De colores

On Tuesday, I had the honor of teaching a short photography workshop here at CEMAL entitled "Drawing Meaning from the Image". Often times, we equate a photo with the truth, but there are many choices, conscious or not, that a photographer makes in representing their subject. As with a piece of literature, when viewing a photograph we can ask, ¿Que muestra y que oculta? (What does it show, and what does it hide?) The students, who study either social work or migration/globalization studies, brought in their own images, making for a very lively and rewarding discussion about visual representation. Much of the conversation centered around the way people of a lower class are often portrayed in a stereotypical way by those in a privileged role (i.e. an American tourist's photograph of an indigenous Mexican). As I continue shooting, I will think about how my perspective chooses and alters parts of the environment around me.