Medium Specificity

I chose the medium of photography, specifically on an iPhone. The picture of this In-N-Out double-double with no onion captures the look of the burger from a specific angle. The parameters of a photograph allow the audience to understand the colors, layers, ingredients, and approximate size of the burger. Being a picture means the burger will stay stationary and unchanging, so you can always go back and see what it was like at that precise moment. Being a picture means I was able to edit it on my iPhone and enhance colors, crop it to my liking, level the frame with the wall in the background, and experiment with the lighting. 

Seeing a picture of yourself from your youth can take you back to the moment it was taken, and you, having lived it, recall who was there and what was happening. Having experienced the pleasure of consuming an In-N-Out burger, this picture takes me back to specific moments and I can imagine myself there; my hands on the burger, the smell of the spread filling my nose, the sound of a busy restaurant in my ears, and the crunch that will shortly follow this view. 

There are also limitations to the medium of photography. For example, if I have been deprived of going to In-N-Out and enjoying a burger such as this one, this picture cannot completely create or communicate that experience. It does not give the smells, the feeling in the hands, the sounds in the ears, or the taste and texture in the mouth--it is a photograph to be looked at. Being a photograph, it can be edited and changed to influence your perception of the object. 

Using an exercise like this in a classroom could help students realize the impact they can have based on the medium they choose. A good place for them to begin would be discussing what story or perspective or message they want to share. Identifying their intention and goal will starts them on the path of finding which mediums will allow them to do that in an effective way. Taking the time to pinpoint their objective and then find the means to achieve it gives students ownership over their work as well as the real-world knowledge of figuring out why and how it will do that. 

With my medium, I wanted to discuss how pictures can recall memories for those who have experienced it, but cannot create the event for those who have not. While other mediums could get me a similar result, like a video of going to the beach or a tweet about doing homework late at night, photographs are something that resonate with me and I love the idea of capturing something, in the moment, that does not move or change.