and eye-catching. In my portraits I would like to capture the model's emotion in every shot. I no longer want to take any pictures that mean nothing or that don't spark some kind of feeling. The TED talk has encouraged all of these ideas for my photography future.
I was reminded of your Katya image as well. so many people have asked about that and I think it stands alone as an image that makes people think - even more than the original portrait does. I've always said art should make the viewer think, that mere snapshots are simply not enough. You encourage me with your written comments.
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