Post 4

Many would make the claim that the internet brings everyone into a kind of “Global Village.” I tend to disagree quite a bit with this statement. While I feel that the internet can serve as a useful tool for connecting with people in different lands, it doesn't really effectively represent these perspective lands.
I know that its the worst cliche ever at BYU, but I couldn't help thinking about the most potent international experience I've ever had; my mission. If there is anything it taught me about other countries, its that they all have a very defining, authentic culture. This being said, I also discovered that they all compare their perspective cultures against a common standard: the U.S.A.
Whether we like it or not, our perspective of those things we can't see is formed by our only means of comprehending them; the media. The whole world is basing their culture by how different it is to us. As if we happen to be the common medium for everyone to judge themselves on. Except they aren't comparing themselves to us really, only to our media. So, what we've done is we've unconsciously become the new Roman Empire. Only rather than filling the world with archways and magnificent statues we're instantly infecting it with YouTube and Facebook.
This question also occurred to me, if all the countries in the world tend to compare their media to ours, who are we comparing our media to? I thought about it and decided that we simply don't. As Americans we tend to think that all media is ours and there really isn't anything else. Think about it. Have you ever thought of Celine Dion, Rolling Stones, U2, or ACDC as international bands? We think of them as if they were all American musicians even though they all come from different countries and none of them are the U.S.A.
Like Scott Russell Sanders said in Homeplace, “how can you value other places if you do not have one of your own?” Do I have one of my own, or has the media taken that from me? Is my homeplace the internet? Maybe the media is trying to force us to absorb so many cultures that at the end of the day there won't be any left for us to go. It scares me a bit.

Collin: You're obviously rather interested in Disney. I feel likewise. It's refreshing to see someone be so bold about their love of Disney in the film program. I'm really glad I was assigned to report on yours. Your presentation was very appealing both visually and psychologically. There was a progression that was hard to describe as you took us through your media experiences, almost as if we were experiencing it all alongside you. It was very apparent you put a good amount of work into it. Science Fiction, Superheroes, Shakespeare, other than being a great alliteration, showed your varied pallet. Great work.

Nephi: Your analysis of media and how you personalized everything was brilliant. I feel like your eloquent explanation of such a base character as Freddy Krueger was vital. It really said a lot about who you are and what you've been through. I feel like your presentation was the culminating force behind all of our presentations. The stark contradictions of images and your analysis of media's psychological effect on your own life decisions said what we were all thinking.

# 4 Post

Ok. Last summer our car broke down and instead of borrowing money to get it fixed, we thought it would be fun to just go without it and maybe for a change make less of a carbon blue print as well as get some much needed exercise.

And so we walked all over Provo, and when we needed to buy groceries we just took a taxi. The reason that I mention this is that my sense of place and space completely changed. Our entire world consisted of the BYU campus and trips to the grocery store and anything further then that seemed like a journey across the country. When we got our car back we were really able to appreciate the miracle of transportation and I’m sure that we will always remember the summer that we didn’t have a car.

As far as how digital media shapes my understanding of place and space…that’s a really tough question. I’m sure that if my digital media were taken away that my life would be pretty weird for awhile. I might even experience some sort of withdrawal, possibly some fetal position rocking while twitching. Who knows? Most likely I would feel a sense of loss because I wouldn’t have contact with all of the people who live far away from me and yet I still talk to via the internet on a regular basis. Maybe I’d pick up the phone and call them or write them a letter because I missed them so much or (heaven forbid) see them in person. Or maybe I’d try to make more of an effort to develop relationships with people who live near me, people who are really there when I’m talking to them. So I guess that digital media has shaped me in that it has given me a sense of community.

Niphi--I really liked the way that you presented your media. I loved the way that you layered it as you talked and the layering got faster and faster and just kept stacking on top of each other. This reminded me of how quickly media comes into our lives and how even harder that it is to pick and chose the ones that we want to influence us that the ones that we don't. I like that you like Freddie Cruger and Jaws, good old classic scary flicks. I was great getting to know you in this way, you seem like a really cool guy.

Colin--I loved the song that you chose for your presentation and how nice and clean your presentation was. I also love how you were able to put motion in your slide show (will you teach me how to do that?) Your presentation made me think that you must be very particular about your media choices and that they are usually thought about a lot first before you decide to indulge in them. Very cool!

