Final

 This is the first page of the story, I wanted to focus on the two of them to show them together and happy, which is why I centered them in the composition.  I set the table but didn't do much in the way of lighting.  For all of these images I arrived to them by story boarding and brainstorming.  I'm not sure if this relates directly to photography, I feel it relates more to film, which I am influenced greatly by studios like Ghibli and Pixar.

 In this scene salt and pepper are packed away into different boxes and they just get a glimpse of each other.  I tried to make it feel like there was sort of a great distance between the two even though they are actually very close. Again, very little manipulation of light, only setting up the figures. I'm not sure if this relates directly to photography, I feel it relates more to film, which I am influenced greatly by studios like Ghibli and Pixar.

 In this one you see salt being taken out of her box, and you clearly see that their separation is caused by some outside influence (the hand). I was trying to get some motion blur, I'm not sure how well it worked but I liked that it was obvious that salt was being taken out of the frame.  I'm not sure if this relates directly to photography, I feel it relates more to film, which I am influenced greatly by studios like Ghibli and Pixar.

 You see here that salt is place amid all the other spices.  I wanted a busy composition, as it's a new place for her and she's probably lost among all the other spices. Again, no manipulation of light just the scene.  I'm not sure if this relates directly to photography, I feel it relates more to film, which I am influenced greatly by studios like Ghibli and Pixar.

 Now you get to see where pepper was set.  He's somewhere on the counter far away from the spic cabinet.  I wanted this one to be relatively empty because he's alone.  No manipulation of light, only manipulating the set with some help from my roommate. I'm not sure if this relates directly to photography, I feel it relates more to film, which I am influenced greatly by studios like Ghibli and Pixar.

In this one you are seeing from peppers perspective and he sees the spice cabinet where salt is kept. It seems extremely far away.  No manipulation of light, only the set. I'm not sure if this relates directly to photography, I feel it relates more to film, which I am influenced greatly by studios like Ghibli and Pixar.

This is where pepper begins his long climb to reach salt.  Right here it already seems impossible to make it to the cabinet. No manipulation of light only the set.  I'm not sure if this relates directly to photography, I feel it relates more to film, which I am influenced greatly by studios like Ghibli and Pixar.

 He's almost there! It's the last stretch of the climb and he can see salt reaching down to help him up.  Again I wanted to create this feel of something that just out of reach.  There was no manipulation of light, only the set. I'm not sure if this relates directly to photography, I feel it relates more to film, which I am influenced greatly by studios like Ghibli and Pixar.

 And in the end he reaches her and they hug.  I chose a close up because it sort of is the opposite of feeling that something is far away.  It's right here, literally in their arms.  There was no manipulation of light only the set.  I'm not sure if this relates directly to photography, I feel it relates more to film, which I am influenced greatly by studios like Ghibli and Pixar.

This image is actually the cover for my book.  I was originally going to create a logo or title for the book but decided to leave it as only images  The only lighting was the overhead light and a light from the front coming through my balcony door. I'm not sure if this relates directly to photography, I feel it relates more to film, which I am influenced greatly by studios like Ghibli and Pixar.

Blog #25

I want to create a story with my photos.  I've always been really attracted to stories as they are a great way to convey emotions and ideas in an interesting way, while still allowing the viewer to interpret the piece in their own way.  Stories are easily to relate to so even if the exact message isn't conveyed it's still an enjoyable peice.

Project #5: Constructions

This image is part of a three part narrative sequence.  In this image the figure is alone, I wanted a lot of blank space to emphasis that fact that there's nothing there with it.

Part II:  This was well received, interpreted as a little alone little pepper shaker dude.  It was agreed that the lighting was good, especially considered without it he would blend into the background too much.  For a larger project I could explore the lives of the salt and pepper shakers.

This image is part of a three part narrative sequence.  This image is almost from the first figures perspective, where you see that he notices there's someone else there with him.

Part II:  This was well received, interpreted as a pepper seeing salt for the first time (in a long time maybe).  Again, they liked the lighting and the over the shoulder viewpoint.  For a larger project I could explore the lives of the salt and pepper shakers.

This image is part of a three part narrative sequence.  In this image the figures are together.  I shot it on an angle because a moment like this is a life changing moment for the little figures and I imagine they'd feel a little off balanced as well as happy.

Part II: Everyone liked this one as well, interpreting it as when the two finally meet again.  I was told that my angles are very cinematic, which I think works well as this is a narrative.   For a larger project I could explore the lives of the salt and pepper shakers.

