Photography Reveals the Way of Seeing the World

For The Art of Instant Gratification, I am fond of the way that Stephen Joel Trachtenberg briefly describes the changes of photography since its birth in 1839. This essay also raises my interest in investigation more about the motivation of taking pictures.

Referring to the history of photography, The Art of Instant Gratification by Stephen Joel Trachtenberg discusses the significance of taking pictures for the masses. From the very beginning of photography, the legend that people relates the portrait to the soul is absurd though has its reason. The knowledge about themselves that most people gain at that period is not enough to explain the images made by photography. Except the mirror, it is the first time that people see their portraits in the images which is very clear and realistic. I still marvel at the magic of light and chemicals on the film today, let alone the surprise of people in early nineteenth century. People’ interest of collecting memory by pictures grows. But technological limitations make it difficult to accessible for the masses. According to Trachtenberg’s essay, until the end of twentieth century, photography became tangible. Today, new techniques allow digital recording images to enjoy a large population. Trachtenberg believes that although the technological development of photography changes many aspects of taking pictures, public’s desire of maintaining their memory remains the same.

The investigation about the significance of photography in this essay triggers my thinking about the meaning of taking pictures for me. Holding my digital camera in hand, I try to imagine the size and complicated procedure of processing film at early nineteenth century. How much effort was devoted to the improvement of photography and camera before we can easily press a button to share the images all around the world? It is true that the satisfy makes people enjoy capturing pictures and transmission of pictures through modern media everyday. We are provided opportunities to collect our memories in a most convenient way in history. The instant gratification serves as a critical reason that inspires the progress. It gradually leads to our dependent on photography today, which reveals that we tend to gain an understanding of ourselves from the images that we capture. The camera is an extension of human eyes following our choices on taking pictures. The way that I choose to take a picture results how the image would appear in many degree. When I was recording images for drift 2, for common subject matters, if I tried a different angle or distance, I would find interesting images. When I look at these pictures, I would find that I am following certain ways to watch this world. The image can be seen as a mirror which reflects my thought about seeing things around me. Watching other artists’ pictures also allows me to study their ways of taking pictures. The more I experiment on my photography, the more I learn about myself. My study leads me to more innovative and inspiring way of seeing the world.

Video Hardware/Software Repsonses

How was your experience with the Olympus digital camera? How did it compare with other still or video cameras you have previously used? Were you able to successfully implement your Image Capturing Strategies using the features of this camera? In an ideal world, how would your still/video camera of choice function?

The Olympus camera is different from my cameras in size, medium of storage and format of images.

• Name, Megapixel, Medium of Storage, Format of Moving Image, Manual Focus
• OlympusDC, 4.0, xD-picture card, MOV, No
• Cannon DC, 3.2, CompactFlash card, MPEG,Yes
• Panasonic DV, 3.1, MiniDV tape, AVI, Yes

I have a Cannon digital still camera and a Panasonic digital video camera. The sizes of both of them are bigger than this Olympus camera. The Olympus is able to take images of higher resolution than my still camera, while it has less performance in manual mode compared to my Cannon. The Olympus records and exports moving images at MOV format, which is more suitable for transmission on the internet. My video camera records videos using MiniDV tape and the videos can be export at AVI format, which provides higher resolution of moving images than the Olympus. But the Olympus is more portable and provides enough storage space for its images, which is convenient for taking pictures at public areas for a long time. The images can be transfer to computers with USB cable in a simple way. But its batteries cannot support this camera for a long time if I keep using recording function, which is the most significant disadvantage.

It took me a couple minutes to know how to use the Olympus digital camera, but a couple weeks to know how to use it to catch ideal images. The Olympus digital camera is easy to carry and operate for general image capturing. I had no difficulty on implement my Images Capturing Strategies using the camera. I decided to capture images under artificial lights requiring no special function for general digital camera. I took some interesting pictures which have amazing visual effects that cannot be seen by human eyes.

