Alcoholism and Australia, a set on Flickr.
My project is titled “Alcoholism and Australia”. It is a collection of images that represent alcohol’s role in contemporary Australian culture. The images also explore some of the more detrimental aspects of this culture. Images range from a classic Australian BBQ scenario to vibrant and colourful music festivals. My prior skills in producing photographic content were very limited. In order for me to complete this project I had to not only closely consider how to take photos but also how to use Photoshop to alter the photos in a way that would highlight some of the issues and ideas I wanted the viewer to connect with. Some of these photos are staged but majority are observations I have made in my time at university. The process involved with this assignment was to go and take photos on the issue of alcoholism and to then edit them in Photoshop to draw attention to certain aspects of the photo. Having never used Photoshop, the edits are subtle; I didn’t attempt anything too ambitious from fear of losing sight of the key themes of the project. If I were to do this again, I would certainly look at more exciting ways to digitally process my images. In completing my project I have learnt a great deal about digital media. First and foremost I learnt that there is no right or wrong and certainly no conventional methods of producing content. Technology allows us to produce a wide range of interesting and engaging content that appeals and stimulates all sorts of audiences. It’s also worthy to note that in exploring digital production and publishing software’s, it became clear how easy it is for anyone to publish their ideas and stories. The online community definitely reflects these two key ideas I gained from doing this project.