In this image I wanted to try and convey that when learning a foreign language or culture, even if you don't intend to, you end up immersing yourself in it, and it quickly becomes a part of who you are.  I tried to make the image just a little chaotic because learning these things can be very confusing and constantly hard to understand.  In terms of context, this is very appropriate for a school like MSU as we're very internationally minded and are constantly trying to bring international experiences into our education.

Part II: This was interpreted as I intended it, as the language and culture becoming part of you.  Most people said it was successful.  Some suggested maybe taking the character to the extreme and having them go everywhere.  As a bigger project I could further explore the affect of learning about foreign cultures and languages.

Blog Prompt #23

1.  Personal identities can be constructed in how we display ourselves everyday.  This can include how we dress and how we act in different situations.

2.  Personal culture or social environment can be extremely affected by the media.  Even those who are part of a culture often don't understand the reality because of the fabrications that the media has provided for them.

3.  A personal space can be constructed in terms of what we choose to display and what we choose to hide.  The objects we put on display are those that say something positive about us, and we hide the ones that may be negative.

4.  In my daily life I suppose most of how I act towards people I'm not close to is mostly constructed.  Rarely do I lie but I will often omit things and allow others to fill in the blanks as they see fit.

5.  I might possibly use my roommates to show certain scenes from our lives, maybe trying to show certain small aspects of us, or maybe create imaginary characters.

6. I like the idea of using food to create funny images (I just kind of really like food), or images that have some sort of meaning.

This piece is from a sausage series done by Peter Fischli and David Weiss.  The pair have been working on collaborative work since 1979 and this series is one of the first series they've done together.  I found the series very entertaining, it shows simple everyday moments using all types of sausage.  As well as this one there are images of sausages looking at different slices of sausage "carpet" and there's even a sausage car accident.  I'm not sure why they chose to use sausage to show everyday lives but it's quite entertaining.

This image was done by William Lake Price, it is a scene depicting Don Quixote in his study.  Price liked to recreate scenes from both literature and history and photograph them.  Price was originally a painter who specialized in watercolor but he started photographing in 1854 and is well known for using combination printing.

Final Images: Pop Culture

In this image I wanted to focus on the child so while most of him is off center his face is almost centered in the frame which really emphasizes his expression.  This image is part of a snapshot set so I just wanted to try and show a little bit about him and this day, to record the memories.  The method was rather candid, just taking shots whenever I could or felt they would turn out well.  In terms of context these images as a set show the relationship between a young father and his son, especially on a day like his first Halloween.

Part 2: This one was well received, everyone liked the tones and the subject.  It was interpreted as confusion the child looks confused.  His first Halloween ever and he doesn't quite understand what's going on.  In terms of a larger project everyone just commented that this set is in itself a project so I would only have to take it further.

In this image I wanted to capture both father and son in the frame.  I was sitting in the passenger seat of the car and the father of the child was pumping gas.  This moment reminded me of times when I was young and you'd spend the day doing something exciting and when the day was over and your half asleep your parents inevitably have to stop at the gas station to fill up.  It's a calm sort of tired feeling for the child and I wanted to try and show that.  In terms of context these images as a set show the relationship between a young father and his son, especially on a day like his first Halloween.

Part 2: Some people like this one, some not.  A few liked that the figure in the back was blurred while the child was just sitting still, and a few like the shapes and angles the windwos and the figures make.  It may have been a little too dark when printed.   In terms of a larger project everyone just commented that this set is in itself a project so I would only have to take it further.

This image is also focused on the face of the child to show some emotion.  This is another one that I just shot randomly, as these are all rather candid.  I feel that it shoes a good deal of emotion and the personality of the child.  I wanted to create a snapshot that would be the type of picture that parents would frame or put in their photo album.  In terms of context these images as a set show the relationship between a young father and his son, especially on a day like his first Halloween.

Part 2:  This one was also seen sort of in terms of confusion but just incredibly cute.  Some wished that the tones were more similar to the first one, maybe lighten it up a bit but others questioned that as it's obviously a photo taken a little later. In terms of a larger project everyone just commented that this set is in itself a project so I would only have to take it further.

 

This one has an angular composition that was partly on accident.  As it is a snapshot not all framing can be perfect and the father tended to be a little camera shy so I snuck this one.  I wanted to show father and son together, and maybe show a little piece of their relationship.  In terms of context these images as a set show the relationship between a young father and his son, especially on a day like his first Halloween.