If I need to choose a video camera for this class, my ideal camera would be a digital video camera featuring characteristics below:

• uses a hard drive for data storage
• has a similar size as a card
• enables manual focusing
• the batteries can support the camera for at least 24 hours after completed charging

Our demand on ability of image capturing for cameras can be endless. But even the finest camera would have its disadvantages. It is easier to improve the ability of artistic exploration by practice my skills at discovering beauty. So I don’t expect to discover interesting images only depending on cameras. Basically, I enjoyed using this Olympus camera to capture images for Drift_1 and Drift_2.


Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?

After I failed to use the video-editing software that I used before, I had to use Windows Movie Maker to edit my videos. I planned to use Ulead VideoStudio for my editing at the beginning. I used it to export videos from my digital video camera to computer and edit videos. It was simple easy to operate and functioned well in Windows XP. But When I installed Ulead in Windows Vista operation system, some problems about compatibility came out. I could not finish my editing at that condition and the software even shut down in the process of editing. I thought that there must be something wrong with Ulead software. But after I tried several video-editing programs and failed again and again, I found that it was the Windows Vista that made it impossible for editing in my laptop using them.

I had to use Vista’s Windows Movie Maker to complete the editing. The reason that I did not use Movie Maker at the beginning is that I was not familiar with it. Another reason was that it could not open and edit MOV files. So I need to convert MOV files to WMV files before editing. Movie Maker only allows me to export files in WMV format. I need to convert WMV files to MOV files to meet the requirement. Fortunately, I was able to download free converted software Prism Video Converter after I tried more than ten different ones in the internet.

Windows Movie Maker provides enough special effects and is also easy to operate. My experiment on video-editing software brings me experience. For general users, most of them are not difficult to operate and can be used to edit sophisticated videos. I had no problems on editing and converting after practice. Although the format of exported files did not meet the requirement exactly, they can be opened and played with Firefox and IE. I tried to fix this problem, but Prism Video Converter doesn’t provide H.264 at compression in Vista. I have only one option MPEG4 for compression.

I would like to change my operation system of my laptop if I need to edit videos. It is difficult to find compatible video-editing software that functions in Vista. I feel very frustrated that I didn’t devote more time and thoughts to editing videos because of trouble about video programs’ compatibility with operation system. Editing collected materials should be fun. But my experience on editing prepares me to face the difficulties in filmmaking in the future.

Free the Listening

--Listening to Myself Listen by S. Arden Hill


Listening to Myself Listen is an interesting article by S. Arden Hill. The hearing and listening are very common behaviors for us in our daily lives. But I was not aware the differences between them as well as the focus of listening until I read Hill’s article. The examples in Hill’s article are so familiar for me and maybe a majority of us. I am curious about what new aspects can be found in these common human behaviors.

Hill raises and discusses some questions about the hearing and listening in his article. These questions include the reasons and ways of choosing the focus of listening as well as the possibility to describe this process. Listening is a consciously or unconsciously interpretation of the sounds that we hear. The focuses of listening for individuals can be very different due to the differences on culture, listening skill, physical ability and interest. For a single listener, the focus can change according to the changes of environment. Hill briefly introduces to us how certain sound resources in a sonic environment impact on our focus of listening through examples. Providing these examples and background knowledge of ethnography, Hill suggests that in a sonic environment, the factors that influence listener’s selection process in listening can be extended to values of society. Because of the complexity and diversity of these factors, which frame our focus of listening within boundaries, it would probably become interesting when we play with the frame.

In fact, I began to relate Hill’s examples to my own experience when I read the first sentences. Through understanding of factors which have key influence in our focus of listening, I attempt to free myself to more possibility in listening. In my soundwalk, I tried to pay attention to those sounds that I don’t like and familiar with in my daily life. For instance, the mechanical sounds including siren and noise of elevator. Sometimes, in order to know about more sounds that I have not noticed before, I would record sounds as long as they occurred in my surroundings. I would collect the sounds unconsciously when I was walking. I didn’t feel anything special in these sounds when I was recording. However, when I listened to them after a while in a different environment, I found another aspect of the characteristics in sonic environment. It is not true that the siren and the noise can be more beautiful than music, but non-musical sounds represent other dimensions of sonic environment in real life and cannot be replaced by music. That is how I am inspired by Hill’s article in exploration of listening to sounds. By doing so, I also experienced the joy of playing with the frame of focus of listening. What is more, to break the frame and free myself to new areas are valuable practice for any other artistic creation.

