When I first started brainstorming for this assignment, I was sitting in my backyard where I often drink my coffee and read in the morning trying to come up with an idea for an image and some audio that would tell a story or create a scene. Then I realized the answer was right in front of me, sitting under the palm trees in my backyard, listening to the wind chimes. My backyard has always been my happy place because of the views and sounds that make it so peaceful, so this is my attempt to recreate that. It’s not the same without the smell of coffee, but it’s a close second!
Greetings, fellow adventurers! Today, I invite you to join me on a virtual journey through an enchanting island filled with mysterious caves and echoes of a prehistoric past. Behold the captivating photograph that ignited my curiosity! A group of fearless souls embarking on a boating expedition through an island adorned with caves and high peaks. The play of light and shadow, the algae waters, and the looming caverns create an atmosphere that summons my inner explorer.
The island’s rugged terrain and hidden caves resemble one of my favorite iconic rides at Universal Studios, Jurassic Park. I wanted to add the resonating roars of dinosaurs to transport you to a realm where the line between fiction and reality blurs. Picture yourself gliding through the water, surrounded by the haunting calls of extinct creatures.
The fusion of visuals and sounds creates a multisensory adventure, enhancing the photo. The sound of flying insects harmonizing with distant roars would heighten any traveler with a sense of anxiety and fear. The island becomes a portal to a bygone era, where science fiction becomes a reality.
As we begin a new year, society is often overwhelmed with the pressure of making resolutions, plans for transformation, and large changes. I’ve reflected on this concept heavily this month with friends on the importance of giving our bodies and minds more grace during this time. When naturally, the winter season is a time for our bodies to find rest, stillness, and reflection.
As we look around us, we are in the thick of winter and everything comes back to life in the spring. So why do we try to perform as though it is spring or summer? Each season has its unique purpose and rhythm, and I think it’s important to acknowledge this.
I enjoyed interpreting this photo as a portrayal of attempting to rest and relax while being surrounded by the harsh, blunt, and edged personality of winter. A simple reminder that we don’t need to rush into the new year and can gently make it to spring.
Avicii – For A Better Day by Douglas Mendes. DouglasMViolinist is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
There’s no view quite like the desert sky. One of my favorite things about living in Arizona is the state’s efforts to decrease light pollution. We lead the world in dark sky locations, with twenty areas across the state specially designated for preserving the ability to observe the night sky. Light pollution negatively affects so many aspects of life, including the reproductive health of animals, the life cycles of plants, and even the health of humans. My city, Tucson, and the surrounding county of Pima have made great efforts to reduce light pollution in and around the city. Thanks to these efforts, Saguaro National Park – which lies on the outskirts of the city – has officially been designated as an “Urban Night Sky Place” by the International Dark Sky Association, one of only nine of these places in the world.
This photo of the Sonoroan Desert showcases the majesty of the night sky. The ethereal feeling of the accompanying audio enhances that celestial grandeur. As the music plays, it transports you to a cool desert night among the saguaros. Imagine the view of the stars in the photo moving slowly as the earth rotates, allowing you to view each constellation’s beauty.
I started this assignment by searching for photos of flower gardens, as I wanted some beauty to brighten up my day. I love this photo of a flower garden hill as it’s so vibrant and I can practically smell the flowers and the outdoor air. After finding this lovely photo, I thought of creative ways to connect sound to the image. At first, I thought literally of sounds of things found within the photo such as the sound of cars passing by. Then I thought about references I could make, such as including the sound of talking to reference the talking flowers in Alice in Wonderland. Finally, I focused on what the photo made me feel. My strongest feeling was that I wanted to roll down a hill like a carefree child.
While realistically rolling down this hill would be a pretty short journey as I’d immediately crash into the first row of flowers on my way down, I can’t help but imagine what it would feel like to bounce over and on top of the garden I as rolled down the hill. This audio represents my strong urge to feel like a kid, tuck my arms in, and let gravity take over. I felt the texture of the audio matched the curved texture of the landscape. When you roll down a steep hill, it can feel violent. Your bones and teeth rattle around like a wooden ball bouncing on ceramic floors. Eventually, you reach the bottom of the hill, and your bouncing and rolling comes to an end.
The date is March 8th, 2020. I am currently on my senior year spring break volunteering in the great city of New Orleans when news of the Covid-19 virus starts making headlines. A weird energy started to develop within the city. Crowds of tourists still carried on as usual but the volunteer coordinators were frantically working with other coordinators trying to figure out a plan of action. Needless to say, no one knew what to do and what exactly this virus could do. A stay at home order was issued a few weeks later.
I went back to New Orleans in 2022 to see Elton John in concert. The once bustling tourist destination was quieter then it had the last time I was there. The pandemic had lingering effects on a city so reliant on tourism. The volunteer organization that I had previously worked with and which had been established right after Hurricane Katrina had taken an indefinite hiatus because of the pandemic.
My hope is that the city is starting to recover and get back to where it was before the pandemic hit. The suspenseful music contrasting with a lively image taken in the French Quarter is how I remember the start of the pandemic. The feeling of not knowing what will happen or how long we would be in lockdown is how I felt during those first few weeks. I think I will always remember being in New Orleans when the global pandemic started.
