Thursday, November 18, 2010

Iraqi Kurdistan

Since the fall of Saddam Hussein, Iraq has been a landscape of bloodshed and chaos. Yet in the northern region of Kurdistan, people now live stable lives. Iraqi Kurdistan takes us into daily life there, and celebrates the beauty of peace. See the project at http://mediastorm.com/publication/iraqi-kurdistan




The introduction of this video is very nice and appealing. The music is very nice as well, but it does not relate to the events and the photos. In addition to that, the video movements and transition became too fast after the first minute. The music started overpowering the photos that the viewer starts to concentrate on the music more than the photos. It is a very busy video that keeps you trying to focus on both but it is too fast.

I am from Iraq and I know that this music does not match with the events of most of the photos. However, for non-Iraqi people, it might make sense the way the people move to the music. But for Iraqi people who know how to dance to this kind of music, it does not make sense.

The video is very long. The photographer could have added more texts and captions to add to the explanation. I think that the photographer was very lucky to get access to many of these places portrayed in the photos. For example, the photos of the president, ministers, and the army.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Heaven, Earth, Tequila


Douglas Menuez's photographic journey into one of Mexico's oldest traditions becomes a stunning visual portrait of the country — its light, its landscape, and its people. See the project at http://mediastorm.com/publication/heaven-earth-tequila






I like how the introduction starts with text to help us to know that the video is about the Mexican culture and history. It is very good starting because it gives illustration to the viewer.

The first photo in the video is very beautiful. It is black and white and has some historical touches. The transition from the first photo to the second photo of the plants is very smooth and nice. Also, it works with the tones of music. Then a surprising moment comes afterwards of a beautiful girl with her hair style and her clothes which has a traditional fashion. The photographer was very precise in choosing the photos that went along with the tones of music in the background. This is especially prevalent with the smiling man and the lady afterwards.

Sooner during the video, the events started going faster as the movement of the photos speed up. It also shows the beauty of the city, the countryside, nature in general, and the lifestyle.

The photos of people running, drinking, laughing, dancing, and the ending photos are all very grabbing and show a joyful moment among the people. I wished there were some captions or words that would explain these photos more.

The colors coordination and order is presented in two forms; one is black and white and the other is color. The video starts with black and white to show the true history of the country. The middle part is colored to show today. Then the end goes back to black and white. This shows that no matter how far from our past we are, we still go back to our origin and our traditions.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Mother

This picture story grabbed my attention because it shows a very humanistic side to the struggles of life. I loved the opener photo. The photo was chosen wisely because it truly draws the eyes to continue leaning more of the story. Also, the actions presented in the opener photo are what she does most of the time. The angle of this photo shows a lot about the conditions she works in and what exactly is expected of her in those long hours of work.

Audiences are drawn in to this story because it truly brings out the curiosity of wanting to know who this lady is, what she is doing, and where she is.

The second photo reveals a feast provided to this family by the same woman who was working. It is very interesting to see how they sit while they are eating. One could sense a rush in the way they sit, more specifically the mother. Even while she eats with her children, she is in a hurry. The children are also sitting in the same manner, but are more comfortable than the mother.

The third photo is very intimate and shows the whole family together in one place. This moment was a very private one, in the bedroom, getting ready for bed, but also having a good time with each other. The lighting quality is also appealing.

The fourth photo is also a private time between the mother and her daughter, but this time we see more emotion in the mother's face. After a long day at work, the mother wants to rest but her children are not helping and she gets frustrated. The way the baby is looking at the mother has very emotional moments.

The fifth photo shows the children eagerly waiting for the food to be served. They could not wait until the food is placed on the serving mat because, most probably, that is their only meal for the day. It breaks the heart how the baby boy is holding the mother's hand to give him food.

The sixth photo shows another struggle the mother has in dealing with her children. She wants to rest; the children are innocent and want to live their childhood in their small house, so they are try to playing and watching TV, and the clash that happened in between.

Most of the photos have pots and pans. This means that the house is probably very small only containing only the living room and bedroom and maybe not even a real kitchen with a stove and other utensils. They have a small cooker in which they cook their food. It also seems that most of the cooking happens in the living room.

I really liked the seventh photos of this story. I wished if it were the ender photo for this story. This photo shows how the mother does have a soul and a life and her spirit is alive again. No matter what circumstances she and her children might live in, they are still able to have a smile and enjoy their day. The mother is taking on the role of mother and father to replace the parents’ love.
It is a great blessing to see how much this family, or any family in such case, appreciates the small pleasures of life. I think most children who live in these circumstances grow to be quite humble in nature. They view things differently and possess a strong character.

The final photo shows the agony of adding another member to the household for even one day. The brother came unexpectedly to visit his sister. The reaction on the mother's face shows a great sense of frustration. Before I read the caption, I expected that the mother was thinking of her husband but it was really her brother she was talking with. I felt it was off topic and not a very good ending to the story. Although, it keeps the reader wanting to know how the mother will deal with her brother and what will happen next, it is a different story to discuss.

This picture story is very nice and interesting. The photos as well as the captions keep the reader going. There is no redundancy in the plot. The photographer was able to show a variety of events in his photos.