Blog Post 4

As I have read the material in Seeing and Writing 3, I am reminded of a fascinating subject discussed in TMA 102 – Introduction to Film. We were learning about foreign films and focused our discussion on tourism vs. residency. I think these concepts are similar to understanding place and space through digital media.

I find Jerry Brown’s comment interesting and fairly accurate when he says that many people in this generation live too much of their lives digitally, resulting in alienating themselves from their community. I feel there is a balance between the two. There is a danger if someone allows digital space to overrun residential and social place – they run the risk of staying a tourist and never becoming a resident, so to speak. But if one learns to properly balance the two, one can enrich the other and vise-versa. A wise tourist can utilize his desire of sight seeing to look past the stereotypes of culture and place, and learn to dig beneath the surface and learn to become more residential. I’m not sure if that analogy is clear, but I feel it can be related to understanding space and place in digital media. We live in a time where vast and varied forms of digital media are at our fingertips, and it would not be prudent to disregard those opportunities. On the other hand, if we allow digital media space to replace residential and social place, then the byproduct of space becomes hollow.

There are many other things that shape my understanding of place and space that are not media related, especially when it comes to home. I connect with the book when it says you can understand place and space through smell, sound, sight, and relationships.

I have lived in the same household my entire life. I have five sisters, four brothers, and fifteen nieces and nephews! Most of my family lives in Utah Valley. One of my connections with home is when our big family gathers together for dinners, birthdays, or other activities. Because I have lived in Orem my entire life, the landscape and culture are embedded into my soul. I had all of these senses and feelings hit me like a ton of bricks when I came home from my mission. Being away from home for an extended period of time and being thrown back into it, immediately bombarded me with the different feelings that signified that I was home.

Media Identity Reviews

Sophia: I loved your presentation! The concept of stop-motion and having several pictures rotate in and out was engaging to see. I could tell a lot of effort went in to executing and presenting your project. I also enjoyed how each sequence of pictures had their own unique pattern of moving, which made the presentation interesting to watch while avoiding repetition. I thought you chose good music for your piece. It was really fun! I am interested to know how you approached production: Did you draw the camera? Did you produce stop-motion through still pictures or create the effect during editing? Did you use a template for the Polaroid’s? Because of the elements camera, Polaroid’s, and stop-motion, I am interested to know what your interests are in that field (photography, cinematography, stop-motion photography, etc.).

Rhonda: Your presentation was awesome! Through your use of pictures and music, I immediately made connections to who you are. I think your music choice was in harmony to the pictures you chose. I also like the film-flicker filter you applied to your project. And go Bob Dylan! I found it interesting that you incorporated many skateboard pictures. It made me want to learn more about the importance that, that is to you and to your family. I also noticed many pictures of musicians that appeared to be soul artists? Do you like soul music and what influence has that made in your life? That was a really fun project!

Post #4!!

My Brother made a video one day, out of the blue, about what it means to be an American. He posted it on youtube. It was nothing more than a compilation video featuring clips from various John Wayne movies, showing muscle cars and playing “Born in the USA” from Bruce Springsteen. I could not help but think of that video when I read the blog prompt for today. His perception (as well as mine) of what America is has been shaped by media more than anything else. It’s funny, because if you talk to someone from another country about a foreign film you saw from that country, many times they will tell you, “That’s not really what it’s like.” I would say that same thing to someone asking me if America is like the movies they’ve seen. However, when I start thinking about what it means to be an American, I’m thinking of Knight Rider, The Dukes of Hazard, John Wayne, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Clancy and Audrey Hepburn. Of course, many other people, places and events come to mind as well, but I don’t think we American’s give media its due credit. It has shaped our society more than we even realize ourselves.

The passage “Homeplace” from our readings shows the Millers commitment to a specific place. In it, the author asks a very important question: “How can you value other places if you do not have one of your own?” It is important to have pride in your place. From this, an understanding and an appreciation of other places can come forward. Not everyone has that. I don’t. I have lived in 6 different places in my life. That is why I identify myself with the Mormon culture over any other. It is the one thing that has been consistent in my life. Inside the walls of a Mormon church, no matter what city I am in, I get the same feeling of place.

