Digital Photography

This week, although shortened by Mother Nature, was dedicated to two focal points: 1.) researching the history of digital photography and 2.) re-thinking how we interprete imagery.

Researching the history of digital photography introduced the students to terms such as "floppy discs (huh? what?), video tape recorders, and megapixels." These terms may not seem archaic to some of us, but they are already yesterday's news to many of the students.

In terms of re-thinking how we interprete imagery, the students worked through an activity in which they were shown an image of a gentleman by the name of Phineas Gage. I (the teacher) then read an article from the Smithsonian magazine, which detailed a horrific accident that Mr. Gage had to endure while working with some railroad tiles. After I read the article, I then had the students look again at the picture of Phineas Gage. I wanted them to think about how thier impressions changed of the image...what did they think before I read the article, and what did they think after?

Following the article, the students worked on an activity in which they composed drawings of moments that left significant impacts on their lives. These drawings were done on the front of a white, 8.5" X 11" sheet of paper. Then, on the back, the students drew the same moment, but slightly altered the image (i.e., a shape was subtracted, or a color was slightly changed).

Again, the whole point of this activity is to open up the discussion between both teacher and students to engage in a conversation of how we view things. Ultimately, this conversation should head in the direction of discussing the power of photography, and the power that still images can have over us.

This week's activities will transition into the next week of Digital Arts, when we will discuss the work of Andy Warhol, and the students will begin work on their Pop Art posters!!!