Portland Community College Photojournalism Close up And Personal Discussion

In this discussion, we continue our quest to find beauty in the most mundane objects and places. For most people, picking a subject to photograph is difficult unless your teacher gives you a specific theme or image. This discussion aims to help you understand how artists/photographers choose their subject. It also aims to help you SEE beauty in everyday things, ordinary activities, or people. For this discussion, here is the process:

1. Watch all 4 videos below.

Documenting unusual human lives.
https://www.ted.com/talks/ryan_lobo_through_the_lens_of_compassion?referrer=playlist-close_up_and_personal (Links to an external site.)

Documenting nomad lives.
https://www.ted.com/talks/kitra_cahana_stories_of_the_homeless_and_hidden?referrer=playlist-close_up_and_personal (Links to an external site.)

Documenting everyday objects from mass graves in Bosnia. These are used to identify victims but they also become a visual archive of people once lived.
https://www.ted.com/talks/ziyah_gafic_everyday_objects_tragic_histories?referrer=playlist-history_visualized (Links to an external site.)

Documenting microscopic details of objects.
https://www.ted.com/talks/gary_greenberg_the_beautiful_nano_details_of_our_world (Links to an external site.)

2. Choose one that made the most impact for you.

1. Discuss and explain the impact and why you are drawn to the subject/photographs.
2. If you have an opportunity to produce a series as such, what subject would you document and why?