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Week 11, Own Choice, March 26

I took these pictures of the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto in September of 2013. The building was originally designed by Darling and Curry architects and opened as a bank in 1885. This building is an example of rococo architecture — a later version of the French Baroque architecture. The building was used by the Bank of Montreal until 1982 and was repurposed into the Hockey Hall of Fame, opening in 1993. Inside the original bank building is the Great Hall which houses all of the NHL trophies, and plaques for each member of the hockey hall of fame.

Above the Great Hall is a 45-foot-high stained glass dome, rendered in the tradition of classical symbolism. The dome was constructed by Joseph McCausland and Sons, and features 24 panels that depict allegorical dragons guarding gold from eagles. In the centre of the dome, there are eight emblems that represent the seven provinces, at the time of the original construction, and country of Canada. The building has a regal look and feel, which is fitting because many of the hockey players enshrined in the hall are treated like royalty in Canada. The Hockey Hall of Fame is one of my favourite places to visit because being surrounded by the tradition of my favourite sport always makes me feel like a kid again.

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Week 11, Postmodernism, March 26

https://en.wikiarquitectura.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Sharp_15.jpg

http://www.arcspace.com/features/alsop-architects/sharp-centre-for-design/

The this photo of the Sharp Centre for Design at OCAD University in Toronto is an example of postmodern architecture. The radical design of the building is perfectly juxtaposed against the stale modernist design of downtown Toronto particularly the original building for the Ontario College of Art and Design building and the apartment building across the street. The building was designed by Will Alsop of Alsop Architects. The building opened in 2004 and has won several awards including the award of excellence in the "Building in Context" category at the Toronto Architecture and Urban Design Awards.

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Week 10, Propaganda, March 19

https://www.endthekilling.ca

The baby image is a successful example of propaganda because it bypasses logic and creates an emotional appeal. The image of the cute, but sad baby, next to the assertive phrase, “Abortion is Forever,” creates feelings of remorse, sadness and outrage. The image also represents pervasive faulty reasoning by attempting to transfer the underlying idea that having an abortion is like killing the baby in the picture. The image does not acknowledge a women’s right to choose and delegitimizes a women’s power over he reproductive system. The audience for this image would be anyone that agrees with the pro-life movement and has particularly hostile feelings toward anyone that agrees with the pro-choice argument.

I googled the link on the baby image and saw the top result was something called the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform. A very scientific, legitimate sounding name for a website. However, when I clicked on the link, the page opened with the url: endthekilling.ca. This organization attempts to present itself as a legitimate, logical group committed to education, but the site is full of emotional, irrational, arguments that support the pro-life movement. The pervasive misleading way Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform uses the baby image to drive people to their website is a textbook example of propaganda.

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Week 10, Own Choice, March 19

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2582782/

This is a still from the film Hell or High Water, directed by David Mackenzie with cinematography by Giles Nuttgens. The film is about a pair of brothers that rob banks in order to buy back the family ranch. It was my favourite film of 2016. This image is from a scene near the beginning of the film in which the two brothers are reflecting on the circumstances that brought them to the point in their lives where armed robbery is necessary in order to save the ranch. Tanner, the older of the two brothers, is looking out into the the wide open prairie of West Texas, simultaneously contemplating his future and his past. At this point in the film the viewer does not know whether the endless horizon either represents endless possibilities or an empty future.

The image is aesthetically pleasing because of the positioning of the characters back against the green and yellow grassland and blue and white cloudy sky. The prairie is both desolate and beautiful and serves as a metaphor for Tanner’s life. The film is a modern day western and the image of the wide open prairie is common in this genre. Hell or High Water was nominated for best picture at the 2016 academy awards.

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Week 9, Corey Arnold, March 12

http://www.coreyfishes.com/albums/fish-work-bering-sea/content/the-wave/lightbox/

Corey Arnold documented commercial king crab fishermen working in the Bering Sea in Alaska. A deckhand on a crab boat in the Bering Sea is considered to be one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. Fishing crews have to work through harsh winter storms that produce waves up to forty feet high, usually working with little or no sleep. Corey worked as a deckhand while he took the photos that were published in his series “Fish-Work: The Bering Sea” in 2011. This photo shows the raw power of the ocean and the relative calm of the men on board the fishing boat. The photo is a mix of beauty, power and danger. Corey’s photo reminds the viewer how much they take what they eat for granted. These men literally risk their lives so the public can enjoy their dinner. 

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Week 9, Nachtway, March 12

http://time.com/3528699/revisiting-911-unpublished-photos-by-james-nachtwey/

Photo by James Nachtwey TIME Magazine Sep 11, 2001

This photo was taken by James Nachtway on September 11. Nachtway lives in Manhattan, and was at home the morning of September 11. He watched the second plane hit the south tower and ran to the scene with his camera. This photo was posted on Time’s website on September 11 and had 2 million page views in one day. I was 20 years old on September 11, and I can remember details of that day like it was yesterday. I remember how everyone just kept looking at images from ground zero on TV, or in newspapers, or the internet, because we could not believe or understand what we were seeing. This image is successful because as Nachtway says, “Through the years my work has been fuelled by anger at injustices and atrocities, but always in another country. Now it had happened in my own country, my own city, my own backyard and the sense of anger had an edge that was even more personal.”

