Pre-write #2

Everyone remembers the random comics that gave you that “Ah-Ha!” moment. The simplistic ones like cows standing and talking until cars pass by. The Far Side comics are loved by many and continue to provide humor today. The author of the Far Side comics, Gary Larson, developed humor in his comics with many reoccurring themes. He used more or less simplistic panels and text that still evoked many people to laugh, causing them to come back for more.


Larson’s comics were mostly based on uncomfortable social situations, improbable events, the meaning in life and many other topics (The Far Side, Wikipedia). You could find many of his works featuring animals, aliens, cavemen, and people stranded on desert islands. Unlike many other comics that were produced over the years, there was no “main character” that was featured in every edition. They consisted of random every day people in weird situations or places, or animals with human qualities. The one paneled comics were printed from January 1, 1980 to January 1, 1995. It was carried by over 1,900 daily newspapers, and reruns are still printed (The Far Side, Wikipedia).


Larson used a combination of visual and verbal elements in each of his comics. The pictures would explain the type and in turn, the type also explained the picture. These comics would consist of text put at the top or bottom of the image as a header, explanation, or the dialogue itself; while some would have dialogue boxes in the picture itself. However many of them contained both to explain why the character in the panel was doing or saying something. Larson’s comics allowed a lot of room for the audience to interpret it in their own way. They tapped into what experience or knowledge you have with the topic and caused you to come up with your own response.


Taking away from the history or background of Larson’s comics and the topics and information from Compose Design Advocate, you can better understand some of the rhetorical and aesthetic elements that make up the chosen topic. The animals in this comic are given human-like qualities, like many of Larson’s comics. Readers know that in reality, dogs don’t stand on their back legs to behind a dryer and plot against the cat. We also fully know that a dog can’t write and a cat can’t read. But yet we interpret it and let the dog have the ability to develop a trap for the cat.


Typography allows us to look deeper into the text provided in the comic. The text written in each of the comics is able to adequately describe, explain, or give insight to the meaning and purpose of the comic. The combination of chicken scratches that misspell the word “food”, and the dog’s “Oh please, oh please…” thought bubble makes it easier for us to assume the dog hiding wants to cause the cat to jump in the dryer. Gary Larson combines the aesthetics of the picture, i.e. the dog and cats placement in the picture, and typography to influence the thoughts and interpretations of his comics.

Works Cited

Far Side. Wikipedia. Retrieved (2009, October 29) from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Far_Side

WP2: Comic Strip

I chose the Pickles comics, by Brian Crane, to select the comic in which I would use for my next writing assignment. Pickles has been one of the comics I have enjoyed since I started reading comics in the newspaper. My family never subscribed for the newspaper. So whenever my brother and I were able to get our hands on a newspaper, we went straight to the comics

Pickles follows a retired couple in their seventies. Earl and Opal go back and forth with bickering. Earl is a difficult and stubborn man, and Opal is more kindhearted. In this comic strip, Opal is trying to convince Earl to volunteer with her to give back to the community. Earl slings back saying that he has given back to the community by helping an old lady cross the street. By this statement he was trying to get out of the work and insulting his wife at the same time. Opal realizes this and gets upset with his remark. Readers that have never read the Pickles comic strip before are able to assume, from just a short four paneled comic, that Opal is a kinder individual that just wants to help those around her. On the other side it is also easy to see Earl’s behavior and individualistic emotions. The format of this comic allows for readers to pick up on the emotions and information from the simplicity of four pictures and four dialogue bubbles. Its simple background is made up of a couch and its foot rest. Opal and Earl are just sitting in what can be assumed as a living room, Earl with his paper and Opal trying to talk to him while he is focusing on his paper.

Each of the panels is able to connect together and thus work together to help the reader to relate to the comic and get the main ideas. They are also forced to look more at the two characters sitting in what the readers are made to believe is the living room because of the lack of other objects in view. When the comic starts out the view is more spread out and you can see both Earl and Opal, while in the two center panels you are focused on the face of Opal and then the face of Earl. This makes the reader focus on what the character is saying instead of focusing in on the whole scene. Then at the last panel the focus is then brought back out so that you can see the broader picture. When the reader is brought back to see both Earl and Opal they are able to see that Earl is no longer in the conversation anymore and has gone back to reading his paper and ignoring Opal.

