The Legacy of the Photographer

The study of photography has always focused on examining what is within the frame of the image and visible to the observer. However, this does not take what is outside of the frame into account, and therefore leaves off the most important aspect of the photo: the photographer. The photographer is the person actively causing the photo to exist, and therefore should have more recognition in the world of photographic inquiry. For the most part, photographers are largely ignored in the analysis of photos, and actively removed by editing techniques and specific framing of the image.

Photographs, as opposed to paintings, have an inherent claim to represent the truth since they are the product of a mechanical process. This aids the erasure of the photographer, since believing that photographs have not been altered by a human influence disregards the fact that it is indeed a human pressing the button on the camera. People have faith in photos to portray what is really happening without human mediation, and many problems result from this belief. This includes ignoring the photographer and their role in the process, since it is often assumed, and even emphasized, that a machine is doing the work in photography.

One instance where it is incredibly important to consider who took the photo is in the case of embedded reporting. These are reporters who are planted in specific places so that they only report from a certain point of view, one that is already established by the authorities. Clearly, this is problematic, especially when taking the photograph’s claim to truth into account. As a result, people examining these photos will believe that they contain the truth of the situation when in reality they are only a small piece of it. However, there is no viable alternative because the concept of free reporting is flawed as well. There is already an established iconography of suffering that reporters consistently fall back upon, so there is no way to tell if they are reporting what is happening or merely what they perceive to be happening through these established norms of photography. War has a tendency to become generic, with generic victims that are unrelatable to most people not involved. Photographers are influenced by these practices when taking photos, which is an important aspect to consider.

Photography has become central to our lives in the present day, with photos becoming ubiquitous in our society. However, the way we treat photos as independent entities is incorrect, and forces us to ignore the person behind the camera. There is a long history of either denying the existence of the photographer or ignoring them. Photographers are central to creating a photo, and they show their perspective through their lens. The photographer’s influence should be a part of how we interpret photos, and not just a side note in a history of images.

The Importance of Being Single

I am getting pretty sick of all of this pressure on people to be in relationships. It is something that no one ever discusses either, it just goes unnoticed in society. Granted it’s not that big of a deal compared to the much larger problems out there, but a little bit of recognition would be good.

You see it everywhere, images of happy heterosexual couples on all of the ads and everything, basically flaunted in front of your eyes. And then there are all of these portrayals of sad single people, especially in tv or in books. With this message of “don’t be like us, get yourself into a relationship and be happy already.”

Which is fine if you’re in a relationship, but if you’re not you get the message pounded into your head that “you aren’t allowed to be happy unless you’re in a relationship.” And that’s really shitty. There have been studies done, and loneliness is usually linked to shame these days. We are ASHAMED of being single, as though we have done something wrong in order to end up there.

Here’s the reality though: you don’t need to be in a relationship in order to be happy. Heck, you probably will be happier if you take time to yourself to just be single. Which no one ever talks about, of course. You learn more about yourself and how to be happy with yourself when you’re on your own. And most importantly, you learn how to accept yourself as a single lady, which is so important. When you are happy being single, you will have an easier time being kind to yourself and have more self-love. That’s what I have found in my experience at least.

Just remember: you are a strong, independent person who does not need anyone else. You are plenty enough on your own. <3

My Impending Doom

Recently I was elected the president of a club that is very near and dear to my heart (ok it’s the circus club).

I never actually expected that to happen.

If we skip back to freshman year when I first joined, I knew literally nothing about the circus and could do nothing. Now I’m the main leviwander and know the basics of most other props. I’ve learned a lot in the past three years, probably as much as I have in classes. But that’s really not the bulk of what I learned.

I had never really taken on a strong leadership role before now. I mean I was a leader in high school, about as much as you could be, but in high school you’re always under a teacher who has final say. Now in college everything is completely student driven and it’s all on you.

Starting my first semester here I became a leader, I probably could not even tell you know why I jumped in so quickly, it was just something that I felt I wanted to do. And so it began.

I learned a lot through this process of becoming a leader in the group, not just how to handle a group of people (which I’m still not great at) but also how to put on a good production and how to communicate effectively with people to create a success.

And the best part of being in a semi-theatre group is that you get a production at the end of it, you can visibly see how far you have come and what you have accomplished. It is wonderful for getting photos and for seeing how much everyone has improved.

Despite all of this, even at the start of the semester no one really expected me to become the president. I did not even expect it. I knew I was going to run, so that I could say that I tried, but I didn’t think that I would actually get it. What ended up happening was a strange mix of people not wanting to commit to such a big role in the group, and then somehow it ended up being me getting elected.

It’s strange because I always looked up to the president as this almost perfect leader of the group, and now that person is me and I’m just a hot mess. A problematic fave, if you will. I feel like there is a lot of pressure to do well, but at the same time, I know from previous leadership experiences that you really make the role your own. You can do whatever you want with it because it is a personal job and can morph into whatever you want.

I’m excited. And terrified. Which is probably a good thing. I really want to do well for everyone in the club and everyone watching the group across the years. But most of all I want to do well for myself, because I know that I won’t be happy unless I have given this job my all. And that’s really all that I can ask from myself in the end, because it’s my journey that has brought me here and it’s my choices that will carry me through. It’s all on me, which is comforting and scary. But I wouldn’t choose to have it any other way.

How to Start Leviwanding

Using a leviwand is so much fun! You get to be a magical wizard and make a stick float around you (while people ask if it is powered by static electricity or magnets). It’s a little tricky in the beginning, but it gets much easier once you get the hang of it.

First of all, you’re going to need a wand! I am a fan of the flowtoys practice wands, which come in an assortment of colors, for beginners. Other options include if you want a finger loop or a swivel on it. I would go for the finger loop, although you can easily DIY with a fishing swivel and some extra string if you want.