I’ve spent a lot of the last three years thinking about exactly what I’d like to do and what it will take to do it! I’ve also spent a lot of the last three years consuming media, from books (three years ago I finished my BA in English), movies (the older the better), and even video games, which has inspired the image choice and fantastical score I’ve chosen today. The game itself isn’t important, but it contains a giant purple jellyfish you can summon when the chips are down to help you get through tough parts. The fact that this game and its predecessors don’t have a difficulty meter is unique in the current era, and adapting your style while encountering obstacles becomes not just encouraged but necessary. Much like life!Some games aren’t difficult enough to force people to do that, and there’s a place for easy, leisurely games as well. Some situations in life aren’t difficult enough to force us to change, and sometimes in life periods of respite are necessary too. Resting is important, but not resting too long on laurels.
On a more colorful note, I recently spoke with a friend who told me the retail establishment she worked at started pushing out purple in the last couple months. That made me think of design and marketing, and whether or not my recent reconnection with the regal color was a conscious decision or marketing manipulation. It also made me think of the symbolism behind colors and why artists and designers choose them to represent certain themes (for instance, purple is commonly used to represent poisonous characters).
I started working on plotting this last week after class — and after some of the bad weather — where I was thinking about the thunderstorm we had had that morning. However, my brother was sending me photos of the hiking spots we used to go to. Vickery Creek Mill was completely frozen over, the Sweetwater Creek ruins were iced up, and even Amicolola Falls were partially frozen! This was always my favorite time of year to go hiking with my wife, brother, and sister-in-law when I still lived in that area, and these were all our favorite spots, just as we liked to go up and view them.
While this image wasn’t exactly what I was seeing out my office window during the storm, it was relatively close to the way I was feeling at the time.
Enhancement
The music enhances the image, giving it a sense of dread and foreboding. The crashing booms in the music can almost be the thunder of the storm. The music is as capricious as a thunderstorm can be and at times as finicky as any dark mood.
Almost immediately upon graduating, I was submerged in a world of 401ks, mortgages, and imposter syndrome. While my coworkers were complaining about their children and retirement, I was still struggling to make a doctor’s appointment without my mom’s help. Living 4 hours away from home, with my nearest friend being a quick 45-minute drive in South Florida traffic, I felt out of place and alone. Desperate for relief from the stresses of adulthood, I found myself grasping at passions from my childhood, but nothing seemed sustainable.
Fast-forward to Christmas of last year, I was experiencing the whirlwind of emotions that come with living out of a suitcase in your childhood home. Nostalgia hit hard and I began looking through boxes in the closet filled with our family pictures and memories. After shuffling through thousands of pictures, I moved to the back of the closet and picked up what felt like a box without many pictures in it. To my surprise, it contained my brother and my Pokémon collection from the ’90s. I was immediately transported to my childhood and an influx of memories began to flood my mind. Finally, something that would be sustainable.
Pokémon means more to me than a piece of cardboard. It represents my dad rewarding me with a trip to the comic store for going to Costco with him or being on A Honor Roll for school. Pokémon cards symbolize happy family times, something I was so desperately yearning for as I began to go off on my own path and attempt to forge my own way. I selected the image above because it illustrates my realistic experience of going to the store for Pokémon cards. In the world of Amazon, a lot of Pokémon collectors buy their cards online. Through my own consumer behavior, I learned that I like the process or ritualistic characteristics of going to the store in person more than I like the cards. I believe it is this aspect that brings me back to the security of my childhood than the actual cards themselves. I enjoy seeing children there with their parents eagerly waiting for the latest Pokémon drop. I smile at children begging their parents for the latest Pikachu plushie and promising to “be good” until the end of time. Although it is not always peaceful in the store, such chaos brings peace to me. Ultimately, I think this photo is a great depiction of how I manage the stresses of adulthood through my childhood vice.
Because I knew the topic of my blog post was about utilizing my childhood interests to help navigate the reality of adulthood, I wanted to select a nostalgic audio clip that embodied the characteristics of childhood and Pokémon, without sounding like a videogame. I think the song through its composition as well as the title enhances the meaning of the photo. It’s not just about the cards; it’s the excitement of going to the store, uncertain if they even have the cards in stock. I’d like to continue the same traditions that my father established and I hope to carry it on with my own kids. I cannot wait for the day one of my children asks me if I can take them to the store to get Pokémon cards. Although I never would have thought I would manage the stresses of adulthood through my childhood vice, buying Pokémon cards with adult money has allowed me to heal both my inner child and my present adult self.
Growing up 45 minutes from the beach was filled with numerous beach trips to see the sunrise/sunset or spending the whole day there. Watching another day begin or that day end has always brought me peace and pleasure. The beach at sunset is a mesmerizing spectacle, as the sun dips below the horizon, casting hues of orange, pink, and purple across the sky.It was a place I could sit with my thoughts and enjoy the nature all around me. After living in Tallahassee for almost three years with no beach nearby, I think I took these experiences for granted. This picture reminds me of my year round childhood beach trips with my siblings.
The audio is what most people would expect to hear when they are at the beach; laughter rippling through the air, blending seamlessly with the joyous calls of seabirds and the soothing rhythm of waves. All these sounds can be a little overwhelming for some, but when I find myself at the beach I find these ordinary nature sounds perfect.