The font in the dialogue bubbles makes the mood of the comic more care free and relaxed as opposed to a very blocky font that would evoke the thought of seriousness. Instead, readers are able to view this comic strip as a lighthearted comedy.

WP1: Final Project

Author's Statement

When thinking through aspects of our first writing project I had to decide from which side I wanted to present my project. I did the practice writing assignments with the rest of the class; however I didn’t feel I was adequately presenting the intended arguments of the photographers. I have a hobby for taking pictures of different types, normally pictures that do not include people. It was a great opportunity to experiment with this project and learn how points and arguments can be rhetorically presented through certain aspects of an image. So the choice of doing the photo essay was not all too difficult to decide. I was able to sift through pictures that I have taken, select a common theme and topic, and decide how I could manipulate each photo to better reach my point and argument.

After choosing a series of ten photos, I took into consideration my anticipated argument and used the parts of the photo that I wanted to alter to enhance the photo. Some of these I did initially when I took each photo, wanting to get the part of the landscape that appealed me most. I had to place them together in an aesthetically appealing way that would stand as the base of my argument. When I was finished with the placement, and captions, of the photos I needed to form an author’s statement and a conclusion. In these I needed to explain the purpose of my essay and how I manipulated each photo to present pathos, ethos and other rhetorical devices, I also needed to give explanation as to why I chose each picture.

When I received input from my rough draft of my essay I had confused, or mixed up, my conclusion. I needed to switch them around to better set up the essay. It was necessary to switch them to the appropriate places. The author’s statement is used to describe what you wanted to accomplish with the essay and give some background to what you did. I instead told the audience what I had done to the photos. I went back and tried to switch them back to the right format and made some of my wording more professional to readers. In my previous drafts, my words and sentence structures were elementary in a way. For example in my rough draft I said, “I then tried to mess with the saturation….” I changed them and reworded for my final draft. I was also told, for future reference, that my photos were unsymmetrical and drew away from the essay itself. I know now if I choose to do another essay like it, I need to make certain to fix each image to make it add to my argument rather than causing distraction.

I feel that my final draft has improved from my previous projects. Each suggestion, and reading over it, helped me delve through what I needed to fix with each section. It was a good learning experience for me. I was able to learn how to better choose photos and how to use technical and aesthetic aspect to my benefit.

Final Draft

I tried to form a sense of serenity and peacefulness in my photo essay. I took different portions of my trip this summer, to four different parks in western Nebraska, and put them into this photo essay. Each landscape, and the trip itself, reminded me of the simple beauty of nature and how some of the simplest things are in fact very complicated and intricate in their own way. Each rock and element work together to build the bluffs in Fort Robinson and Chadron State Parks. Each toadstool in Toadstool Geologic Park was shaped by a shallow river that passed through the area. This river exposed fossils and the different levels of rock on the edges of the river bed. Through this photo essay I wanted to expose the natural beauty and impressive result of weathering, and just pure nature. Also the simplicity of landscape that still manages to awe and inspire people is viewed in my pictures. I tried to form a sense of pathos by trying to allow my audience and opportunity to relate to my pictures and get a deeper sense of meaning out of each tiny piece of the natural landscape located right here in Nebraska.

During my week long trip this summer I went to four parks. Chadron and Fort Robinson State Parks, Toadstool Geological Park, and Agate National Park, all of which are in Nebraska. Each Park had portions of land that were intensely beautiful. Portions were altered for visitors to experience the beauty. Beyond the fort at Fort Robinson is the bluffs where you can look out over the valleys, buffalo, and antelope. You can look back and over the fort itself and see how small it is compared to the nature around it. Following the badlands of Toadstool Geological Park an expanse of a tall grassland spreads outward from your point of view. In the midst of Agate National Park, there are cliffs to walk on, and fossil beds that hold the past.