Technique-Person in Technical period

Software Response

Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme closeups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money.


I am pretty excited to report my experience with the building my microphones. Honestly, I have not done soldering before either for academy or entertainment purpose. At the beginning, I thought it is complicated and was worried that I would cut the metal wires inside. But at last I think it was not difficult at all and just need to be very carefully when you are working at the plastic clothes of the wires. I did the soldering correctly thanks to Glenn’s detailed protocol and Joe’s patience. I enjoyed the microphone building very much.


So far, my dear microphones have not been reported any problem with the recording. It so happens that two field recordings in my Drift_1 blog are ambient and extreme closeup sounds, respectably. I think the quality of these two pieces of recording proves that my microphones function greatly.


In my opinion, it is not money matters that how great the microphones would be. Although I understand that for different conditions, we need microphones which are able to catch one or several aspects specifically regarding the elements of sound. For instance, I have dreamed of that I own a recording studio which equipped with microphones recording sounds without the loss of low-pitched sound as possible as it can be. But for that case, I would probably have to find a sponsor in that the price of the microphone is very high. When it comes to setup, I would definitely refuse to operate a one-step-setup recorder. As we know that the sounds are vibrations of the sound resource which detected by the ears or microphones. Because of the loss in transmission, it is impossible for us to detect the vibration in one hundred percent. The most critical part in operation of recording is to adjust the recorder manually, so that we would not lose the interesting part and avoid the unwanted base. Without this selection, the sound would be probably not so attractive to us. It is also the reason that sometimes it is not the money matters but only a person who is observant for the recording.


How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?


Maybe I am not experienced in recording, but I think that it is a little bit complicated in operation for a portable recorder. In detail, to record sounds is not hard, but to play the sound after recording is confused. And I am glad that the time for writing date is long enough for me to take a break in Soundwalk. After practice, I have no problem with either recording or processing of the files. As a matter of fact, to require the software for the converting guarantees the quality of exported files. Apparently, this recorder is much better than my mp3 player if it can be seen as a recorder. The files collected by mp3 are highly compressed for saving the storage space. When I was very young, I had tried the cassette recorder. It was good for that period only that we didn’t have outside microphones.


In an ideal world, I would pretty bear the writing speed and the operation of recording and playing, even though I have to convert the files before playing. My requirement would be the writing into the disc completely and the safe of the date. I hope that my ideal recorder could not only transfer the sound which microphones detect to the date completely, but also back up the date automatically.


Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?


I use Audacity for the editing which is new for me in audio-editing. I used to cut the parts of my mp3 or wav files and join them together, so that I can listen to the best part of each song without changing the playlist. It is very simple to operate which you just select the parts and paste them to the soundtrack. That software is not professional enough in audio-editing. I also used a software named Cool edit which I can’t remember I what else I did except recoding sounds in computer.


It is Glenn’s recommendation and I think it is great as a free software. I have no idea why I need additional files to export my files in mp3 format. But usually the software which performs processing in advanced level need to do so. The audacity enables me to detect the sound files in a very graphic way, which means I can see how the sound is in extreme short time duration. To paste various pieces of sound is easy to operate. I can use the cross fade in and cross fade out to smooth the sounds. Basically, I can also edit the piece of sound in this duration freely. These functions allow me to compose my field recording. But right now, I am not familiar that how to reduce the base for the sound.


I would use audacity for future project because I am getting familiar with it. But I would consider other options which are more professional if I can afford to buy one.

Q&A

1. Are there any natural bodies in the area or at least very close?

Yes. It was fortunate that I chose a park along Milwaukee River as my Drift 1 Soundwalk location. And my strategy is that once I walk into the chosen area, I would choose a path which is the closest to the river water. So I saw the Milwaukee River, the woods along the river and squirrels which are habitants in this park.