The world had never seen an act of terrorism on that magnitude. For it to happen in at the World Trade Centre in New York gave us all a sense of insecurity we had never felt before. The firefighters in this photo look insignificant amidst the amount of destruction. Looking back to that day I had no idea what was going to happen next and when I look at the firefighters this photo I get that sense again.

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Week 8, Own Choice, Mar 5

I took this picture in May of 2016. It is overlooking Beauvert Lake at the Jasper Park Lodge. This picture was taken with my iPhone and was a spur of the moment shot that became one of my favourite photographs. I love the interplay between light and shadow, and how the reflection of the clouds and mountains in the water create an endless horizon, leading the eye to the centre of the frame. But what I really like about this picture is how it happened totally by chance. I could have brought my DSLR and tripod, walked around the lake until I found the perfect spot to set up, waited all day for the perfect light and then tried to take the picture. Instead,  I was walking back to my room looking at the lake, pulled out my phone and took a great picture. Sometimes the best pictures are taken by being in the right place at the right time.

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Week 8, Wind Surfer, Mar 5

When I started to play around with this image I was just randomly clicking on effects. Then I had the idea that I could see this image on a poster for a summer camp in the Oaknagan in the 1980’s. The original image reminded me of going to Kelowna as a kid in the late 1980’s. I wanted to create an image that transported me back to that time. After a few more trial and error attempts I had an idea of what I wanted to do. First, I made the overall colour of the image darker so that the star would stand out. Then, I added the cheesy star with the cheesy comic sans text to make it look fun, in an 80’s summer camp kind of way. Then I cropped the image down to just the surfer and the star. Overall, I would say that I achieved my goal of a cheesy poster image.

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Week 7, Own Choice, Feb 26

I took this photo in November of 2015, at San Tan Flat in south Phoenix, AZ. San Tan Flat is an outdoor live music venue where the crowd sits at picnic tables and some of them have their own fire pits. It’s a really cool venue and I tried to take a picture that could demonstrate to the viewer how unique and interesting the space is. I think this photo is a good example of how far camera technology has come in the last 10 years. This photo was taken with an iPhone 6 and the resolution is pretty amazing. There is a fire pit just outside of the frame on the bottom right that is lighting the faces of the people in the foreground. The light is not too harsh and it provides enough light that the composition is not lost to darkness and shadow. At the same time, the light of the neon sign in the top left has a nice warm glow without being too blurry. Overall, I think the photo has warm friendly feel to it and that’s exactly what I was hoping to accomplish.

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Week 7, Own Choice, Feb 26

I took this photo in September of 2006. I took it before I had my first DSLR and was experimenting with F-stop on a point and shoot style camera. The photo is of the Cinerama movie theatre in Hollywood. The theatre is a huge dome and looks really cool when it is lit up at night. On the point and shoot camera I was using, I could create a longer exposure by holding the shoot button down for a few seconds before letting go. The trouble was, I had to hold the camera very still while I did this or any light would be scattered all over the frame. I think this was my second or third attempt at this picture and this is the one that turned out the best. I like how the lights on the cars and bus make them appear to be moving but I’m still disappointed that the blue dome doesn't stand out from the darkness and shadow. Overall, I think the composition is muddled and too much of the subject is lost to the darkness. One day I’ll go back and try to take the same picture with a better camera and maybe a tripod.  

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Week 6, Own Choice, Feb 19

I took this photo from inside a cell at the Alcatraz prison in September, 2012. I’m proud of the way the bars intersect and overlap each other in the background and the way the lightbulb symbolizes solitude and the caged human spirit. This photo happened totally by chance and reminds me of why I like to take pictures. My favourite pictures that I have taken, have resulted from me just walking around with my camera waiting to be inspired. Sometimes they work out and sometimes they don't, but for me that’s the fun part. Alcatraz is a great place to be inspired because when you’re inside the prison you can’t help but feel trapped and the uneasiness of being locked up.  

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Week 6, Font that works, Feb 19

My biggest take away from the film Helvetica is how the many of the people that were interviewed for the film talked about how fonts express mood.The font used for the title sequence in the Netflix show Stranger Things expresses the mood of the show perfectly. The show is set in a small town in the 1980′s and is about a group of pre-teens that experience a series of para-normal events. The show deals with themes of good and evil and alternate realities. This red serif font is bold and expresses an element of fear. The points and lines of the letters are very sharp and make the letters themselves look dangerous. The fonts literally sets the mod of the show and act as a metaphor for the show itself. The backlight and shadow make the letters appear lifelike, and when the show begins the open scene appears from inside the letters. On the show,  inanimate objects become gateways to other worlds. 

