This Is My Truth

 Option A 

A.  The type of pictures and the context in which they were displayed caused me to respond in a range of ways. Others attracted me on a more intellectual level, prompting reflection or curiosity, like the photo used by Christian Torres of the men sitting on top of the skyscraper eating lunch. While others evoked an emotional reaction either because of their content or personal connection. This emotion was evoked for me when I looked at Leo Lombardo's post of the young girl looking sad at the 9/11 memorial. Some even seemed to touch on a visceral or spiritual level, sparking something deeper. All in all, my impressions were complex, formed by a combination of awe, contemplation, and an understanding of the different points of view that each picture represented.

B. I do feel more confident that I know my own truth. After reading through all of my classmates and seeing the different responses they gave about their own truths, I recognized that while a lot of our truths are very similar with only small, small differences. Like the photo used by Daniel Fraher of the Loch Ness monster, I also believe this is a great example of a photo that shows how the truth is not always in photos. Most people in society do not believe in the Loch Ness monster, yet this photo claims to have proof. However, the photo is badly lit and does not show any real details besides a shadowy figure. The biggest truth I learned was that you can not believe all pictures are truthful and remember that the photographer could have a motive behind what is seen. An example of these motives is the picture chosen by Sam Moran of Caitlin Clark. Sam Moran talked in her response about how the photograph portrayed Caitlin Clark in a negative light, and how the article and many other articles written around the same time, all portrayed Caitlin Clark in a bad way. My truth is based on not believing everything I see in the media or photojournalism and trying hard to not develop an opinion on a subject without proper information or facts. 

C. I have gained a lot of insight into my own bias through this assignment. I have realized that I tend to be very biased about some things but very not biased about others. I had never realized my personal bias before the assignment mostly because if I found something I believed to be not true I would not read it therefore basically not even giving it a second thought. Especially as AI has become a huge part of not truth coming into photojournalism, it has become even harder to believe what you see. I try very hard to not believe what I see right away without further research. This has made me almost paranoid when looking through the media. I ran into a similar issue with my mom recently. She had seen a video of the outside of a New York City store all decorated for Christmas and she mentioned how cool it was. I immediately questioned whether it was AI or not and after further research we realized it was.