2. Are people interested in interaction with natural bodies?

I think people enjoy their interaction with natural bodies very much. Maybe it was a sunny day and was at weekend. The time and weather condition create a great environment for relaxation.

3. How do people interact with the natural bodies?

When I was recording the sounds of waterfall in the river, I saw people was cannoning, fishing and just playing in the water. I believe if it is summer, many people would swim in the river. Families went to the park for picnic. Children played football on the grass. Walking on the grass also could be seen as a kind of interaction in this situation.

4. Are there any natural sounds in the area?

Yes. Just like the answer for question 1. Because of the location that I chose, the opportunities of connection with nature increase. At first, I was interested in sounds of water since it is the most obvious natural body in the area. However, I found that squirrels, birds and even fish were making sounds, although they were in a very low volume and hard to single out.

5. Can I hear the sounds of natural body or the sounds of interaction between people and natural body very clearly?

Yes. When I just got off the bus at the beginning, it was hard to notice any natural sounds, although actually I was very close to the river (no more than 15 meters). But apparently the sound of engine could be much easier to detect compared to the sound of water flowing. Another possible reason is that sounds of natural bodies are very different from mechanical and human sounds. So if I could hear any, my mind skips them. Moving on to the park, I could feel that the engine sounds were more and more far away from me. Then, I was able to find the water following the transmission of natural sounds. When I stood in the water, it was hard to hear the engine sounds of cars. Some of the recordings about my interaction with natural bodies are in a quiet base, which means there are few mechanical sounds in it.

6. Can I single out the natural sounds or at least the sounds that human interact with the nature?

It is hard to eliminate the mechanical sounds in the base. But when I stayed far away from the road or the crowed people, I was able to either hear with my ears or record the sounds of natural bodies clearly. I could easily find a place where is quiet enough to hear my breath in woods along the riverside.

7. What do I feel when I hear the natural sounds?

I feel comfortable and fresh. The tune of natural sounds are more soft and in low volume. They free me from the stimulation of high pitch mechanical sounds.

8. Is there dramatically difference of ambient sound if the weather condition changes?

As a matter of fact, the materials for Drift 1 were collected in a single day. The weather didn’t change. But I believe the weather would greatly impact on the ambient sound in that area. For instance, if it is raining, the sounds of waterfall would be louder. I would hear the sounds of rain drops. There will be very few people in the park and human sounds will be difficult to differentiate in that condition. I hope I could explore further about that kind of influence in Drift 2.

9. Is there any architecture which is designed in a style which fits the natural environment in the area?

Yes, I think. My favorite one is that the stairs to the water. I document many lovely views including that stairs by taking pictures for them. The flowers may be planted by the staff in the park. But anyway, it looks beautiful.

10. Can I only see nature if I turn to any direction in the area?

Actually, I am not quiet sure about the answer. Basically, I was surrounded by nature in the park. But there are human traces everywhere. In the woods, I can see the plastic bags and glass bottles on the floor. In the river water, I can see the bridge. On the grass, I can see cars. Looking at the sky, I can see aircrafts. In a city, you couldn’t not expect that happens. But if there will be one place that allow you to turn to any direction and only see the nature, it would probably be a park.

Drift 1 Assessment

Describe two situations that aggravated, bothered, shocked or otherwise stressed you during Drift 1.

Before I started, I read through the instructions and searched the transportation information of my location very carefully. And the park is a public area. So basically nothing which is particularly annoying happened. But I was surprised to see the condition of natural environment.

Estabrook Park is along the Milwaukee River. Before I came, I thought the water would be fairly clean. However, it was not. When I walked towards upstream of the river, I saw a dam. The water at the upstream side is polluted and in a bad condition. Foliage and oil were flowing on the surface of river water. The dam somehow blocks a part of the solid substance in the water, but even the downstream water is not clean.

There was one situation which stressed my Soundwalk. I walked for almost four hours. At last, I was very starving and tired. And I didn’t bring enough food with me. So I had to head back. But it was lucky that I have already collected many sound materials.


Describe, with details, two situations during Drift 1 in which you felt unusually peaceful, at ease, or contemplative.

