For this assignment, I have chosen two photos that I myself have taken in the past year. I used the free online editing website "Piknik" to modify these images. This is the first time i've used online editing tools and I'm actually a really big fan. The process was simple easy and fun and I will definently be using it again in the future.
This first photo was taken during my trip to Dubai. I was taking pictures of how americanized this middle eastern country really is, so it is a picture of a Starbucks. To alter this image I chose to use the "boost" option under the effects window. I chose this because the colours weren't very vibrant and I felt like it would add a more sunny feel to the picture. The next thing I did was I sharpened the contrast and increased the colour temperature. I was aiming for a "cartoony" feel and wanted to exaggerate the colours as much as possible. In addition to increasing the temperature, I increased the saturation of the colours to give it depth and an almost three dimensional feel. This picture now displays the true feeling when you are there, it is sunny, hot and a vibrant place to be.
The second photo I chose was taken at the Biodome in Montreal, Quebec. This is a photo of a fish swimming in an aquarium. To manipulate this photo, I chose to use the "Neon" feature in the effects window. I chose this option because I feel like this fish is pretty scary looking to begin with, but the neon enhances the outline of the wide eyes and mouth and teeth of the fish. This photo went from being just an ordinary fish to becoming something more dark and mysterious.
Similar to Charles Caffin's belief, I believe photography has two distinct purposes. One is to display reality; so displaying a real life situation as a type of documentation of an event or moment in time. The other is to capture beauty. Since beauty is in the eye of the beholder, whether that picture has been modified or left the way it is, it up to the photographer. I believe photography can be considered art no matter whether the photographer is capturing reality or creating their own take on a real situation. By altering photos, it gives the photographer permission to interpret and create, which is the true meaning of art. I believe this is why Alfred Stieglitz created a movement for Pictoralists, to encourage artists to create and interpret photos that they have taken and make it their own.
