#tsis18

[tsis18]

Which assignment (or assignments) did you find most interesting, and why?

I really enjoyed the last assignment overall because I think I was able to make my point come across in an interesting way. My truth was something that everyone could relate to and I chose different things that I hoped different people would be able to relate to. I started off with the glasses and it was a totally abstract way to relate to it but it made sense to me personally since I need glasses too. Our pets, I realized that so many people just leave their pets alone at home because we all live such busy lives. In relationships, we often take for granted our significant other and I feel as though all of us need to learn to appreciate the people that love us in our lives.

With the other assignments, I found some aspects to be interesting and I think I was able to capture what I wanted at times but I had to learn to tell the story through the lenses. The above images I chose, I think reflects what I wanted to tell best and they are my favorite images.

How did this class influence the way you see yourself as a cultural producer (i.e. someone who puts visual information out into the world via social media)? If it did not influence you, why not?

This class has definitely made me more aware of not only myself as a cultural producer but others that are cultural producers themselves. It has made me realize that there is a lot that can changed by the producers’ actions and the images that are shared are most likely not what was seen by the ordinary human eyes. Many images are changed and altered to make it seem more beautiful or attractive to the human eyes. I have also put some thought into how others may perceive my own pictures or how I perceive others. I realize that the images are all based upon perception.

Was this class what you expected when you signed-up? What did you like most about the class? And, what would you change?

I did not really know what I would expect when signing up for this class. It is one of my electives that I actually enjoyed. I had no extra class spaces for electives because I am doing a master’s program so to have the opportunity to actually have a choice in one of the classes I can take, made me really excited. I liked how it was very simple and it was not confusing at all. The assignments were very well explained and there was enough time to do all the assignments. I liked that we could interact with others in the class and the platforms that we were to post on made everything very easily accessible.

[tsis18]

Michele Mendez

1. Which assignment (or assignments) did you find most interesting, and why?

I really enjoyed doing the first assignment because it stood out among the rest. Trying to take photos in a certain style was challenging, but really enjoyable. My artist was Todd Hido and because his images were taken in a neighborhood, I started to look at mine in a different way. I would pick out certain locations that looked like something that he would take a picture of, and it really changed my perspective of them. Not only was I trying to take photos in a certain style, but I was also trying to create a certain mood that Todd Hido is known for. I felt that this assignment was a good introduction to the rest of the class because it taught me about creating a certain feeling through photos.

2. How did this class influence the way you see yourself as a cultural producer (i.e. someone who puts visual information out into the world via social media)? If it did not influence you, why not?

This class made me more aware of the images that I post on social media and how I present myself to others. Each photo may be my truth, but that truth is not definite because others may see it differently. I am depicting a truth with how I use the tool of the camera. The pictures that I take are affected by different decisions that I make, such as what gets included and what doesn’t. Everything in a photo is essential and works to give a certain meaning. This made me realize how we make careful decisions about which subjects we capture and then what gets transferred to social media.

3. Was this class what you expected when you signed-up? What did you like most about the class? And, what would you change?

In the beginning of the semester, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect from this class. I have taken one other online class, but it was mainly filled with online lectures and there was no real interaction between the students and the professor. This class was much different because I felt that there was a real relationship between the students and the professor. I enjoyed doing the Google Hangouts after every assignment because it was a way to reflect on the images we posted, as well as check in with the students’ progress. I also enjoyed commenting on other students’ posts because it was a way of learning about our classmates. The only thing that I would change is to increase the interaction between the students themselves. This could potentially be done through the final assignments. Questions could be included asking how our pictures differed from the other students and how their interpretation of the assignment was different than ours. This would make us focus not just on our posts, but on the posts created by the other students as well. Another way is to require students to reply the comments posted by others. This would help start a conversation about the posts.

[tsis18]

1. Which assignment (or assignments) did you find most interesting, and why? -I found assignment #3 to be the most interesting/my favorite because it really made me think about what I consider to be apart of my identity. It made me think about the different aspects of my life that I consider to be a decent part of it, enough to include as part of my identity. It allowed me to think of different ways to capture these things, from my job to my sorority to walking on Temple’s campus, for example, which helped reflect my identity as a Temple student. 2. How did this class influence the way you see yourself as a cultural producer (i.e. someone who puts visual information out into the world via social media)? If it did not influence you, why not? -I never really would have considered myself a cultural producer prior to taking TSIS, so in some ways, it made me think of myself as one. It made me think about what I’m posting and the different ways I can change what I post, the way I take photographs, etc. I’ve also started to reconsider the meaning behind the photos I take and post because I know they can mean something entirely different to me than they do to someone who’s seeing it from a different perspective. 3. Was this class what you expected when you signed up? What did you like most about the class? And what would you change? -I’m not really sure what I expected when I signed up for TSIS, I kind of just assumed it’d involve taking pictures. I wasn’t too sure about what the assignments would consist of, but I enjoyed being able to photograph aspects of my life and become creative in the way I take photos. I don’t think I’d change anything!

