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10-03-2010 07:18 AM |
Penn State University, August 2010.
http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l8...u5f2o1_500.jpg
Assignment 1 (PHOTO 402) by Mich.
Quote:
My first assignment for my class is to have 4 unique photos of a stranger.
The assignment asks me to meet a stranger who is different from me (ethnicity, gender, age, etc,) and photograph them.
As I was walking out of the class, I noticed that by the main student center, there was a large crowd gathering. A christian group was promoting their beliefs on campus, as well as preaching from the bible. Another group had convened around the christian group, in a very similar fashion to this summer’s Comic-Con reaction to the Western Baptist Church’s protests.
I felt this was a great opportunity to take photographs of an interesting event as well as take photos for my first assignment.
My first reaction was to put my backpack down near the students protesting the Christian group, but decided against it because I felt this was an opportunity to look at the situation from a more neutral perspective of an observer. I asked a few of the preachers if I could take photos of them, and tried to take images from both sides. But looking back now I feel like I missed an oppurtunity to really complete this assignment.
While I did talk to the side of the Church, I didn’t really get to know any of them and I wish I had asked them about their opinion of the situation. I was obviously more comfortable with the students and their joke signs because I thought it was funny and I agreed with their perspective, but only focusing on them would not fulfill what the assignment is about.
I wish I had asked the man holding the large banner about his opinion of the other side’s absurdist affront. I would want to hear what they had to say about the event. I held back partly because I felt they might try to push their mission if I really started talking with them. But, judging by their response to me taking photos, I realized they probably would have been willing to talk a little about how they felt during that moment. Having a camera really did put me in a different role from the rest of the crowd.
I’m planning on going back to the HUB tomorrow to see if they’ll be there. Another big issue that was present was Gay Rights. A few people were getting into serious discussions with each other, which I wanted to capture and was able to, but I never got to really know any one person in particular.
So if I get another chance tomorrow, I’ll try to talk more with the religious group, in order to photograph someone from their side more intimately.
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[ moltenmich.]
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