The park in weekend was peaceful and quiet. I passed by a pool when I was searching for the closet location to water in the park. One gentleman was fishing in this pool and birds were swimming. I took a picture for birds and post it on my Drift 1 blog. They were in a line when they were swimming. This place was so quiet and view was beautiful that I would like to just stay there and read a book if it was not for the Soundwalk. At last I had to move on because I didn’t record any interesting sound at that time.

On my way back to the entrance of the park, I met an old gentleman who was sitting on a bench and listening to music. I think he was enjoying his ease time alone at weekend and I was enjoying my Soundwalk. Seeing his enjoying made me feel at ease.


Describe three surprises or unexpected situations you encountered on your Drift and in the days that followed. The surprise could stem from your expectations that conflicted with "on the ground" realities, cultural or social issues of which you were previously unaware, feelings and reactions that you did not expect to have, appearances and soundings of things you did not expect, good or bad outcomes of "on the spot" decisions you had to make, or the discovery of "deeper" realities in the materials you brought home.

The biggest surprise about the materials that I collected is my last field recording. I did not expect to record that piece of sound. I was on my way back to campus and waiting for the bus. I just pressed the record button to record the far-close-far sound of engine for practice. And certainly I recorded a group of engine sounds, but I didn’t notice more than that. Working to analyze the engine sounds. I was surprised that the chirr of cicada is especially vivid in that its volume is increase slowly and becomes the “main melody” in this piece of sound.

In fact, there was disappointed moment for me. For the sound of waterfall, I expected that it would be very impressive. But it turned out to be not that excellent. Although I was stood in the water and placed my microphone as close as possible and indeed I recorded them clearly. When they are played in a laptop, they are less attractive and lack of variation.

I am glad for one of my mistakes. I took pictures for all locations where I recorded except the place where I threw stones into water. That was in the woods along the river water, which was close to a delta. I placed microphone to some branches that stretch out over the river water and I threw the stones in a somehow dangerous gesture. So after I finished the recording, I was so exciting and forgot to picture that location. After I passed through the woods, I realized my mistake. But I couldn’t find my way back to that tree. So I decided to draw a picture for that place in order to give a better description. Now I feel great about this picture. It looks special compared to other digital documentation images.


Describe your favorite experience, situation, place, or recollection from your Drift. Be specific about what happened, how you felt, how you reacted, and why you think this particular experience affected you so much.

When I was about to leave and heading to the bus, I suddenly noticed that nobody talked to me when they saw my strange equipment (the microphone on the shoulders and the giant headphone on my head). Just at that moment, an old gentleman who stood at the wooden bridge along the riverside said to me, what is that on your head? Mp3 or? So I talked to him about my recording and told him I was recording the sounds of river. He smiled and we talked no more because I was pretty starving, which now I feel very regret. I should talk to him about the river or sounds in this park and record the conversation between us. But I was very glad that somebody has ever asked me about the recording in my very lonely Soundwalk journey. It is a great feeling that you are able to share your joy and enthusiasm with other people, although they are strangers.

Map of Soundwalk in Downer Woods

Mapping in a Creative Way

---This American Life: Mapping


For me, it is new that one of the class assignments is listening to an article from radio program. The article, This American Life: Mapping, introduced a new definition of the word map to us. I am interested in this article in that I am always curious about new concepts and new applications of traditional concepts. As a matter of fact, when I read the title at first I thought mapping was nothing new but a common thing in our lives. However, my attention was attracted when I saw Mapmaking means ignoring everything in the world but the one thing being mapped. I realized that I have never noticed the nature of a map. Then I clicked to listen and finished the listening.

This essay conveys an optimistic attitude towards creation by telling stories about people who make the maps by using five senses. Although we are very familiar with the maps and the way that people produce regular maps by drawing things we can see. We may not ever think about there are maps of sounds, smells, tastes and interesting sights in this world. Denis Wood made a series maps of his own neighborhood using different sights. One of his maps is an image of the stars and the sky, which if you were lie down in a summer’s night, you would see. I like this map because it makes me feel very warm and remind me of Andersen’s fairy tales. Another group of people map the world with smell. Their electronic nose can analyze the ingredients of the gas which is similar with what our noses do when we smell something. It is apparently that the electronic noses are much less sensitive because human noses have far more sensors. It may take at least ten years to become available for consumers because of the complicated techniques and high cost. But mapping with smell is a brand new way of knowing about our world. They are creative artists by doing so.

