Photography: Capturing Creativity

This week our discussion was based on the power of photography. I find great joy in photography because of two reasons. The first is it has a way of freezing memories in time. The people in these photographs may change, but the memory lasts forever. I find great joy in going through old photos and reminiscing on travel experiences, enjoyable times with family and friends, birthday celebrations, periods of growth, and so much more. The second reason is that it captures the beauty in various aspects of life. I love pointing my camera at the same thing, yet it ends up being so different. This is where my love of the sky originated from. 

From an education perspective, there are many ways that students could use photography in the classroom. It is a way in which students can creatively capture their learning, provide a source of inspiration for reflection, and allow them to share their thinking visually. For teachers, allowing students to use photography can help them to learn about their students, to better understand their ideas, and is an opportunity to ask them critical questions. We Are Teachers, Scholastic, and Teach Thought have all provided excellent ideas on how to incorporate digital photography into the classroom. Additionally, our graduate assistant, Daniela, conducted a fun and creative activity that teachers could use with a classroom. We were able to use our devices or cameras provided by the school to capture photos in and around the campus that told a story and/or used visually appealing techniques (e.g. shadows, light, colour, emotion). Below are the photos I was able to document.

"You don't take a photo. You make it."
​- Ansel Adams

Reflecting on this experience, I know why I took these photos and what they represent in my mind. However, if I were to ask someone else in the class what they think a particular photograph signifies, most likely they would have an entirely different explanation. This is another unique and remarkable feature of photography that other mediums cannot recreate. 
​The power of a photograph is significant. It breeches language barriers, crosses cultural boundaries, and connects us globally. A photograph has a way of evoking a sense of emotion that motivates us to action. Photographs have led me to donation, travel, sharing, speaking, buying, and so forth. For a visual learner that takes in the world through her eyes, powerful and beautiful images put ideas and happenings into a perspective and reality that writing cannot always accomplish. As Griffin states in his TED talk, "​photography can make a real connection to people, and can be employed as a positive agent for understanding the challenges and opportunities facing our world today."

Wordle from Klein, J. (2010, February). Photos that changed the world. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/jonathan_klein_photos_that_changed_the_world

This leads me to my last point, which is photographs have the ability to tell a story. A personal story. You become the author of a photograph when you give it your own meaning. You may not have taken it yourself, but you have defined it as your own and in your own way. Even if you have captured the image yourself, those you show it to will interpret it in their own way. This idea is similar to any piece of artwork, poem, song, etc. that you consume and understand in your own way into a personalized art form. A resource that exemplifies this individualistic thinking, is Five Card Flickr, which takes five random photos from Flickr, an online photography communication and sharing resource, and allows for the creation of a imaginative story. 
With all this being said, it is important that as an educator, as a citizen of a global community, and as an individual with unique memories to capture, that photography is not ignored, but rather a woven throughout the fabric of your life; as a memory, an information piece, a work of beauty, or a story.

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"Photography is the beauty of life captured" 
- Tara Chisholm

You simply have to remember to point and click.

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References

• Acedo, M. (2016). 5 Smart Ways To Use Digital Images In The Classroom. Retrieved from https://www.teachthought.com/technology/5-smart-ways-use-digital-images-classroom/
• CogDogBlog. (n.d.). Five Card Flickr. Retrieved from http://5card.cogdogblog.com/ 
• DeWaard, H. (n.d.). 5.1 Visual Literacy and Social Justice. Retrieved from http://mdl4000.weebly.com/51-visual-literacy-and-sj.html
• Everette, M. (2015, February 2). 10 Uses for Digital Cameras in the Classroom. Retrieved from https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/blog-posts/meghan-everette/10-uses-digital-cameras-classroom/
• Griffin, D. (2008, February). How Photography Connects Us. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/david_griffin_on_how_photography_connects 
• Klein, J. (2010, February). Photos that changed the world. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/jonathan_klein_photos_that_changed_the_world
• We Are Teachers. (2014, August 8). 7 Ways to Use Digital Photography in the Classroom. Retrieved from https://www.weareteachers.com/7-ways-to-use-digital-photography-in-the-classroom/
• Yahoo! Holdings. (2004, February 10). Flickr. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/