How photography connects us is a very powerful brilliant speech presented by David Griffin. This captivating speech is told mostly through the use of photography. The main focus of this presentation is not just to show different types of photography but to tell the different stories that go along with all the different photos. Griffin explains that “Photography carries a power that holds up under the relentless swirl of today's saturated, media world, because photographs emulate the way that our mind freezes a significant moment.” These moments that are created by photography leave an everlasting picture that is etched into your mind. Griffin does a really great job of bringing to everyone's attention that pictures aren’t just taken by a camera but taken in your mind.
From the beginning of the presentation Griffin captures the audience’s attention by showing various photos taken by different photographers. The purpose of this speech is to address different world issues through the use of photography. Throughout the presentation Griffin shows a variety of images. Each photo that is shown has a very important meaning and is part of a story. Through the use of different photos Griffin tells four different stories about different coverages done by different photojournalists. The stories that Griffin tell are all different but all relatively have the same meaning, world issues. Griffin says that, “these stories are great examples of how photography can be used to address some of our most important topics.” This presentation shows how photography can be a powerful way of getting a point across. As Griffin explains, “Sometimes, though, the only way to tell a story is with a sweeping picture.” He shows many of these sweeping pictures in the presentation. These sweeping pictures really help get the point across and in a very direct way. The use of these pictures make the presentation interesting to watch and keep you wanting to watch.
Throughout this speech David Griffin does a great job of captivating his audience. He engages the audience right from the beginning by showing a variety of images taken by many different photographers. He also does this by telling a personal story that almost everyone can relate to. While telling his story he uses hand gestures and body actions to help everyone envision the same thing that he is picturing. Griffin uses a loud clear voice that makes the speech easy to understand and body language to help get his point across. Even though he uses a paper to read off of, which means he didn’t have the speech totally memorized, he made a point looking at his audience as much as possible. You can tell when watching the video that the choice of pictures that were featured during the speech were well thought out and chosen specifically for the moment that they were shown. The presentation appeared to be well thought out, practised, and natural.
The content of this speech was easy to understand and enjoyable to watch. An example of this is when Griffin tells the story about his son, “I can see his hands reaching out, and I can see his face in terror, looking at me, saying, "Help me, Dad." I got him. The wave broke over us. We got back on shore; he was fine. We were a little bit rattled.” While he tells this story he uses lots of hand gestures to help the audience visualize what was happening. Griffin does a great job of keeping his audience engaged by making his points clear and direct. This speech features some mature topics but the way Griffin expresses them and talks about them makes it easier to understand and relate to. An example of this is when Griffin tells a story about elephants on a wildlife reserve. Instead of just talking about elephants in general Griffin focuses in on one elephant in particular, Annie. Then Griffin goes on to say, “Annie had been killed, along with 20 members of her herd. And they only came for the ivory.” The shock when he said this was more significant than just saying elephants were killed, because the audience was starting to connect to Annie. By making the stories more personal the speech is easier to connect to and understand.
How photography connects us is a brilliant speech that captivates the audience through the use of photography. Personally, I think this speech is definitely worth watching. The presentation makes connections to the present day problems. I like that this presentation is direct. Griffin does a great job by telling meaningful stories that have purpose. This quote by Griffin finished off the presentation with a hard hitting point, “I believe that photography can make a real connection to people, and can be employed as a positive agent for understanding the challenges and opportunities facing our world today.”
From the beginning of the presentation Griffin captures the audience’s attention by showing various photos taken by different photographers. The purpose of this speech is to address different world issues through the use of photography. Throughout the presentation Griffin shows a variety of images. Each photo that is shown has a very important meaning and is part of a story. Through the use of different photos Griffin tells four different stories about different coverages done by different photojournalists. The stories that Griffin tell are all different but all relatively have the same meaning, world issues. Griffin says that, “these stories are great examples of how photography can be used to address some of our most important topics.” This presentation shows how photography can be a powerful way of getting a point across. As Griffin explains, “Sometimes, though, the only way to tell a story is with a sweeping picture.” He shows many of these sweeping pictures in the presentation. These sweeping pictures really help get the point across and in a very direct way. The use of these pictures make the presentation interesting to watch and keep you wanting to watch.
Throughout this speech David Griffin does a great job of captivating his audience. He engages the audience right from the beginning by showing a variety of images taken by many different photographers. He also does this by telling a personal story that almost everyone can relate to. While telling his story he uses hand gestures and body actions to help everyone envision the same thing that he is picturing. Griffin uses a loud clear voice that makes the speech easy to understand and body language to help get his point across. Even though he uses a paper to read off of, which means he didn’t have the speech totally memorized, he made a point looking at his audience as much as possible. You can tell when watching the video that the choice of pictures that were featured during the speech were well thought out and chosen specifically for the moment that they were shown. The presentation appeared to be well thought out, practised, and natural.
The content of this speech was easy to understand and enjoyable to watch. An example of this is when Griffin tells the story about his son, “I can see his hands reaching out, and I can see his face in terror, looking at me, saying, "Help me, Dad." I got him. The wave broke over us. We got back on shore; he was fine. We were a little bit rattled.” While he tells this story he uses lots of hand gestures to help the audience visualize what was happening. Griffin does a great job of keeping his audience engaged by making his points clear and direct. This speech features some mature topics but the way Griffin expresses them and talks about them makes it easier to understand and relate to. An example of this is when Griffin tells a story about elephants on a wildlife reserve. Instead of just talking about elephants in general Griffin focuses in on one elephant in particular, Annie. Then Griffin goes on to say, “Annie had been killed, along with 20 members of her herd. And they only came for the ivory.” The shock when he said this was more significant than just saying elephants were killed, because the audience was starting to connect to Annie. By making the stories more personal the speech is easier to connect to and understand.
How photography connects us is a brilliant speech that captivates the audience through the use of photography. Personally, I think this speech is definitely worth watching. The presentation makes connections to the present day problems. I like that this presentation is direct. Griffin does a great job by telling meaningful stories that have purpose. This quote by Griffin finished off the presentation with a hard hitting point, “I believe that photography can make a real connection to people, and can be employed as a positive agent for understanding the challenges and opportunities facing our world today.”