Part 2: This was seen as a calm end of the night kind of thing.  I'm not sure how everyone felt about the angle, and again they wished the tones were more like the first.  It may have been that when printed out it looked darker.   In terms of a larger project everyone just commented that this set is in itself a project so I would only have to take it further.

Aesthetics

1.  Most news photographs are either candid images of events or posed images like portraits, but not as worried about making the subject look good as snapshots or traditional portraits.  It's about trying to portray the truth, or the truth that the newspaper wants to show.

2. Snapshots also portray what is, though usually a personal memory not an important event.  They are usually light-hearted with little or no thought put into the formal issues of the photograph.

3.  All sorts of fashion, ads, and product photography are trying to sell you something.  They create a world that their product is the center of and make it seem as if it's a necessary item.  They are normally very focused on the product, highlighting is good points.

4.  These are also creating another world, whatever world the movie is making.  The exact aesthetics vary dramatically from the different genres of movie, but it normally focuses on an important or interesting moment in the movie.

5.  Yearbook or senior photos are for the sole purpose of remembering a person.  Because of this they are very focused on the person and their different aspects.  It's often, though not always, a plain or unfocused background to place emphasis on the figure, which they try to make look as good as possible.

Final Images: Place

 In this image I wanted to emphasize the tree, but not center it.  The  large amount of empty space places that emphasis on the tree.  I've always loved this tree, it feels very old and majestic, like it's seen a lot and I wanted to sort of portray the tree in the manner.  I obviously didn't do much construction, just used natural lighting.  I just walked around it looking at it from all angles to find the one that suited my goal the best.  To me this shows a certain respect for nature, as this obviously very old tree is coexisting with the building behind it.  This puts in the context of how we treat nature, what we leave and what we destroy, and maybe brings up questions about how to coexist more with nature.

Part Two:  I wasn't exactly told how this was interpreted, though someone said they were confused by the angle.  The general consensus was that the angle was odd and wasn't very effective, almost accidental.  I suppose from here I could just experiment with angles.  I like diagonals, so I would like to work on them until they are more effective. 

 This images main focal point is the bike in front, you then notice the one on the left and maybe after a little looking see the one on the right.  The three bikes make an almost even triangle.  Again there was no construction in this image.  My goal was to capture all three bikes in one picture to show kind of the state of the river.  The concept shows something old worn out, forgotten and discarded.  In terms of context, this shows pollution and the destruction of nature in a way that student here can easily understand.  We all know the state of the river and this just pushes the concept more.

Part Two: Again, no interpretation, though everyone thought it was funny how many bikes were there.  This one some people also didn't like the diagonal.  Again, I'd just like to work on diagonals more to make them more effective.

 This image has a very diagonal wedge like composition, that gives the river a nice movement.  To me it feel serene, and shows the changing in season.  With this image I wanted to do something almost the opposite of the bicycle photos, even though this was taken maybe five feet away.  I wanted to show the beauty inherent in all of nature, and things like the changing of the seasons.  Again, no construction, only an experimentation in framing and angles.  This fits into our culture here at msu by showing the beauty of a river that is generally thought of to be dirty and disgusting.

Part Two:  I don't think I really got any interpretations about any of my images, but everyone thought the angle in this one was more effective.  Maybe it's because there's isn't any single strong diagonal like the other two?  I would like to use this to explore angles more.

Again, this is another  bicycle image, though this focuses on the one wheel in the river, with a very off center composition.  The darkness of the wheel and it's man made shape contrasts most of the rest of the picture so that the emphasis is on the wheel.  This image is similar to the other one in that is shows something lost and abandoned, but this one feels almost more forlorn to me because only the one is visible, making it feeling alone in it's forgotten state.  I personally wanted to show the oddity of there being a bike in the river, and to raise questions of how it came to be there.  In this way it also brings up questions about what to do about it which goes back to the context of pollution and how to deal with it.

Part Two: Someone commented on the oddity of the bike, and how it doesn't belong but not in the context of interpretation.  One person mentioned that they would have preferred it to not have an odd angle so that the only odd thing in the picture is the bike, which would place emphasis on the bike.  Others said that the angle in this one was much more effective then the angles in the first two.  I wonder if it's because it's not as severe and not as prominent.  In terms of taking this further I still just want to experiment with angles.