[tsis18]

The assignment which I found most interesting was “Unexotic Availability: Photography as a Language.” This was because this assignment required more thinking and thought when deciding what pictures to post to ultimately speak this language you are trying to portray. I really enjoyed this one as I found it was the most challenging, yet most interesting. The photo of the dead plant buried in snow was my favorite picture in this series, as I found it was the most effective image to display a “trapped” mood. Even though I enjoyed all of the assignments I have completed for this course, this one in particular stood out to me.

This class did have an impact on the pictures I post on social media. Now, I am much more considerate of the images I am posting, as I ensure that each photograph is meaningful, tells a story, has a clear subject, and good lighting. However, I do not think that it has influenced me to be a cultural influencer per se, as I am innately not a social media user. But, now when I do post, I am able to use the skills learned in this class to influence what I post on social media.

“The Shared Image” was a better course than what I expected when I signed up. Because my sister took this class in a previous semester, she gave me some insight and let me know what the class would consist of. I must say even though I had a general idea of what this class would require, it exceeded my expectations in how much fun I thought I would have had while taking this course. I found that it really made me think differently when it comes to posting images on social media. Now, I am much more thoughtful, as I ensure that each picture I post tells a great story. What I liked most is that this class required posting on a different topic every week. This ultimately broadened my horizons and made me be much more creative than I have in the past when capturing images. I really enjoyed this class and I would not change any aspect of it. 

Thank you professor!!

[tsis18]

1. I found the assignment about self truth to be the most interesting because I spent a lot of time being reflective and figuring out how I wanted other people to view me. I think this assignment was also the most relevant to my life as of now because I basically use my social media platforms (Instagram, mostly) as a digital resume so to speak. I post certain content to make others aware of my interests. 

2. I think more than anything this class made me be a little bit more conscious and aware of how the images and any content I post on social media can be impactful in the lives of others. Also, this class made me want to be a little be more intentional, and possibly even a little bit more personal on my social media platforms. 

3. This class was a lot more than I expected when I signed up. In the beginning I thought maybe we would just discuss some different techniques, but to my surprise we discussed a lot of things that transcended beyond photography. This class really allowed me to expressive and vulnerable and I appreciate that!

[tsis18]

1. Which assignment (or assignments) did you find the most interesting, and why?- The assignment that I find most interesting was our assignment 5 about truth. This is my favorite assignment from this class because truth plays a big part in social media nowadays. Whenever people post on social media, it contains some kind of truth about themselves. Whether it is a half-truth, the whole truth, it still contains "truth". For example, when a person posts a picture on Instagram about them hanging out with their friends, even if that person only posts happy pictures on Instagram, it doesn't change the fact that /she was hanging out with her friends. That's the half-truth that I'm talking about. I like this assignment the most because it helps me discover a little bit more about my truth and that is my faith.  2. How did the class influence the way you see yourself as a cultural producer? If it did not influence you, why not?  - This class has influenced me a lot in the way I see myself as a cultural producer. I noticed about little things about me that I didn't realize before. For example on assignment 5, when we were taking pictures of truth, I didn't realize that I was wearing shirts, necklace, and bracelet that represent my faith. I realized that faith is such a big part of my life that I have a lot of shirts that are related to my faith. Shirts that have quotes about God. Also, I do things like praying to Jesus before I leave the house and I didn't notice those little things until this assignment. It made me more aware of what I hold dear, which is God. I also realize that I don't post a lot about faith related stuff on my real Instagram and it encourages me to do so after this class. 3. Was this class what you expected when you signed up? What did you like the most about the class? And, what would you change?   - Yes because I knew it was going to be something about social media and phone and how we use the phone to take pictures and represent yourself on social media. I like the fact that we try to focus on one main idea throughout these assignments. Mine as focusing on faith and because of that I learned more about myself. This class was fun if anything, maybe I would love to have a group chat with everyone in class so that we can get to know each other a little more. Other than that, everything else was good!

[tsis18]

Which assignment (or assignments) did you find most interesting, and why?

