Affordance

In class today we looked at affordance. Affordance is about what the activity lends itself to. In this session we looked closely at communication, action properties, and moral properties. 

"When we create a photograph it can sometimes be seen as a “mirror”, reflecting who we are, as shaped by our personal experiences and unique character."  

- Mark Galer

Communication:
Photography lends itself to communication in many ways and I’m unsure if I’ll really cover them all so I will discuss it in relation to my last date with my camera.
The other morning (a beautiful sunny spring day) I was comfortably sitting reading a book when I looked up and saw this cute wee sparrow jumping around in the garden, it looked as though it was peering into the lounge. I found this very amusing and at that moment I just had to grab my camera! As I was taking these pictures I was communicating with nature/ the environment and its surroundings and it was communicating with me in a way giving, me cues, inspiring me with the beautiful warm sun and the amazing flowers. Later I posted some of these photos that I took for others to see and here I am able to communicate to others the beauty of the day, share my feelings about the day and how I really loved that morning etc. In my photos I really communicate with others a lot about myself, my individuality and the way in which I see things. While taking photos that morning I also communicated with animals (the sheep and dog). I wanted the dog to look at me so I spoke to him. I was interested to know what some of the flowers I photographed were called so I needed to communicate with my host mum to find the answer. Another way in which this activity lends itself to communicating is when I take my camera to school. This automatically arouses conversation. 

Connection/Action Properties:
(Carrying on with the same story)
Once I was outside I noticed all the pretty spring flowers everywhere this inspired and motivated me to take pictures. As I took each picture my skill and technique changed and increased. I began to look at the objects in many different aspects Every time I take photos I learn more about how to use my camera etc. The pictures that I took lead me onto editing and then onto sharing these on my blog.
Photography forces you to observe, it requires you to have a perspective, your own point of view. The more photos you take the more in-tuned you become, the more skills you acquire. It builds you’re spatial awareness in a sense. You really consider you’re world and the things around you like balance, placement, and flow. You become more observant of light and colour; typographic composition. Photography is a great way to keep a visual diary of the things that inspire you in the real world. It is an outlet for creative expression and exploration. Photography is another way we can explore our ideas and develop different ways of thinking. 

Moral properties; or good and bad aspects: 
To me photography has many good aspects but some negatives of photography would be: Forgetting to take you lens cap off! I have'nt done this but have heard numerous stories of people coming to look at their photos and realized they had forgotten. (I'm a little unsure how people actually achieve this but anyway.) I think a bad property for me is being limited how far I can zoom. I only have one lense and am constantly wishing a had a larger zoom so I dont always have to get up so close to things and can capture animals, for axample, naturally. I am learning that it is good to know what is the focal point of the photo. What is the subject? (the window, the sky, the peeling paint on the frame?). You should always consider what it is you want you're viewers to see in a photo and why. I think need to be able identify what my main eye catcher or focal point is and I don't always set goals or go out with an idea of what I want to shoot. Not having enought space on my SD card can also be a bad property. Also, the whole incident of being able to take take pictures of others without his/her knowledge and then these can be spread around the world on the internet. I also think comparing myself to others is a bad aspect but i can learn from other photographer which brings me into...

Positives of photography: I can get inspitation from other photographers and also learn form them. Photography is fun! and I enjoy it. Can you imagine the world without it? no movies or films, no video, no TV. We would have to draw things to show others what something looks like. Photography can show original colour, original view of subject and it can keep memorable moments. When everything comes together and you get that 'perfect' picture is definately a good aspect but also being able to be pleased with little prosperities. It takes time to become a good photographer. An understanding of light and the different ways it falls on your scene is an important aspect. For me this is a good aspect of photography as I have somewhat of an understanding of this. It is also a good aspect to know my camera because searching the menu in the night is time you don't want to waste.

It's important to know that I can't take photographs of everything. Sometimes it's nice to just enjoy the moment rather than always trying to capture it. Being able to enjoy beautiful moments even when I don't have my camera with me. Knowing that mistakes are allowed. The more mistakes, the more you learn!

Reference:

Galer, M. (2007). Photography foundations for art & design: The creative photography handbook. (4^th ed.). Oxford: Elsevier Ltd.

 

PK: A Lab/Collie Cross & Clyde the Cat