I used these parks to capture scenes of peacefulness and serenity. Then I took into account brightness, hue and saturation. Differences in brightness, hue, and saturation alter the emotions we perceive from an image. For example, take the two different shades of blue, one dark and one light, the darker shade of blue generally evokes the emotion of sadness or calmness. In contrast, the lighter shade of blue makes the emotion more happy or upbeat. For example, in my ninth picture I made sure to not only get the sand hills surrounding Toadstool, but also the storm front that was coming in over the horizon. I felt that in contrast to the light sand color of the hills, the shades of blue in the sky would peak interest. I noticed the change in the shade of blues from left side of my view to the right where the storms had originated. That change was something I wanted to capture, so I focused on to that portion of the landscape to document it. Also, in my fifth photo I altered the shot so that the rock formations framed the grass and brush in the foreground and opened up the background into the sky with one or two clouds spotted amongst the bright blue color. I then tried to alter the saturation of the photo to enhance the greens, browns, and blues. In these photos I tried to bring about a cheerful and serene feeling to the audience. I did this by brightening the colors in some photos while in others making them seem more simple and basic. For the majority of the photos, I wanted each individual color to stand out. I felt it would bring about the feelings of awe and admiration for the landscape that I experienced while taking each image. The colors of each image, enhanced or natural, adds to the overall pathos to my essay. I intentionally avoided implementing dark color into my essay. I wanted my audience to experience an uplifted feeling.

In order to shape, or direct, the audience's view of my pictures I had to frame or crop out portions of my photos. And I kept in mind the aspects I wanted to appear in my photos to be noticed. I decided to keep my pictures from being too crowded with elements. When too many objects are in the image, the audience can get distracted from the purpose of the photo itself.

Each natural, or enhanced, aspect of my images work together to give the photo essay the outcome I wished to create. Through my visual hierarchy and simplicity I was able to establish logos. And through the images’ and landscapes’ color, hue, and brightness I was able to create a form of pathos, thus shaping the viewers experience.

1. Road wrapping around the curves of a bluff in Fort Robinson State Park leading to the valley bellow.	2. Rock structure at the top of a bluff at Fort Robinson State Park.
3. Large valley in on the edge of Fort Robinson in Fort Robinson, Nebraska.	4. Different colors of the rocks at the base of one of the dunes at Toadstool Geological Park.
5. Rock formations outlining the curve of the large river bed in Toadstool Geological Park.	6. Small ravine branching off a river bed in Toadstool Geological Park.
7. The wisps and curves of a cloud hanging above Toadstool Geological Park before a storm rolled through.	8. A larger, more expansive view of the smaller toadstools at Toadstool Geological Park.
9. Storm rolling over the dunes at Toadstool Geological Park.	10.Creek branching through Agate National Park in western Nebraska

In conclusion, I made each portion of my essay work together to gather the correct perception. With the photos from Toadstool Geological Park I wanted to gather the structure of the toadstools from the closer and more detailed aspect, to the larger view with the clouds and sky spreading far and wide. In the same respect, I did this with the majority of my photos. I exposed the expansive view but then showed aesthetically, the smaller parts that also add to the serenity. Each aspect in my essay works together like building blocks to develop a sense of calm and serenity. In addition to cropping and framing my photos, I also manipulated the colors and brightness of the pictures. In the majority of my photos, I made the contrast between colors greater allowing for an affect of awe. Like in my personal favorite photo, number eight, you can see the expanse of a portion of Toadstool Geological Park. The colors are bright and the contrast between the sky and the rocks themselves evokes the desired sense that I intended for this essay. While in photos one, two, nine, and ten, I made the colors less contrasted to show calm.

By manipulating the photos' color and using framing and cropping, I was able to establish my argument and aesthetically present it in a beneficial way.

Statement of Purpose

First Draft

Second Draft

Photo Essay:2

In this photo essay, I tried to manipulate each of my photos to give a different view and to show what I saw most from each scene. I decided to frame certain aspects of the scenery around me to get my desired view. I also tried play off of the natural color in some of these images, and alter some others.

Differences in brightness, hue, and saturation alter the emotions we perceive from an image. For example, take the two different shades of blue, one dark and one light, the darker shade of blue generally evokes the emotion of sadness or calmness. In contrast, the lighter shade of blue makes the emotion more happy or upbeat. For example, in my ninth picture I made sure to not only get the sand hills surrounding Toadstool, but also the storm front that was coming in over the horizon. I felt that in contrast to the light sand color of the hills, the shades of blue in the sky would peak interest. I noticed the change in the shade of blues from left side of my view to the right where the storms had originated. That change was something I wanted to capture, so I focused on to that portion of the landscape to document it. Also, in my fifth photo I altered the shot so that the rock formations framed the grass and brush in the foreground and opened up the background into the sky with one or two clouds spotted amongst the bright blue color. I then tried to mess with the saturation of the photo to enhance the greens, browns, and blues. In these photos I tried to bring about a cheerful and serene feeling to the audience. I did this by brightening the colors in some photos while in others making them seem more simple and basic. For the majority of the photos, I wanted each individual color to stand out. I felt it would bring about the feelings of awe and admiration for the landscape that I experienced while taking each image. The colors of each image, enhanced or natural, adds to the overall pathos to my essay. I intentionally avoided implementing dark color into my essay. I wanted my audience to experience an uplifted feeling. While I was on this trip observing each individual scene or landscape, I never felt any sadness or disgust with my surroundings. Instead, I felt inspired and in awe of how my surroundings became as intricate and detailed in their own way. The sharp contrast between city scenes and expansive non-materialistic landscape makes you think what it would have been like without all the skyscrapers, streets, and cars.

