Leading Causes of Death

by Caleb Meredith

The only thing a person can know for certain they will accomplish in life is death. The

way one goes about dying is the true question here. This photo essay will be going over

the top ten causes of death in the United States of America according to studies done by

the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. From their records, the number one

cause of death in that area is heart disease. Also included on the list are cancer, diabetes,

and intentional injuries. The pictures will be lined up going from the bottom of the list all

the way up to the leading cause of death. So with this presentation I will show each cause

of death, as I would see fit presented with an edited photograph.

As I mentioned before, each picture here represents one of the top ten causes of

death in the United States according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As far as the technological approach, every photograph presented here was edited with

Photoshop on a Macintosh computer. Two of the photographs were taken with an IPhone

5s. These were to represent chronic lower respiratory diseases and diabetes. Taking

pictures with the IPhone, I was able to edit the environment of the picture in the moment.

My intended audience for this project would be those participating with my

English course this 2015 spring semester at The Ohio State University. Originally I had

planned on making this a presentation for different ways the execution of convicted

criminals was carried out. After researching this idea I came to realize most of my

classmates, if any are not criminals. The topic would not really pertain to them. Everyone

does die eventually though, so with that I decided on this topic. I want to inform my

audience, but I also wanted to make sure the information I am providing pertains to my

audience as well.

The approach I took with this project for me was to present a top ten list with

photographs. This way I could intrigue the viewer into wondering what the next item is

on the list is as they scroll through the essay. I feel I accomplished this with the final

product, although this was my first time ever using the Photoshop editing program. If I

was a little bit more experienced with the program, I may have been able to be more

creative with the pictures in my opinion.

So with the design I started with the bottom of the list and worked my way up.

The first picture, which is number ten on the list of leading causes of death in the United

States is suicide. I started with a picture of a woman taking a picture while winking at the

camera. I placed a gun where the camera would have been and bullet with a face and

arms heading for her face. I included such an animated object because it fit with the facial

expression the woman has as she kills herself. I was going to add text to the picture

saying “#selfie” as a play on words between the action of suicide and actually taking a

picture of oneself. I decided against it, as it takes away from everything else going on in

the picture. Next on the way up the list is nephritis. With this picture I simply used the

selection tool to place a kidney on top of a pile of pills. This picture was going to include

text saying “for better or for worse”. I felt it removed the thought process for the viewer

to figure out what my purpose was to include medicine on a project about causes of

death. The next five on the list are Influenza, Diabetes, Alzheimer disease, unintentional

injuries, and Stroke all in that order. So now, coming in with the bronze medal for third

place is chronic lower respiratory disease. I used brush tool to underline the warning

label. Then I took a picture of a skull smoking a cigarette and re-sized it to fit the QR

code on the pack. Under the code it says, “scan to join” so I thought the skull would be

appropriate placed there. In second place we have cancer. Then coming on top of our list

as said before is heart disease. For this one I found a picture of a man with his hand on

his heart. I used the filter called “glowing edges” to take the focus off who the man was

or what he was wearing. I then used a red paintbrush to outline his hand putting the

emphasis on the man's heart. This was actually the first picture I worked on for this

project. I had intended for the overall outcome to be much violent then it was, but with

the outcome of this picture I decided to keep the entire project headed in the same

direction.

So hopefully by finishing this essay the viewer will have new information to

consider. My intended audience all currently resides in the United States of America. This

means the information given provides the top ten ways they are currently likely to die.

With this in mind, maybe this project will encourage the viewer to make better decisions

for their health and everyday life as items ten and five on the list have to do with self

harm.

References

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