The assignments that I felt were most interesting were Assignment 2: Through the Lens: Photography Then & Now and Assignment 3: Photography as a Form of Self-Design. One of the main reasons that I enjoyed Assignment 2 is because I had the opportunity to try and photograph my surroundings through the eyes of someone else. This assignment allowed me to get a better understanding of the history of photography, photographers’ style, and the capabilities of my iPhone camera. I, also, gained an appreciation for Uta Barth’s style. I enjoyed Assignment 3 because it allowed me to make a statement about myself. I was able to capture my experiences, daily activities, and favorite quirky things about myself to curate the way my classmates viewed me. With this assignment, I became more mindful of the way I craft my images to portray a specific story about the way I live my life. This was the most fun assignment for me because I knew the subject of the pictures I was taking extremely well.

2. How did this class influence the way you see yourself as a cultural producer (i.e. someone who puts visual information out into the world via social media)? If it did not influence you, why not?

As a cultural producer, I try to portray very positive and lively images on my own personal social media platforms. My social media consist mostly of my personal accomplishments, trips, and good days. This class made be become more mindful of the messages that convey within my images. Someone viewing my social media may begin to believe that I don’t go through hardships or bad days. While I want to spread positivity via my personal social media channels, I have come to feel that people have a responsibility to portray accuracy within their images. After this class, I will definitely make sure that I don’t mislead people with my images.

This class not only made me think about myself as a cultural producer, but also become slightly more critical of other cultural producers. I’ve found myself trying to find the purpose and meaning behind the images that some of the Instagram accounts I follow.

3. Was this class what you expected when you signed-up? What did you like most about the class? And, what would you change?

This class was pretty much what I expected when I signed-up. I liked developing Instagram content around the theme for the week. I, also, really liked being able to see the different ways that my classmates interpreted the assignments and captured their subjects. While I struggled with capturing images for some of the weeks, I really enjoyed the class. If I could change one thing about the class, I would prefer to have the readings, questions, and themes for the week a little earlier. I think this would have given me a better chance at succeeding in conveying the appropriate messages in images during certain weeks. Other than that, I personally think the class was very well designed and beneficial.  

[tsis18]

Which assignment (or assignments) did you find most interesting, and why?

I enjoyed the first assignment when we tried to emulate the work of a famous photographer. At first, this assignment made me a little nervous because I wasn’t sure how I was going to pull off the style of someone who had been taking photos for their livelihood. After discovering Helen Levitt and looking more into her style of photography, I felt like I wanted to try to emulate her work (it also helped that I was living in New York and was able to really connect with her work). This assignment helped me look at different types of photos and  think about how to convey a story in the different neighborhoods that I traveled into. I also liked the assignment about “truths” because it allowed me to see my classmates truths and how they were able to capture them in photographs. This assignment also allowed me to convey some of my truths/frustrations with being in New York and away from my friends and family. 

How did this class influence the way you see yourself as a cultural producer (i.e. someone who puts visual information out into the world via social media)? If it did not influence you, why not?

This course showed me that photos have a strong impact on people who view them, but not everyone views a singular photo the same way. For example, the photo set that I did about “truths” showed me that the set of images meant one thing to me, but it could mean something else to each of my classmates who looked at it. While I was focusing on my physical self being in NYC but my mind being elsewhere, other people could have seen these photos as a jumble of photos that were seemingly unrelated. I think there is a beauty in these photos being up to interpretation. In terms of being a cultural producer, this course gave me insight into how to create photos that have a deeper meaning than what meets the eye. I found myself wanting to dig deeper as I was taking my photos in order to have them make sense with one another.

Was this class what you expected when you signed-up? What did you like most about the class? And, what would you change?

When I signed up for this course, I did not know what to expect but I liked the sound of learning how to use photography and social media. In today’s world, social media is one of the main ways that people communicate and express their views on the world. I thought that this class would be a good way for me to learn how to take photos that help me express myself within my society. I like that this course was online but we still had the chance to video conference every couple weeks. This allowed us as students to have creative freedom during the project weeks and then get feedback from the professor during the off weeks. I think this structure also allowed students to not be influenced by other people’s photo ideas and to go out and photograph based on how they interpreted the assignment. In terms of what I would change, I think that having prompts that are open to interpretation can help with creativity, but they also sometimes left me confused with which direction I should take the assignment. Maybe in the future, try to create prompts that are a bit more specific as opposed to more broad ideas, at least in the initial assignments as students are learning how the class structure works.