In order to shape, or direct, the audience’s view of my pictures I had to frame or crop out portions of my photos. And I kept in mind the aspects I wanted to appear in my photos to be noticed. I decided to keep my pictures from being too crowded with elements. For portions that distracted focus or were too busy, I cropped them out to focus on the portions that I felt were important. I gave each photo a focus and framed and cropped them to make those portions. In some cases, the different colors and shading influenced the visual hierarchy of the photo, more so than my cropping. In photo number six, the color and placement of the brush and vegetation outline the ravine leading down from the top of the rocks. The shades of green and brown highlight this ravine drawing and causing it to be the first thing that grabs your eye. In the same manner there is less concentration of larger rocks towards the lower portion of the image, so as the focus travels towards the lower portion of the image there is less concentration of rocks and the scene is a little more simplistic. As I said earlier, for some of my pictures I made the colors more basic and slightly faded out to cause the scene to be more simplistic and basic than some of the others. My first photo shows little contrast in color. The trees have a less bright green and the valley past the bluffs in the foreground are almost blended in with the sky on the horizon. However, the road wrapping around the curves stands out in contrast with the brown.

Each natural, or enhanced, aspect of my images work together to give the photo essay the outcome I wished to create. Through my visual hierarchy and simplicity I was able to establish logos. And through the images’ and landscapes’ color, hue, and brightness I was able to create a form of pathos, thus shaping the viewers experience.

1. Road wrapping around the curves of a bluff in Fort Robinson State Park leading to the valley bellow.	2. Rock structure at the top of a bluff at Fort Robinson State Park.
3. Large valley in on the edge of Fort Robinson in Fort Robinson, Nebraska.	4. Different colors of the rocks at the base of one of the dunes at Toadstool Geological Park.
5. Rock formations outlining the curve of the large river bed in Toadstool Geological Park.	6. Small ravine branching off a river bed in Toadstool Geological Park.
7. The wisps and curves of a cloud hanging above Toadstool Geological Park before a storm rolled through.	8. A larger, more expansive view of the smaller toadstools at Toadstool Geological Park.
9. Storm rolling over the dunes at Toadstool Geological Park.	10.Creek branching through Agate State National Park in western Nebraska

In conclusion, I tried to form a sense of serenity and peacefulness in my photo essay. I took different portions of my trip this summer, to four different parks in western Nebraska, and put them into this photo essay. Each landscape, and the trip itself, reminded me of the simple beauty of nature and how some of the simplest things are in fact very complicated and intricate in their own way. Each rock and element work together to build the bluffs in Fort Robinson and Chadron State Parks. Each toadstool in Toadstool Geologic Park was shaped by a shallow river that passed through the area. This river exposed fossils and the different levels of rock on the edges of the river bed. Through this photo essay I wanted to expose the natural beauty and impressive result of weathering, and just pure nature. Also the simplicity of landscape that still manages to awe and inspire people is viewed in my pictures. I tried to form a sense of pathos by trying to allow my audience and opportunity to relate to my pictures and get a deeper sense of meaning out of each tiny piece of the natural landscape located right here in Nebraska.

Photo Essay

In this photo essay, I tried to manipulate each of my photos to give a different view and to show what I saw most from each scene. I decided to frame certain aspects of the scenery around me to get my desired view. I also tried play off of the natural color in some of these images, and alter some others.