V Now I will do my reviews for the project on Thursday V

Nick Adams: Fantastic job on your presentation! Everything flowed nicely from when you were young until you were old. One thing I found very interesting in the presentation was the Animorphs. Animorphs was one of the first things you started reading, but then you “grew out” of it. However, when you were older, you realized that it was an important part of your identity, so it was reincorporated. The diversity of your media consumption was startling, to me. You were in to some older things that I mostly ignored until I was much older. I also identified with your taste in music developing around the same time that you started liking girls. It was the exact same with me! Other things I wrote in my notes for your presentation were as follows: “Sweet. Awesome. Haha. Very effective.” Very effective, Nick.

Spencer Humphrey: Dude, you had a SICK amount of variety in your presentation. It’s funny, because my media intake as a child has been relatively different from the other presentations, but I related to your stuff more than anybody else’s! Video games, man. That’s where it’s at. Also, I was way into anime. They kinda go together. Every new picture that came up I saw and thought, “I actually know what this is!” I couldn’t do that with everybody quite as much. Here are some other things I wrote down on my notepad: “Epic. Awesome. Animation. Dude, awesome.” This one resonated, Spencer. Great taste!

Understanding Place and Space

Digital media has a profound impact on people in their sense of community and such. The reading brought up that in moving so often, people come to be native to an idea or thought, rather than any physical place. I would venture to say that many people in today's world are simply natives to Cyberspace. Many of this generation could not describe their surroundings very well, but they can fondly remember their early days on YouTube, etc. As I understand it, digital media has come to more than just shape our sense of place and space- it has become its own place.
That one annoying song really is right- it IS a small world after all. Or, at least, it is becoming one. Digital media gives us a sense that we can be anywhere, anytime. In one moment, I can be on the web buying books from Hong Kong, while simultaneously talking on Skype with my girlfriend across the country. Digital media has meant a consolidation of the ideas of place and space. Even in watching a movie, we are drawn into that particular location and gain a sense of belonging within the artificial community. We have come to understand place and space as simply ideas that are linked to physical locations. Because of this, we as media consumers live vicariously through the experiences of others in order to find our sense of belonging.
I know that I am just as guilty as anyone in this vicarious living. Every once in a while I'll hear about something and begin to think, 'Oh, I've done that..' Then I come to realize that I've only seen it on the Discovery Channel. We all have an innate desire to push our limits and discover the world for ourselves, but I believe that excessive media consumption has pushed our race into a complacent, domestic lifestyle. Just to be clear, I see nothing wrong with media consumption itself. It is only the excessive intake that I see so many fall prey to that really makes me nervous.
Outside of digital media, our understanding of place and space is comprised from many different sources. Culture and historical background contribute to this sense. When we take the time to learn about what a people does in a physical setting in order to live their life, the physical space takes on a new meaning in our mental construct. Knowledge is a powerful tool in understanding the world around us, and the people that inhabit this world.
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Regrettably, I was ill on Thursday and did not get the chance to see everyone's New Media & Identity project. I am sure everyone had great presentations, and that each of you brought out an element unique to yourself that I would have enjoyed seeing. I am sorry for missing that opportunity.

Blog Post 4

How does digital media shape my understanding of place and space? What other things shape my understanding of place and space?

I would like to begin my post this week by discussing Rhonda’s New media Identity Project. I was really impressed with her project. I thought that the music was catchy and engaging. The clips flowed well together and I liked the effect used on the clips to make them look the way that they did. Rhonda’s project showed that she has diverse and interesting taste. Her project said a lot about her, which was the point of the project. I think she did a really wonderful job.

I was also deeply impressed with Spencer's presentation. I though that it was not only put together well, but extremely inspiring and moving. The presentation contained meaning in a way that I was not expecting, but definitely appreciative of. Spencer I think that you did an outstanding job and I was reeled into your presentation. I am extremely glad that I was able to experience your project.

Digital media has shaped my understanding of place and space in ways different from my parents and grandparents. Because of the expansiveness of the internet and other types of digital media, “sense of place is no longer limited to the physical realm”. I believe that this quote in the book really says it all. We not only have the physical world, but we have the web as well. The internet has opened doors that redefine space and place these days. My idea and understanding of space is that it is unlimited and there are millions of possibilities. There are a million places and spaces to be from, a part of, or to eventually become part of. Where a person is from says a lot about that person’s identity. A place called home is not necessarily their actual home. It is a place that shaped them as a person and where their heart is. Home is not necessarily the physical house where a person resided. Place and space is personal because it is determined on a personal level. For example in the reading “The Little Store”, the author talked about how the grocery store in her town was a huge part of her childhood and was a part of her growing up. The little store was a home away from home for this child. One phrase that I especially liked was from the reading titled, “No Place Like Home”. The author said, “Green Valley is as much a verb as a noun”. I think this perfectly puts into perspective the active influence a home or special place has on a person’s identity.