Should Not, Cannot, Do Not Want

I guess things you should not photograph all boils down to your morals.  There's not much of anything that I would feel just should not be photographed, unless the subject is adamantly opposed to the photograph and it's uses.  As for cannot be photographed, I assume the only things that fall into that category is ideas vs. solid objects, though that's where the "concept" part of conceptual art falls.  Every day artists are finding ways to visually represent something that is not visual in nature.  And if we're speaking about physical things that are unable to be photographed because of their nature, I'm sure someone will come along with some technology that will make it possible.  And as for not wanting to photograph, there are many subjects I'd just prefer to avoid.  I tend to enjoy shooting more natural things, as they are, though I never feel the need to go to the lengths of shock art. 

Place Artist: Uta Barth

Gallery

I chose to do Uta Barth, a photographer that was born in Berlin.  Most of her images have an interesting use of focus.  This one is an untitled piece and it has more focus than most of her works do.  Many of them have no foreground, very very little of one.  They create abstractions of places instead of completely spelling out the details.  They give a great feeling of memory or nostalgia to me, like trying to remember a place but never quite being able to pull all the details together in your mind.  I don't know much about the intent of these images but they really appeal to me because they take longer to understand.  I feel like you could spend hours looking at one trying to understand it.

"Photography can only represent the present."

I'm not sure I understand this quote because it goes on to say that once the photo is taken the subject becomes part of the past.  This part I agree with, but wouldn't that make it more correct to say that photography can only represent the past?  It represent things that were, that used to be.  It used to represent something that was the present, but now what is picture is in the past.  I think I'm confusing myself now.

"...our own private world."

This is another quote I agree with.  Some photographers try and photograph the world as it is, with no editing and to show how things are.  While I find this admirable I also believe that it's completely impossible.  A photo is contained within it's borders.  Everything beyond the edges of the picture plane is unknown.  This means that every time a photographer chooses to leave something out of the frame they are leaving out information.  Even unintentionally there are edits to the reality, in which the artist decides what is the most important information.  These are personal decisions and in making personal decision they make their own world.

"I believe in the imagination."

First of all I love this quote and completely agree.  Our imagination is what we use to change the world around us.  If you lack imagination you can never see anything more than what's in front of you and you can never even fathom possible ways of changing, or expanding on what you see.  Imagining gives you a way to influence the world.  If you just see, you can do no more than live in the world you were given.

Recreate Memory

This image recreates when I first moved out of my mom's house and into my apartment.  Boxes imply storage, and moving.  Through that they show the time change from my old home to my new.

Portraits Final Images

II: This image was well received, it was many peoples favorite image.  It was interpreted as kind of a thoughtful image, sitting daydreaming and having a smoke.  There where very little suggestions on improvement as most thought it was a successful image.  For extension, it was suggested that I may do a series exploring the use of smoke in images.

II: This one was also thoughtful, but less relaxed, though I believe.  The image was well received and it was agreed that the lighting was nice as well as as the reflection in the glasses which gives another aspect because you can see what he is looking at.  To take this further into a series some people suggested focusing on the glasses and reflections.

II: Many people liked this one and his expression, they say it as kind of surprise or confusion, like he just realized his photo was being taken.  They also liked the lighting in this one.  One person suggested doing a series focusing on this subject and his various expressions.

II: Many of the comments about this one were that it feels real and honest, like she is in the room with the viewer or trying to speak to them.  Again, they liked the lighting though some questioned the composition, like the couch in the background and the center-ness of the figure.  After finding out that this is a picture of my roommate right after she woke up, it was suggested that I go around, wake people up and take their picture.

All of these images were made in mostly the same way, so I feel I can pretty much write a general statement about all of them.  They are all candid shots, as candid as you can get with the person knowing that you're taking photos of them.  When my roommates and I were sitting around talking I just started shooting them.  There was very little direction, almost none at all.  Lighting from all except the first was inside with daylight coming in through a sliding door.  The first was taken outside on the balcony.  Th idea behind these was just to grab a little piece of who these people are in everyday life.  I wanted something that felt real which is why I just sat down and chatted like we do every day.

"...remind us of what we forgot."

I'm not sure exactly what to say about this quote, I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around it.  I suppose the part about the paintings confuse me the most.  Yes photographs do record things, so you often look back at things and remember something you had forgotten, but I feel a painting can work the same way.  You can forget what is in a painting just as much as you can forget what is in a photograph.  I also feel that paintings are more often open to wide interpretations than photographs are, because you're trying to see into someone's mind.  With a photo you are still seeing that person's intentions but they're represented in something that you recognize, not with images that where invented in the artist's mind.

