Sticking Together

Working together as a group is always a challenge, but this project was more successful than others that I've worked on. Because we all have busy schedules, the most convenient way for my group members and I to communicate was through email. However, I discovered that when organizing a group electronically, you need a group leader. I decided to fill this role, dividing the tasks evenly among the group members and setting a deadline for each member's contribution. Everyone was to email three photographs to me (I contributed three photographs as well) and I chose two from each person and assembled our slideshow. Allowing each person to take the photographs at the time most convenient for her helped our group to complete the assignment.

In the future, I would suggest that we discuss our ideas for the photographs more, as several of our photographs were similar. Overall, however, our group worked well together. I liked that, although some of our photographs were similar, others were drastically different. The most important thing I learned from this assignment is that not everyone thinks the same way. It was fascinating to see the different interpretations of different people in our group.

My favorite image from our project was actually taken by Giorgia Fabri. This image is effective for several reasons. First, the juxtaposition of new technology, in the form of a computer and television remote, with old technology, in the form of a hammer, is both creative and understandable. The three pieces of brown furniture subtly frame the hammer and computer in the center of the shot, pointing out the aforementioned juxtaposition. The lines of each piece of furniture lead the viewer's eye to the center of the shot. The bright sunlight creates a mood of enlightenment, which adds yet another shade of meaning to the photograph, and the neutral colors of the shot keep the viewer's attention focused on the subject. The photograph would be slightly more effective the the subject was in one third of the photograph and not directly in the center, and also if the model appeared slightly less posed. Emotion is lacking in this shot, but the emphasis on the battle of the hammer and the computer makes up for that. What I like most about this photograph is its subject. After all, what 21st century citizen has not, an one point or another, wanted nothing more than to break his fancy new contraption and go back to simpler times?