I am currently working on my dissertation on photography as a visual mode of communication in confluence with advertising and social media technology. My research project is seeking to investigate the influence of scientific discoveries and technological innovations on self-perception and artistic production. I'm looking for your input about your very personal relationship with images. 

How do we engage with visual information? How do we use it in our daily lives? How does it differ from textual information exchange? How do we feel in this visually stimulating world?

Please consider taking this survey here! 

After a long conversation with a Pakistani refugee spending his time in Vienna, Austria without being able to leave (his brother, by the way, is a refugee in Australia), this very first post in my Über-Blog sure seems quite irrelevant.  Nonetheless, this conversation only alerted my once more to the importance to becoming aware of the moment and not deferring life. 

Thinking about the ephemeral nature of the experiences we can hold on in our memories - aided by images, smells or sounds - I would like to slow you in your rapid consumption of online material and ask you to enter into the construct of a photographic image with me.  

Look at an image and notice the many layers of information contained in and around it.  Which information reaches you first?  What clue can you extract from the image to understand it?  How can you infer other details from the visual representations in the picture?  When do you notice the composition without looking for a meaning?  What thoughts does the photograph provoke?

Within the feeling of safety and comfort of this thought experiment, take a long moment and think about how you look at photographs! 

Now, please share your thoughts!  And images...