Visual Literacy

For the Outside magazine someone from the Outside magazine company created the image. I couldn't read everything on the magazine cover because most of it wasn't legible. Outside magazine was the source.
The man on the cover looks a little older. They probably photo edited the gray out of his hair, and enhanced his skin tone. I feel like the main focus was on his face. On the front cover it mentions age, so I am guessing that is why the main focus was on his face. I feel like the gray in his hair and some of his wrinkles are probably missing, seeing there aren't many. The photo doesn't really effect my emotions and how I am feeling. I feel like for the most part this image does appear truthful seeing they didn't edit all of the wrinkles out of his face, still making it look like he is his age.

For the magazine cover with Britney Spears, someone in Japan must have created the cover seeing I can't read it. The source is also someone in Japan. Britney's skin tone was defiantly changed. No superstar is that pale in the United States. In Japan they like the look of pale skin so I am guessing that is why they lightened it. The color and lighting must have been altered a bit to help make her skin tone pasty, and look good with the rest of the light colored images and pictures on the cover. Britney's face appears largest in the picture seeing she is the main focus in the magazine. The rest of Britney's body is missing in the picture. i feel as if they probably altered the shape of her body and things on her face. This image does not effect my emotions at all seeing they edited her a lot to make her look like that, and I don't even think that is a good picture of her. This image does not seem very truthful to me. I feel like a lot of it has been edited.

For the magazine cover of Zac Efron, a photographer from GO magazine must have taken it. The source is GO magazine. I am guessing they probably edited Zacs skin tone to make him look tanner. The angle and lighting of this picture make his body look small, and his head look big. Zacs head looks the largest in this picture. My interpretation of this picture is either he has a huge head, or they wanted to make sure everyone knew he was on the cover, because it is definently eye catching. It looks like half of Zacs body weight is missing. He looks way skinnier than usual. When I look at this photo, I laugh. That is how it effects my emotions. No ones head is that big with a body that small. This image does not appear truthful to me seeing his proportions are way off.

After viewing these photos I feel as if it is important that people know all magazine covers are edited, and no one in real life really does look like that. If someone wasn't aware that these photos have been edited, bad things could happen. A lot of eating disorders could end up happening when wanting to be as thin as some of these ladies on the covers. At photo shoots lighting is always being changed. Computer editors are always changing photos weather it is skin tone, removing parts of the body, or even removing baby bumps. This is completely wrong. They make these people out to look a lot different than they really do, sometimes making them look like not even the person they are. This isn't fair to the people being photographed or the people looking at and buying the magazine.

Brick Walls

1. My parents seem to keep me on track and make sure I'm headed down the right path. They know what I want in my life and keep me from making bad decisions. My boy friend Ryan also is there telling me what he thinks is the right and wrong thing to do. He knows what I want to get out of my life and helps me stay away from things that would throw me off the track I am headed down.

2. I am glad my friend Alyssa shares her opinions and is a very open and honest person. What she has talked to me about and has said to me has kept me from making some bad decisions. Having good friends like this is a very helpful thing. Knowing they care about you and don't want you doing stupid things makes you re-think before you act.

3. When I make a mistake in my life my dad tends to lecture me on why it was wrong, and tell me stories about when he messed up as a teenager and the consequences he faced. I always felt like he was telling me these stories thinking I am interested but now that I think about it, he is telling me to help me out and stay away from mistakes he has made because he doesn't want me going through what he did.

Politics 2.0

1.     President Obama's campaign was more successful, even on YouTube. I feel as if many would rather watch videos on YouTube because it is more convenient that way, and a lot easier to view. Obama had 1.9 billion views and McCain had 1.1 billion views. Obama also had more videos. It is surprising that 39% of voters did view campaign related videos online during the election. I feel as if using YouTube is a great way to express what needs to be said. Doing this saves a lot of money, and it is a lot more "straight to the point". YouTube is a great and cheap way to advertise things that need to be said.

2.   YouTube has changed political elections in the United States by being able to view campaign videos online, and being able to view them when this is needed. YouTube makes politics more convenient for people with busy lives, without time to watch what is on the news. I feel as if this is a very positive thing. Without having YouTube viewing these videos wouldn't be as easy. A lot more people end up viewing these videos when on YouTube then just on the news. Having these videos available on YouTube is convenient for everyone. Having YouTube is very positive, cheap and effective way to express what needs to be said.