Photo Essay

Photo Essay

This project was originally geared towards manipulation of pictures in order to illustrate an argument. However, my thoughts turned towards representation rather than manipulation. I felt that any type of altering or overlay would not be the right way of transmitting my message. However, when the option of a photo essay (courtesy of John Berger) was brought up I knew immediately that I would choose that route. In Ways of Seeing, the essays without titles or explanations cause the readers to make up their own narrative and decide what the images mean to them. I hope that my project can formulate a narrative for the reader before they delve into my rationale.

Photographs to me have always been a raw capture of reality. Through the eyes of the photographer, you are able to see a moment in time that would have otherwise fleeted by. Other photographs are staged opportunities to convey a message. I knew I would use both of these aspects in order to illustrate my main point. Utilizing Flickr, Google Images and Creative Commons, I was able to compile enough to illustrate the two sides of my argument.

First, the United States as a current culture is obsessed over weight and finding ‘cures’. Obesity is now an epidemic and the surrounding environment is not helping. We have unlimited food supplies, unhealthy eating habits and massive addictions to chemically flavored foods. This obsession is causing people everyday to either gain weight in a staggering period of time or restrict all nutritional value and watch their bodies waste away. Though thyroid problems, TV shows, our computer culture do contribute to the problem, they are not the main cause. We have lost all touch with our inner selves. We seek things outside of us yet don’t listen to the core voice that would, for example, immediately reject unhealthy food. We have also lost any type of connection with the land and Nature at large. Our “hunting and gathering” and “farming” consist of driving our car to the massive store and stocking up our refrigerators. None of these things remind us of the origin. Our unhealthy path is destroying us because we are losing touch with what is important.

Before diet pills, exercise plans, gyms, we as a species existed in a healthy way. That way was having a harmonious relationship with everything around us. We planted seed and saw the fruit of our labor. We relied on others within our tribe to help support one another. The land was our friend. We didn’t rape it or demand anything from it. If we were good to it, we were rewarded. That sentiment (thankfully) is not entirely lost. Native tribes and cultures all over the world still live with this type of “checks and balances” installed. Granted, they are feeling suffering in different ways but “diets” and “exercise plans” are not part of their daily vocabulary. Their life depends on the land and they treat it as such.

The beginning part of the photo essay is all the images that resonate the unhealthy dietary obsession we have. I also added soft music in the background that is very dark and dreary. The images are ended with a photo of an art installation that is a statue of a man sitting in chains in a cage. It illustrates that we are confined by our unhealthy ways. Then the music changes as well as the image content. Now the photos revolve around a healthier way of living, caring for the land and for each other. None of the photos depict any overweight or unhealthy people because they are balanced with Nature. The final picture is a silhouette of someone standing on a hill looking towards the sunrise. It represents a new day and hope for our future.