I wanted, in this post, to highlight a space of my office. Because I work in the Law Library, I’m honestly surprised by my first interactions with students at the university, as they treat me with austerity – they go right for the “Mr. Gonzalez” and all that. Suddenly, though, when they enter my office filled with my figurines and stories, and nerd collection, they’re surprised, and it slowly starts to erode. I like that I have this duality – equal parts serious to fun. Okay, more fun than serious, but I like that I can be a different sort of assistance from a faculty member in the stressful environment of Law School!
Looking for inspiration for this assignment, I decided to showcase how cropping parts of my office can change how someone perceives me at work. I have a collection of our university’s Law Review in my space, showcasing our school’s little bit of history. But, just above them, I have a variety of Amiibos; in fact, ones of Kirby, the cutest little pink puff! They’re silly guys, just sitting on top of materials that Law Students know can mean the difference between working at a firm just out of school. While the work is important, I also want them to be more than just Lawyers – they can also be themselves.
I like the way you approached this assignment. The before and after pictures feel like they work in tandem with each other which I think illustrates what the assignment was getting at; cropping isn’t always just to replace an image with a “better” one, but a tool that can make one photo into two stories! I think I prefer the law books with Kirby though.
I love the thought that you put into this assignment and how cropping your photo really showcases the message you were sharing. When I initially saw the two photos side by side and hadn’t read the text below I thought “which one is the original? surely they didn’t intend to crop out Kirby?” After reading your post though I really loved the intent behind this. I don’t think I would change a thing. Great job!
Hi John! Your office sounds like a comforting space. I like the picture you chose and I think you did a good job cropping it to change the meaning. There are a few subjects in the original photo between the law books and the figures, but the new image puts focus only on the law books. I could easily see the new photo being used as a background or header image in a law-themed slideshow or webpage, which is cool. It would also be interesting to see the original image cropped to highlight the Kirby figurine instead of the law books (if the resolution of the image allowed for it).