Blog Post 4: Jan 31st

"Where am I from?" This is a hard question for me to answer. I lived the majority of my life in Northern and Southern California. However Colorado is the home I found away from home. It is also the place my wife is from. We have now live in Utah for five years. Is this now home?

I like the idea of living in different places. There are things I miss about California and Colorado, and I am sure there are things I will fondly remember about Utah. However, no matter were I live my address remains the same. I have had my e-mail address hollyjolly44atyahoodotcom longer than I have lived in any one place.

I travel to many different places, whether routine or exotic I find myself constantly retreating to my personal spaces within the internet. I check my e-mail, my deviantart, IGN, and RottenTomatoes no matter where I am. These digital realms are a constant state of information I can reflect on or perhaps discuss with others on and off-line.

When I am walking around campus during a busy passing period I often like to think about how every fleeting person is another dimension. So many people, on completely different paths sharing common ground but completely distilled in unique thoughts and feelings.

I find that it is all too easy for myself to be consumed with my own space, my own way of concluding. It is only when serving others outside of my space that I realize a more complete way to understanding life.

Spencer Humphrey: I really enjoyed the quiet, meditative nature of your presentation. The 'Spirited Away' music and thoughtful quotes worked beautifully with the wide array of images you choose to represent yourself. Before your presentation I was thinking about how stunned I was that no one had really incorporated video games into their presentations. Alas…it was quite calming to see your honest use of video game imagery. I think I remember seeing an image of the cult RPG ‘Skies of Arcadia’. Very nice. Whether enjoyed on the Dreamcast or GameCube you have my respect.

I think a lot of people see video games as mere rollercoaster rides, disposable entertainment that is quickly replaced by a better version. As an undoubtedly popular form of media consumption today how do you feel about those who deny video games from being a true work of art? Is there a specific game you identify with as being intellectually challenging or spiritual?

Brenna Davidson: I really liked how openly specific you were with your ever-aging journey through the wide discourse of media. It felt very personal, and I appreciate such clarity. I wish there had been time to see the rest of your presentation. I believe I saw a glimpse of a ‘Black Swan’ poster on one of the last slides. …Have you seen that film? I loved it! Best film of the year in my own opinion.

-Nephi Hepworth

Week 4

Digital media has a profound affect on the way we think about space and place, both potentially harmful and helpful. One of the things that digital media allows us to do is to see the realities that other's experience and in so doing connect with their images of space and place. These allow us to connect with their place, while inhabiting our own space. Like was said in the reading, in a way this is our way of inhabiting space, not place, because we are sharing the same space, while being in two separate places. The internet especially comes to mind when thinking about this. I can learn about different cultures, different ways of life, from the comfortable space of my own place. Yet I don't really get the opportunity to experience their place. I guess the difference in my minds eye between space and place is that space is merely a facet of place. When we share space with someone else we see part of their place, but not the whole.

Yet, I feel very attracted to this idea of space, because it allows us to understand ideas and things more clearly and more easily. In fact, I almost feel that perhaps in addition to being part of another's place, space is something that is completely new and different. It is more contrived, and I believe that teaches us more about an individual then seeing them in their home place because we are seeing how they want their place to be. Perhaps more is incorrect, maybe different is more accurate. In the text, Homeplace, the author talked about how important it was for people to stay put so that they might not lose their place. However, he mentioned an author who felt that we could create place by staying put on ideas. Maybe that is the place that I more fully comprehend and the idea of space that I am trying to put into words. But then ideas have always been more important to me then simple reality.

New Media Identity Responses:

Nicholas Adams: I really enjoyed your concept of media helping us to evolve. I think that media influences us so much that it truly shapes how we grow. In addition I really appreciated how you talked about not outgrowing what we love. Because it shaped us, it has become a part of us and it will always be important to us. Often, the simplest things are those that are most influential. Thanks for sharing your ideas.

Sophia Borich: I enjoyed the medium you used to tell the story of how media influenced you. It seemed to show how you captured media and then how that captured media becomes a part of you, creating your media identity. To make it more meaningful, the captions of the Polaroids seemed to help show what you captured from each meaningful piece of media. I liked how we could see what was really important to you. Great job, I enjoyed it!

