For my presentation I selected Mary Ellen Mark. Her photos steered away from mainstream society, and instead focused on underprivileged groups. Her photographs were almost always in black and white, and she photographed individuals that the mainstream media usually did not see. Mary's work is now in galleries, all over the internet, and nationwide in homes all over the world! These photographs emulated a ton of different concepts we addressed in class. One huge concept would be ethically evaluate photographs, these describe- some attempt scientific explanations, others offer personal interpretation (such as these) but most distinctively they all make ethical judgements. These types of photographs, praise or condemn aspects of society! This is exactly what Mary does, and she does a great job of capturing how society has failed these individuals and allows for the viewers to make their own interpretations on what that photo means to them. Her photography touched the lives of many people. She spent weeks with these people that lived on the fringes of society and photographed their stories. This is an aspect that is different from most photographers, and that's why her work stood out to me.

Mary Ellen Mark is one of the few photographers ive looked at closely, and her compassion for art has changed my perception of photography significantly. My perception of photography was focused on ‘picture perfect things” and Mary Ellen went against the grain, challenging that thought of mine, and shaping it to where it is now. Photos that instill deep feeling is what I perceive photography to be, happiness, sorrow, pain etc… it is beautful that these pieces of art can trigger such deep emotions.