Once you have your wand, the first step is how to hold it. Put the string over the middle finger of your dominant hand. Hold the wand vertically in your other hand (make sure that the right side is up!). When you’re ready to go, release the wand and slowly spin it in a circle. Make sure that the circle is big enough that you aren’t hitting the string with the wand. And make sure that it isn’t so big that you’re hitting yourself with it either.

When you get the hang of the circle, try stalling the wand out to either side and then bringing it back into the circle. Ideally you should get it continuous, so that you have a circle stall circle stall type of pattern. Get comfortable with that, that’s the foundation of most moves.

Now that you have the moves, pay attention to what your non-dominant hand is doing. It’s probably just hanging there. Try to get it involved and complete the illusion by following the wand. Play with “pushing” the wand around or following it at different levels. It is much more interesting and helps with the illusion if your other hand is involved.

And that’s how to leviwand! The rest is specific tricks and things. Try to watch a ton of videos to help you, when I was starting out people like Erlich Firechill were really helpful (see links below). Happy wanding!

More Circus Props!

My personal favorite prop right now is the leviwand! It is essentially a stick on a string that is weighted to stay vertical as you wave it around. It is so much fun to dance around with, and it is very easy to find your own style as you experiment. There are two kinds: short and long string. Short string is what most people do, the string is about as long as the stick itself and it makes it easy to do tricks. Long strings can be super long, but can be incredible to watch as well.

Video is here.

There’s also fans. Sounds self-explanatory and simple, but since this prop is flat there are some really cool visual tricks you can do with them. You can also adapt a bunch of poi moves for this prop. (It's literally a pair of fans, not much more than that.)

Another prop is rope dart. It is basically a poi with a really long rope attached to it. You can wrap this around yourself and fling it out far. (It isn’t too different from long string leviwand really.)

Contact juggling is a strange one. Since it is juggling, you would expect it to involve throwing things or something. Nope, the point here is that the ball stays in contact with you most of the time. It creates plenty of opportunities for illusions.

Have a video.

Double hoops is a mix of hoop and poi. It is what it sounds like, you get two hoops and do tricks with them. I think it’s fun, makes a nice change from hoop and poi.

Double staves is similar to double hoops, except you have two staffs instead of two hoops. Again, pretty similar to poi, but since it is sticks instead of rope you can make different patterns.

Diabolo is also a circus prop, also known as Chinese yoyo. This is one of those toys where the majority of people doing this are really good 10-year-olds. I find it really hard, but you can judge for yourself.

Devil sticks is another one that people usually try when they’re younger. But there are a bunch of cool tricks you can do with these! The more sticks the merrier, and here we have three!

That's most of the obscure ones that I can think of, maybe if more pop up I'll make another post. I might go more in depth with leviwand since that's what I've been most interested in lately, and it is a relatively new prop as far as circus props go.

Introduction to the Circus: Common Props Used

Having been a member of a circus club for the past few years, I have noticed that there are a lot of misconceptions as to what it is that a circus group does. It is a lot more similar to a theatre troupe than people usually think. But there are also a whole bunch of different props that people use that your average person does not think of. There is much more than acrobatics to the circus!

The most popular prop is probably poi. Poi are essentially two balls with strings attached to them that you swing around. (Picture right there.)

Seems simple, but there are so many things that you can do with them! You can grab a fellow poi friend and do some partner poi, or grab two or more poi in one hand to create different patterns. The possibilities are endless with this prop, but it is definitely one of the harder and more nit-picky ones.

Here's a cool video as an example: here.

Next up is staff. Fairly self-explanatory, you swing around a giant stick. But you can also get more into contact staff, which is when you do not use your hands at all, makes it much harder.

Contact staff video: here.

Hoop is also very popular. Most people have probably heard of this, and played around with one as a kid. But circus hoopers are really next level, they do some amazing things.

Yup it's a hoop video.

And of course juggling! Everyone knows juggling, here’s just a fun video.

Jugglinggggg

All of these props can also be a fire prop! Poi and staff become fire toys in a pretty obvious way, with hoop you have to attach individual wicks around the end. Most people use 3 or 4. And with juggling you only ever see clubs with wicks on the end being tossed around.

There are many more props than this out there! There’s leviwand, fans, diabolo, you name it. I’ll pick up later with some more obscure ones.

The Struggles of Getting a Science Summer Internship

So here’s the deal, I’ve been trying since January to get a summer job in a science related field, and have had zero luck. Now I’m not positive, but I think my struggles are due to a few factors.

First of all, most lab positions require a mentor, someone who runs the lab and is willing to take you on. You have to match to this person, they have to want to hire you, and you have to want to work with them. As a result, you could be incredibly qualified for this position, but if there isn’t a lab you would work well in you aren’t going to get anywhere. It is really frustrating to hear back from so many people “you were very qualified, but unfortunately our final decisions were based on a match with various mentors.” Wonderful, thanks gents.

Another reason is that so much of society is based on results, while in research if you get results you got really lucky. That is why so many people take forever to get a PhD, they have to put in hundreds of hours throwing stuff at a wall and seeing what sticks before they start seeing results. So on a resume, it will definitely look good if you published a paper or did a poster presentation or anything like that, but the opportunity to do that is based entirely on luck and whether you found anything of scientific value.

Finally, applying for anything is a really tough process. You write a cover letter, but that never truly shows your potential and work ethic. I grant that it is probably the best these universities can do, but applications can’t and never will totally show the entire student applying. I am willing to bet that incredibly capable students (similar to me) get rejected all the time simply because of the applicant pool. It’s disgustingly similar to applying to college.

Moral of the story I guess is to just not take it personally and keep trying. Don’t give up, many people have been in this position and many more will be here as well!