Blog Post 4: Jan 31st

The digital media certainly shapes my understanding of place and space. My experience with the Chinese grocery store seems to answer this question:

Every time I step into a Chinese grocery store, I see a tightly knit community that has guarded itself from the rest of Kansas. Visiting my relatives in St. Louis, I see their Chinatown, and their reluctance to move out of this Chinese community. It isn’t necessarily the “place” in Kansas or St. Louis, but it is the “place” that represents home for my relatives. Beyond the Chinese grocery products, and the Chinese customers what clearly make these Chinese communities is the media. Once I stepped foot in those Chinese grocery stores, it was the Chinese newspapers, Chinese advertisements, the Chinese news and television programs that transformed a grocery store that sold Asian products into a store that found a place in China. The essay by Eric Liu certainly explains this “Chinatown” idea more clearly.

There are other things that shape my understanding of place and space. The sense of place is established by cultures, communities, and by the people. As the reading reveals, “For most people, coming to terms with place is ultimately a personal matter.”  So how does the media shape place through our personal matter? I have thought about this constantly. Since those sand boxes and metal lunch box years, I realized that bringing fried rice to school wasn’t the ideal PB &J.  Even then, I sometimes questioned my “place.” Until middle school, I convinced everyone, including myself, that I was from China because Chinese culture was (and still is) more prevalent than my “American culture”. So, I guess place can also be defined through the cultural aspects and way of life that can clearly define your place and home within a community.  Well, for me, since chopsticks are more prevalent than forks, egg rolls more so than hamburgers, these simple things can even change the meaning of “place”.

New Media Identity Project Reviews:

Brenna Davidson: I certainly enjoyed Brenna’s presentation. To see Brenna's mother heavily involved in media production revealed how this started the roots to Brenna’s own media identity. What I loved about her presentation was the detail and specific media that held her interest during each stage of her life. The presentation showed me how media can mold someone like Brenna into a unique and lovely individual.

Casen Sperry: I loved Casen’s project because he showed another way of presenting how media has molded his identity. By showing home videos of his movie making adventures (from a small age), he revealed a early interest that has developed him into an inspiring filmmaker today. 

So my visiting teaching companion is 95 years old and unable to go out of her house right now…due to her… oldness problems, so the people that we visit actually all come to her house once a month so that she can get her visiting teaching done. This is a new experience for me. It’s really weird for me because I’ve only known her for a few months but everybody else in the ward has known her for years and everybody keeps talking about how close that she is to dying as if it’s just a normal thing…Ok, I guess it is normal, but not for me. For me the whole thing is a bit extraordinary and I find that every moment that I am with the woman that I just stare at her. And the more that I look at her, the more I think that she seems a bit translucent, almost as if she’s already begun the process of crossing over.


Last Sunday I had another one of those dreams that I was in an unknown house, looking around it, trying to find something. Those dreams are always a bit spooky because I usually have a feeling that there is something ghostly hanging around somewhere in the house. Anyway, after I have that dream I’m always feeling a bit weird the next day and it happened to be another visiting teaching day. So I arrived a few minutes before everyone else did and my companion wasn’t up yet so I talked to her husband for a minute and then I hear something and there she was at the lower level of their living room trying to make her way up the stairs on her own.


I was so completely taken by the image of her standing at the bottom of the stair and I’m sure that I will never be able to get it out of my head. She looked so weak and confused and she kept having fits of violent shaking but there was nothing that was going to stop her from making her way up the stairs to do her visiting teaching.


And I thought, if there is such a thing that exist as being beautiful it was her. This woman, in the last stages of her life, finding enough strength to do the thing the prophet has asked her to do. What an amazing blessing it has been to see her.

Week 4

When I am presented with a challenging image, it takes me a while before I can draw any conclusion. If it is a photo of a person, I need to look into their eyes for a while before I can really say what the photograph means. The photo of Omayra was a difficult one to look at, and represents just how powerful a photograph can really be. I couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened if someone had a camcorder there, or if a CNN news team was present. The video of the girls, the interviews with her, I don’t think it would have been quite as effective. Something about that photograph pulls at your heart strings. Just looking into her immovable eyes allowed me to try and put myself in her position. A photograph was the most effective medium to motivate people around the world to sympathize with the people of Columbia.