“You don't take a photograph, you make it.”

This is very true in many ways.  Photographers often set up scenes to convey the message that they want.  Even when the scene isn't constructed the photographer makes a conscious decision of what to put in and what to leave out of the frame.  In this way they are still editing the scene in a way and making the photograph and scene match what they envision.

Work in Progress: Portraits

Here are six portraits for the work in progress critique.

Anna Gaskell

For my photographer I chose Anna Gaskell.  She's an American photographer born in Des Moines Iowa.  She now lives in New York. She attended Bennington College and the Art Institute of Chicago for her BFA, and Yale University of Art for her MFA.  I found that she did a series based off of Lewis Carrol's Alice in Wonderland.  She's had exhibits in the Guggenheim and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, among other's in Florida, Massachusetts, and Kansas.  Her Wonder series cast two twin teenage girls to recreate the events in the novel using bright colors and a sort of surreal compositions to create a dream like quality.

"...more about me..."

I agree in some ways with this quote and disagree in others.  While I do agree that whenever you create a picture or work of art you impose your own meanings and interpretations to it.  This can easily be done with portraits, so that the portrait reflects how you view that person.  On the other hand, the picture is still of that person and others will interpret the meaning of the portrait differently than you would.  No matter what meaning you try to impose it will be interpreted differently and that's when the photograph is more about the subject.

Content and Context of a Portrait

Images vary greatly depending on the intent of the photographer.  On Facebook, the "photographer" is often also the subject, or someone close to the subject.  In those instances, images are normally used to portray who the subject is in a simple way.  Often they try and portray themselves in the best light possible.  When it comes to news the photographer is usually someone not attached to the subject or the scene in any way.  They are also trying to convey properly the subject but they aim for a more real representation than what we often see on Facebook.  Photographers for magazines are also often impersonal, but they trying to sell something with their images.  For that reason they may try to hide the real meaning of the subject and lead the viewer to believe something that may not be true.

Digital Editing

As a digital painter myself I very rarely see anything wrong with digital alterations of images.  To me it's just another media to create artistic images.  I think the only time I might see it as ethically wrong is if you were taking portraits and the subject either didn't give consent or was openly against you altering their image but it was done anyway.  All other times I have yet to feel anything against digital editing of images.

"...taking their soul".

I think this is an interesting quote, and true in some ways.  Not literally.  But the fact is that in a picture you do portray people, and that may possible show some of who they really are, or in fact show their soul.  If you're not honest about the goal of your photo or why you're taking a picture of that person then if you mis-portray them it is somewhat unfair to them.  It's wrong to use images of a person without properly explaining what they're being used for.

Recreate 2

Original

The original image I chose is an untitled image by Rinko Kawauchi, a Japanese photographer.  I really liked the soft feel of her work and her tendency towards off center compositions.  She also constrains all her pieces to a square format which I found interesting because it forces the artist to become more creative with their composition.

Assignment 1 Image #3: Memory

Part 1: This image was originally from the set that asked me to take multiple pictures of one subject, in many different angles.  I did little beginning planning but developed ideas as I shot.  With over 70 images I created in this set, I had plenty of time to experiment and create moods by focusing on certain aspects of the subject.  Perspective plays a great part in the mood of a piece, and this perspective along with the focus creates a feeling of nostalgia.  It’s like trying to remember something but forgetting some of the most important details and seeing others in a blur.  Because the subject is a stuffed animal it enforces this feeling of past childhood days.

Part 2: The composition of this image was well received, though I was asked why I decided to crop out the head, to which I didn't exactly have a good answer.  Over all I think it was decided that the picture worked well, other than it was somewhat grainy in some areas.  I think from here it might be interesting to do a series based off of the idea of nostalgia.  Someone mentioned that it looked like a stuffed animal that was left behind or forgotten and a series on that idea might be interesting.

Assignment 1 Image #2: Gaggle

Part 1:  Originally I set out to shoot geese with the fast shutter speed and capture them in flight.  When I approached the lake I was surprised to find easily 200 geese waiting to fly south.  I wanted to try and capture them to show the sheer amount of geese in this gaggle.  Using my zoom I attempted to sneak up on them, though there were so many that it was nearly impossible.  I eventually took some nice photos with an interesting composition by focusing on the tree and have the geese slowly blur into the background.   In a way this photo represents the changing of the seasons, as geese themselves represent a transition from warm to cold weather, and the coming of fall.

