My Own Lying Picture

I chose 2 pictures of cute animals that I had previously saved in my computer as background pictures. I originally obtained the pictures from Google Image searches. They were both taken with a digital camera. I chose a picture of a baby penguin and a squirrel to make a hybrid species of both: a penguin's body with squirrel's ears and a cute bushy tail. To accomplish this, I used the magnetic lasso to cut out the tail and ears and place them onto the body of the penguin. I had to duplicate and rotate the right ear so they would match, since the penguin was directly facing the front and the squirrel was facing sideways so his left ear wasn't showing. I changed the contrast, hue, and color of the ears and tail to match the white of the baby penguin's belly. I used the blur tool to make the fur look fuzzier and the stamp tool to fill in spaces. I changed the background of the image using the gradient tool and added text: "At Dani's...we love hybrids." I changed the image to make, what I consider, a cute animal that would appeal to people. I was pretending it could be a car commercial that at first glance, looks like it has nothing to do with cars. But after some consideration, the word "hybrid" can be taken to mean a hybrid car, which relates to the image of the hybrid "squenguin" since the same word is used to describe both. It would also have to be obvious that "Dani's" was a brand of car...I didn't feel it was appropriate to use an actual brand. I hypothetically assumed in my commercial that people would immediately relate "Dani's" to a successful car company. Since the image is not deceivingly trying to pass as a legitimate, quality photograph, I don't believe the manipulations are harmful. The changes served to enhance the image as a whole by creating a fantastical hybrid creature that is cute- in no way was the goal to convince people of it being a real organism. In contrast, the article,"Journals Find Fakery in Many Images Submitted to Support Research," displays manipulations that are harmful because they distort scientific data and the conclusions that are attained from that information. If this is done, the findings from scientific research cannot be considered valid because the results are fabricated. This is deleterious to society because it can delay the finding of real cures for diseases and information on other scientific processes.

Favorite Presentations

My two favorite presentations were Lukas’s and Eliana’s. Not only was the material very interesting in both presentations but also the designs captivated the audience. Eliana’s impressed me mostly because of the subject matter. I was not aware of body dysmorphic disorder before this class. Learning about the disorder truly shocked me because the symptoms are so severe and so counterintuitive for people lacking the disorder. For example, Eliana talked about a woman who thought she was balding and consequently put a bag on her head to hide it. When the woman later removed her covering, she actually had a thick head of hair! Eliana had a good choice of pictures; the very first photograph was astonishing. She had enough text, but not too much, and the background went well with the rest of the presentation. She used a white background, which enhanced the color of the photographs she used. The content of Lukas’s impressed me because I had never thought about physical therapy specifically aimed at amputee soldiers. The presentation was very emotional and also had captivating pictures. I liked how he started out with his animation on his first slide. The way he had the people fighting was cleverly done. He had a good incorporation of a YouTube video, which was very fitting to the overall theme of his presentation. It was touching. He also had a light background, which made the colorful pictures he used stand out in the foreground and he had little writing so as not to bore the audience.