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Week 6, Life at MacEwan, Feb 12

All three photos were taken with my iPhone. I took the first photo of the towers because I think they are an iconic representation of life at MacEwan. Also I like to use leading lines in a lot of my pictures. I think the towers have a simple yet bold design, and I wanted to take a simple yet bold picture of them. I took the photo on a grey overcast day and added a filter to remove colour and bring out a deeper texture in the towers. 

I have walked up the stairs in the library several times and my eyes have always been drawn to the leading lines and archways on the ceiling.  I took the photo in the late afternoon and I am really happy with the interplay between the natural light and colour of fluorescents that I was able to capture here without the help of  a filter. 

The third photo is of the pavement in the parkade. I often park in the parkade on cold weather days and let all the salty snow melt off my car. Im happy with the texture and the natural line that the salt created. Paying for parking is a big part of my life at MacEwan and I think this picture represents that. 

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Week 6, Own Choice, Feb 12

These are some of my favourite photos that I have taken with my Canon DSLR in my favourite city. I’ve been to San Francisco several times and I love taking pictures there because there so many great subjects. Most of the pictures I take make use of leading lines, colour, and shadow. The first photo is of the Ferry Building at the end of Market Street on San Francisco Bay. Its such an iconic building and I love taking pictures of it. I was fortunate enough to have a clear blue sky and I took the picture in the morning so the sun was shining on the south side of the building creating the shadow along the top ledge of the building and in the archways.The shadows and lines draw the eye into the picture and I am happy with how it turned out. If I had the chance to take it again I might play with the F-stop to make the crowd below the building a little blurry. 

The next two photos were taken on Alcatraz Island and again I was lucky to have a bright clear sky. I was drawn to the decay of the old staircase and tried to use the line of the stairs and shadow to draw the eye deeper into the picture. I think the picture also has a lot of texture and colour contrast. I really like the shape and natural design of the cypress tree in the third photo and how the lines of the walkway wrap around it. I find the composition to have a lot of balance. Its also interesting that no one is facing the camera on either side of the walkway. 

The fourth picture is of the Powell Street cable car turn around. I liked how the light and the street snake their way through the tree tops. Again I was trying to follow the leading line of the street cable and the hill in the background to create a depth in the photograph. 

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Week 4, Own Choice, Feb 5 5/31/1987 CREDIT: David E. Klutho (Photo by David E. Klutho /Sports Illustrated/Getty Images)

I am a huge fan of sports photo journalism. What makes this image attractive and successful to me is the spontaneity of the moment. This image represents what Wayne Gretzky and winning the Stanley Cup meant to the fans of the Oilers and the community of Edmonton. The crowd has so many smiling faces, even the police officer that is supposed to be watching the crowd can’t help but look back at Gretzky and the cup. Fans of the Oilers will obviously be drawn to this image, but I think the image also shows what kind of a person Wayne Gretzky is. In various interviews and in his autobiography, he mentions that winning the Stanley Cup takes the support of so many people in the community and that he was so happy to be able to share it with as many people as he could. I believe that is the greatest power of sports. To unite people, and share in the joy or victory; or, as it has been for so many years since this photograph, the sadness of defeat. This image precisely captures this special moment for the Oilers and their fans.

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Oakland Raiders - The Autumn Wind

Week 4, Own Choice, Feb 5

“The Autumn Wind,” is an iconic film from NFL films. In honour of Super Bowl Sunday, I chose this film because it such such a powerful symbol of what the NFL means to its fans and how the league has created such a powerful brand. The film presents the Oakland Raiders as real life pirates, who pillage and win by any means necessary. This identity began to resonate with the team and their fans in the 1960’s and 70’s, and continues to resonate today. NFL films have created a signature style that turns football games into epic battles or a savage ballet. Their signature sequence is a single, slow motion shot, that starts tight on the quarterback throwing the ball ball down the field. The camera zooms in on the ball as it flies through the air, then slowly zooms out again to show the ball landing the receiver’s hands. The NFL is the most successful pro sports league in North America and NFL Films has done as much to reinforce the brand in our culture as the players and the games themselves.

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Top 10 Funniest "Get a Mac" ads

Week 3, Effective Advertising, January 27

I feel like these ads worked on so many levels. Each ad demonstrates how Mac’s are easy to set up and use and points out the differences between Mac’s and PC’s. John Hodgeman represents the old fashion, out of touch PC, and Justin Long represents the cool, cutting edge easy to use Mac. They make the choice between a Mac and PC seem so simple and easy. The ads are funny and make the Mac seem cool and appealing to people who want to use a their computers for fun things like organizing music and photos and watching movies. The ads were very successful for Apple. In the year after they debuted, Mac sales were up 36%. 

I have been a Mac user since 2004. These ads helped reenforce how I identified with the Apple brand. When these ads first appeared I remember saying to my friends how these ads represented the truth about the differences between Mac’s and PC’s. Also, who wouldn’t want to identify with the cool Justin Long character over the boring PC?