Part 2:  I don't think the geese were as well received as my other two images, but there were no negative comments about this image that I remember.  I think the composition works well as well as the lighting.  From here I could do a series of fun nature photography.

Assignment 1 Image #1: Porkchop Doppelganger

Note: Porkchop is the name of the reindeer.

Part 1:  In this image I wanted to use the slow shutter speed to create a double image of the subject, in a ghostlike manner, thus responding to the prompt of “doppelganger”.  Setting the camera on the ground and extremely slowing the shutter speed I just moved the stuffed animal to try and get the affect I desired.  I used the strong lighting to further enhance the feeling of insubstantiality.   Originally I was just shooting with the hopes of coming across a quality image in terms of composition, and I was happy to create this one.  The main figure stands looking (almost in surprise I like to think) at the other, who is just peaking into the frame.  The idea was inspired by a friend of mine.  We did a photoshoot using the slow shutter speed to create ghost like figures and I thought the idea would translate well to making a doppelganger.

Part 2:  This image was received well, and I think it accomplishes what I intended.  There was one comment that it may be overexposed, but it was retracted.  It was agreed that the light helps the feel of the image.  I think this image could lead to a series of fun doppelganger type images, using ordinary things and giving them a sort of life through two images of them.

"If I could tell a story in words..."

    There are many things that photographs are better at explaining.  I think in general photos or picture are better for just a single moment, a single mood or idea while words are better for sequences and continuous events.  Photographs also tend to be more emotional.  People can read quite a bit emotion into a single photo while words can (but not always) seem more cold and rational.  Words are better for sequences because with a picture you could guess what came before or what it will lead too, and the photographer can even try and imply certain things but the only thing you know for certain is what you see.  With words the writer can explicitly explain what is and will be going on.

"Nothing is as it appears"

     I very much agree with the quote that nothing is as it appears.  As artists we learn how to create moods and set things up to show what we want.  Photographers set up most of their shoots and control everything from lighting to placing of the elements.  We have to change things in order to try and show what they truly are, or at least how we perceive them.

Project #0, Recreate

I received a collage by Hannah Hoch to recreate.  I didn't wanted to use any collage processes but I still wanted to experiment with the scale change in the figures.

The Word Photograph

     A photograph is, by definition, a picture created by photography.  And photography of course has a somewhat more complicated definition, something along the lines of the art of creating pictures on sensitized surfaces.  Or so dictionary.com tells me.  But to me, as I touched on in my last post, photography is mostly just a form of communication.  If photography itself is a language, than photos are the words.  It's a language full of emotion and insight.  Just like any other language it can be used to almost any purpose.  It can reveal truths, it can lie, and it has it's own sorts of misunderstandings.  Photography can be manipulated and it has multiple levels of understanding.  It can be one of the strongest form of communication, able to create a window into someone else's world, that any other language might not be able to do.

A World Without Photographs

     Imagining a world without photos is a difficult task.  We've lived in a world so focused on imagery that it's hard to fathom how we'd live without it.  I feel that a world without photos would be missing a very large part of communication.  Pictures are involved in so many things: news, magazines, ads and multitudes of personal uses.
     It makes me think of something I was told of while I was in Japan.  In ancient Japan, people would receive the skins of tigers by trading with other countries (namely China).  Very few people had actually traveled to see a tiger.  The only thing they had to go on about it's appearance was the skins and some (probably exaggerated) stories from those few travelers.  The Japanese were fascinated by these mysterious creatures and they appeared in much of their art.  But as very few people knew how to portray a tiger they tended to vary and appear very unnatural.  Now, we could bring this into a modern day and put it in the context of the internet.  I could tell you I have very long brown hair and bright blue eyes.  I'm 5'7", not exactly skinny, but definitely not really fat either.  You still have no idea what I look like.  There are not enough words in the world to properly describe me, but if you saw one picture there would be no need to try.  We could spend our lives trying to tell each other how beautiful the Florence Cathedral is, what that cute guy from the party looked like, or what is going on overseas, yet never get the point across.
     In the end, photographs are something that bring us experiences that we would not otherwise have.  We would constantly have to try and imagine, with absolutely no idea, what things were.  They help us convey ideas and thoughts, and in many ways are more efficient than words.