Download - Our Augmented Reality
Our Augmented Reality
John McCormick
Introduction:
Technology has changed the way we live. It helps us do just about everything, from staying connected to our friends and
family, to organizing our daily activities, to doing our jobs and school work and even reminding us of things we might have forgotten.
Technology is everywhere. While we manipulate these technologies to improve the quality of our lives, it seems obvious that they
manipulate us as well. There is seldom a moment in our lives where technology is not influencing us in one way or another. We
spend so much time absorbed in our technology - we wear headphones in our ears rather than chatting with strangers, we send text
messages rather than smiling at passersby. We spend more time face to face with a screen full of pixels then we do with other people.
And while our eyes are drawn to backlit screens and handheld devices we seldom consider what we might be missing in the world
around us. Often times technology serves to be a distraction, drawing our attention away from things we would otherwise be engaged
by. I toyed with this idea for a while, thinking about how technology occupies every facet of our lives. I thought about the Internet,
social networking, smartphones, laptops, tablets and televisions, and I realized that one or more of these things was involved in
just about everything I did. I decided that I should try to photograph just that - how technology permeates our lives. These photos
demonstrates the pervasiveness of technology, how we manipulate it, how it manipulates us, and how it changes the way we interact
with the world around us.
Project Analysis:
When a picture is captured, one does not always consider the premeditation that goes into it. When we see a picture we are
absorbed by the subject matter and the presentation, but little thought is given to the process that created that photograph. It’s not until
you try it yourself, until you try to produce an album of photos that send a very clear, inspired message to audience, that you truly
appreciate the art of photography.
Upon receiving this project, I had no inspiration for a subject. I pondered the possibilities, juggling ideas in my head, trying
desperately to think of something that was relatable and thought-provoking. While I thought, I realized that there was one thing in
common with every idea I had: they all involved technology. The photos would be taken using technology, edited with technology,
and even be presented through technology. At that point it seemed obvious - I wanted to try to document the pervasiveness of
technology in our lives. Technology surrounds us, so there would be no shortage of subject matter. But I knew that I had to take
pictures that provide an interesting perspective, pictures that shed a different light on our interactions with technology in the world.
My first consideration was to be the camera. I elected to use the stock camera on my iPhone 5 to take the pictures. While it is
not top of the line, the camera is exceptional at taking photographs, and by taking the pictures through my smartphone I ensured that I
would easily be able to edit, transmit, and distribute the photographs as I pleased. While my editing and photographing abilities would
be limited by the technology at my disposal, I was confident that these limitations would not sacrifice the quality of my content. Not
to mention, it just seemed à propos to document the pervasiveness of technology using a smartphone.
Next, I had to select my subjects. In order to effectively convey my message to the audience I knew that the photos would
have to provide an interesting perspective on interactions with technology and the world around us. To this end, I tried to select
photos illustrating a variety of different activities and interactions. The images include an array of activities, both relatable and
attention grabbing, and involve an interaction with technology in some way. In addition to these elements, I also had to take into
consideration the elements of excellent photographic composition, including pattern, symmetry, texture, lines and depth of field.
Lastly, I had to decide how I wanted to present the images. I knew that I wanted to demonstrate a lack of interactivity with our
surrounding world as a result of technology. To convey this in my images, I chose a desaturation technique. By desaturating the
photos I wanted to make the background of the image less interesting to look at in comparison to the featured piece of technology, just
as technology “desaturates” our interest in the world around us.
Photo Analysis:
A good photograph contains much more than just an interesting subject, or new visual techniques. Photographs require a great deal of
premeditation and consideration to create masterfully. When taking a photograph, the photographer must consider the elements of
composition. While all of the photos in this essay demonstrate these elements, this photo clearly exemplifies several key elements of
photographic composition. Most notably, one can observe the lines in the photograph playing a big role. The floor boards, the railing
supports, as well as the railing handle itself all draw attention to the shoe and headphones. Additionally, the lines in the design of the
shoe itself seem to lead the viewer’s eye to the headphones. Depth of field is apparent, in that the foreground is clearly focused while
the background is not. This further draws attention to the foreground of the photograph, and makes it the most interesting area to look
at. Finally, one will observe that there is a great deal of texture in the photograph. The texture of the shoe itself looks very tangible
and interesting, as does the texture of the floor boards; this helps to make the photograph seem more real, as if the audience is seeing
these scenes with their own eyes.