Outside of these readings, I was presented with a challenging image a couple of days ago. It was an anti-abortion image with what I assume to be a picture of an aborted fetus. No matter what people may think politically, certain images create powerful feelings. For me, I just have to try and balance out the feelings of pity and disgust. As it turns out, photographs working to accomplish a political end are usually skewed so as to give no room for questioning. Do you want this to happen? Of course not. Then vote for me. Likewise with photos of Innocent Iraqi’s brutalized by the military activity in the region, or the high contrast and desaturated photo of the electric chair we saw in chapter 7. These photos are powerful, but we have to not let only our emotions guide our minds as we decide how to react to these increasingly complex issues.

This book is presenting me with a lot to think about lately. It’s kind of overwhelming. The world is so different now. I find myself almost making up stories for the people I see around campus based solely on what they are wearing. Crazy.

Blog Post 3: Jan 24th

For years now, on my Facebook page, I only jointed down for my “activities” that I “capture moments.” But, I’m not necessarily implying the actual camera and the click of the take. When I capture something, I preserve that moment. A moment that can live, like freezing those extras peas in the freezer for another time, or drying that lavender flower in my Robert Frost book.  Capturing, to me, means seizing that moment as if I were winning over somebody’s love. As basic as it sounds, it’s incredible. It’s beautiful.

As I observe the Martin Parr’s photo album of people (like me) taking pictures of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, or posing next to the rainbow, I realize that we are not just taking a picture, but capturing. But, why? Perhaps it’s a documentation of something that interests us, or that grabs us by the shoulders, shaking us: “This is what I want you to see!” And then comes the questions, “What should I see?” James Nachtwey compels us to see the apocalyptic streets of New York. I can hear him as he heavily breathes through his hat, hiding from the monstrous ash that assaults him. What does he want me to see? This tragedy is horrifying, yet evokes an immense warmth of compassion. What has happened to this world? The Flag Raising on Iwo Jima brought a surge of hope and motivation. There was also compassion. I find that is one reason why we capture moments. It’s the recognition in ourselves that here is the powerful play: it’s beauty, it’s tragedy, it’s horror, and it’s movement. As I look at these pictures, even Richard Bilingham’s photographs, there is empathy. Perhaps, it’s this human bond that derives from the human experience, “I know how you feel.”

This leads me to another observation. By engaging in these moments, there requires of me much humility. I can’t describe how challenging it was to observe Omayra Sanchez. As I brisked by the photograph, I passively mistaken her raisined hands, discolored from the toxic chemical, as plastic gloves. After reading her story, I examined it again and (honestly) was about to cry. How oblivious was I? For that, capturing moments makes me realize that I am also seeing and hearing this powerful play, and I too must “capture” moments.

Blog Post 3

Seeing and Writing 3 discusses how there are two different categories of how we see and here important events in our life: There are events that we expect to be important, and the events that spontaneously become important. Because of tradition and culture, there are events that we anticipate that will become meaningful such as birth, graduation, marriage, buying a home, etc. Because we know these events are supposed to be important, most of us try and preserve these memories through photographs. I find it interesting how the book describes how photography is not only used in preserving events, but also that taking pictures has become an event in and of itself. The book uses an example of how a wedding would not be a wedding without photographers.

I have really enjoyed these readings because I have always felt that I don’t have the best memory, and the book has inspired me of ways I can better remember important events. There are many events in my past that I have difficulty recalling in detail. I have come to realize that the moments I remember most are the important events that were unplanned. They were things I saw and heard that made a difference on my character; and they are usually relationship oriented. Examples include: Meaningful conversations with my Mom and Dad, when my friends kidnapped me and took me to Denny’s for my 16^th birthday, or playing Secret Santa for a family in need, etc. Moments like these need no picture to help me remember for they have become permanently impressed upon my soul forever.

Other events like birthdays, vacation trips, or holidays often become fuzzy. Although these events are meaningful, the details often fade away with time. I am grateful for the gift of photography and the means it provides to help me remember important moments in my life.

When it comes to challenging images, I suppose I react differently depending on the nature of the image. If the image’s purpose is intended to help educate and change behavior in a positive way, then I respond well. Examining challenging images is a powerful method to promote pondering as well as changing one’s behavior. In many instances, I believe the saying that a picture is worth a thousand words.