Differences in brightness, hue, and saturation alter the emotions we perceive from an image. For example, take the two different shades of blue, one dark and one light, the darker shade of blue generally evokes the emotion of sadness or calmness. In contrast, the lighter shade of blue makes the emotion more happy or upbeat. For example, in my fourth picture I made sure to not only get the sand hills surrounding Toadstool, but also the storm front that was coming in over the horizon. I felt that in contrast to the light sand color of the hills, the shades of blue in the sky would peak interest. I noticed the change in the shade of blues from left side of my view to the right where the storms had originated. That change was something I wanted to capture, so I focused on to that portion of the landscape to document it. Also, in my eighth photo I altered the shot so that the rock formations framed the grass and brush in the foreground and opened up the background into the sky with one or two clouds spotted amongst the bright blue color. I then tried to mess with the saturation of the photo to enhance the greens, browns, and blues. In these photos I tried to bring about a cheerful and serene feeling to the audience. I did this by brightening the colors in some photos while in others making them seem more simple and basic. For the majority of the photos, I wanted each individual color to stand out. I felt it would bring about the feelings of awe and admiration for the landscape that I experienced while taking each image. The colors of each image, enhanced or natural, adds to the overall pathos to my essay. I intentionally avoided implementing dark color into my essay. I wanted my audience to experience an uplifted feeling. While I was on this trip observing each individual scene or landscape, I never felt any sadness or disgust with my surroundings. Instead, I felt inspired and in awe of how my surroundings became as intricate and detailed in their own way. The sharp contrast between city scenes and expansive non-materialistic landscape makes you think what it would have been like without all the skyscrapers, streets, and cars.

In order to shape, or direct, the audience’s view of my pictures I had to frame or crop out portions of my photos. And I kept in mind the aspects I wanted to appear in my photos to be noticed. I decided to keep my pictures from being too crowded with elements. For portions that distracted focus or were too busy, I cropped them out to focus on the portions that I felt were important. I gave each photo a focus and framed and cropped them to make those portions. In some cases, the different colors and shading influenced the visual hierarchy of the photo, more so than my cropping. In photo number five the color and placement of the brush and vegetation outline the ravine leading down from the top of the rocks. The shades of green and brown highlight this ravine drawing and causing it to be the first thing that grabs your eye. In the same manner there is less concentration of larger rocks towards the lower portion of the image, so as the focus travels towards the lower portion of the image there is less concentration of rocks and the scene is a little more simplistic. As I said earlier, for some of my pictures I made the colors more basic and slightly faded out to cause the scene to be more simplistic and basic than some of the others. My seventh photo shows little contrast in color. The trees have a less bright green and the valley past the bluffs in the foreground are almost blended in with the sky on the horizon. However, the road wrapping around the curves stands out in contrast with the brown.

Each natural, or enhanced, aspect of my images work together to give the photo essay the outcome I wished to create. Through my visual hierarchy and simplicity I was able to establish logos. And through the images’ and landscapes’ color, hue, and brightness I was able to create a form of pathos, thus shaping the viewers experience.

1. A larger, more expansive view of the smaller toadstools at Toadstool Geological Park.

2. The wisps and curves of a cloud hanging above Toadstool Geological Park before a storm rolled through.

3. Different colors of the rocks at the base of one of the dunes at Toadstool Geological Park.

4. Storm rolling over the dunes at Toadstool Geological Park.

5. Small ravine branching off a river bed in Toadstool Geological Park.

6. Rock structure at the top of a bluff at Fort Robinson State Park.

7. Road wrapping around the curves of a bluff in Fort Robinson State Park leading to the valley bellow.

8. Rock formations outlining the curve of the large river bed in Toadstool Geological Park.

9. Large valley in on the edge of Fort Robinson in Fort Robinson, Nebraska.

10. Creek branching through Agate State National Park in western Nebraska.

In this photo essay I tried to form a sense of serenity and peacefulness. I took different portions of my trip this summer to four different parks in western Nebraska and put them into this photo essay. Each landscape, and the trip itself, reminded me of the simple beauty of nature and how some of the simplest things are in fact very complicated and intricate in their own way. Each rock and element work together to build the bluffs in Fort Robinson and Chadron State Parks. Each toadstool in Toadstool Geological Park was shaped by a shallow river that passed through the area. This river exposed fossils and the different levels of rock on the edges of the river bed. Through this photo essay I wanted to expose the natural beauty and impressive result of weathering, and just pure nature. Also the simplicity of landscape that still manages to awe and inspire people is viewed in my pictures. I tried to form a sense of pathos by trying to allow my audience and opportunity to relate to my pictures and get a deeper sense of meaning out of each tiny piece of the natural landscape located right here in Nebraska.