Since I don’t have too much experience in artistic creation, I think the information and ideas from this article is valuable for me. The imagination and creation in mapping the world in five senses encourage me to open my mind in exploration the relationship between us and our surroundings. In most situations, the artistic creation is emerged from an artist’s thinking about the traditional subjects in a new way. Therefore, I think the first step of creation is to attempt new ways when achieve a conventional task.

Learn to listen

Soundwalk response


Were you able to find places and spaces where you could really listen?

Yes, we went to the Downer Woods and heard different sounds. I think that woods, beach and mountain are very suitable environment for listening to both natural sounds and manmade sounds at the same time.

Was it possible to move without making a sound?

Technically, I think it is impossible for me. Because sound is vibration transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas. We can’t move without making vibration. But we can try to reduce or avoid the transmission of unwanted sounds.

What happened when you plugged your ears, and then unplugged them?

When I plugged my ears, it was the silence first, but then I could hear the sounds of my finger joints movement and the rubs between my palms and face. I could hear them very clearly compared to the chaotic sounds before I plugged my ears.

In your sound log exercise, what types of sounds were you able to hear? List them. Were you able to differentiate between sounds that had a recognizable source and those sounds you could not place? Human sounds? Mechanical sounds? Natural sounds?

I could differentiate most sounds including human sounds, mechanical sounds and natural sounds in the woods:

Human sounds:

We stepped on the branches and leaves in the floor making a light cracking sound.

Mechanical sounds:

the sharp roll of the aircraft

vehicles rolling on the roads around the woods

Natural sounds:

insects: buzz of bees and chirr of cicadas

chirp of birds

Branches were shaking and the leaves rubbing together because of the breeze.

But there were sounds I could not place:

I was not sure if someone opened and closed the door in somewhere.

When I walked back to the buildings (Klotsche Center), I heard:

we were kicking at the rocks on the road / somebody was yelling / claps in the tennis field / music in Sandburg Hall / balls hit the floor and the net / a babble of voices in the hall / when we went through the stairs, the shoes hit the floor making different sounds / some insects or water were making sounds in the tunnel /air conditioner or lightening system makes noise from ceiling / a revolving-door that students need to show the ID and then get in / stuff were rubbing each other in a girl’s bag / something fell down to the floor outside the building

Were you able to detect subtleties in the everpresent drone?

Yes, I was able to notice the buzz of the bees and flies around me. Actually, once I unplugged my ears, I could differentiate sounds.

Extremely close sounds? Sounds coming from very far away?

There are sounds which are closer like the buzz of bees, although in a very low volume. For the chug of the engine, it is far away but it is in a high volume and sharp.

What kinds of wind effects were you able to detect (for example, the leaves of trees don't make sounds until they are activated by the wind)?

We were surrounded by many trees. I could feel the sounds of leaves and branches rubbing together. And then I heard the sounds of leaves falling down the floor.

Were you able to intervene in the urban landscape and create your own sounds by knocking on a resonant piece of metal, activating wind chimes, etc.?

Yes, we tried to listen to the sound of a quarter falling into the parking meter.

Do you feel you have a new understanding or appreciation of the sounds of our contemporary landscape/cityscape?

I recognize that the sounds which we hear everyday are a group of different sounds including human sounds, mechanical sounds and natural sounds. Many natural sounds are actually very interesting. But most of the natural sounds are difficult to detect because they need certain natural conditions and usually are in very low volume. And the noises like the mechanical sounds are often in pretty high volume.

How do you think your Soundwalk experience will affect your practice as a media artist, if at all?

I am not sure. But I am vey glad that I recognize the diversity of sounds in our surroundings. The first Soundwalk class provides me effective instructions of documenting the sounds and experience.

Hi......

Hi. This is my research blog. I will post my experience in sound recording and film making here.