Going Home
Photo by: Ed Clark
When originally viewing this image it made me feel sad. You can tell by the expression of the man playing the accordion. The tears streaming down his face says it all. He is deeply saddened by something and he expresses his grief. He also hold his head high, showing his pride. Most of the people in the background have their heads lowered and do not look happy. I did not know the significance of this photo until I researched it further. I now know that this photo was taken as the body of President Franklin D. Roosevelt was returning home. This man playing the accordion is Graham Jackson, who was a United States Navy bandsman and he was playing one of Roosevelt's favorite tunes, Going Home. I love this photo because as a man he was not afraid to show his emotions. It seems in this photo he was more grief stricken then the women which is not usually the case. Professor Nordell said, "I believe that when different individuals look at the same photograph, they
each come away with a different meaning and interpretation." I completely agree with this statement and feel this image is a good reflection of that. At first you see the emotions literally pouring out of this black man and then you see the white people in the background, not nearly as grief stricken. This shows that each person had their own meaning and interpretation of President Franklin Roosevelt's death.
Principle 1- Subjects Expression- The subjects expression means everything in this image. He is caught in the moment and is not overly posing or hamming it up for the camera, this is true, raw emotions.
Principle 2- Obvious main subject- The man playing the accordion is obviously the main subject. He is taking up about 2/3 of the image area leaving only a little space to capture the people in the background.
Principle 3- Background compliments- The people made up of mostly women in the background helps to compliment this image. Graham Jackson is showing his emotions and I think it is both powerful and meaningful. He is a Man and also African American amongst many white women who are clearly not grieving as much as he is. I love that the photographer included the background because it allows Graham to stand out and shine even more, as he should.
The Truth
Photo by: Taylor Yergeau
Image Source: Russell, Ma
To me is nature is one of the most natural and truthful things on this earth. If I have any free time I love to be outdoors and surrounded by nature. Everything is so peaceful and most things are not manipulated by man. You do not need to edit it or change it because its natural beauty shines through. I took the image above while hiking in Western Massachusetts a little over a month ago. I was walking along the trail when I saw this beautiful stream flowing down the mountain and thought it would make a great picture. I did not need to change anything after taking this photo. My emotions and intuitions allowed me to feel such an overwhelming sense of peace when I took this photo and each time I view this photo it brings those emotions back.
Principle 1- Texture- When viewing this image it is evident that water is there. You can see that the river flowing through the trees is wet and a different texture from the trees.
Principle 2- Quality of light- The light in this image above is engaging to the eye. The sunlight shines through any open areas where the trees do not block it out. Certain leaves are highlighted by the sun while others remain in the shadows. You can also see the light reflecting off of certain areas of the water.
Principle 3- Exposure Time- This image was captured by my Iphone 5 using a fast shutter speed that froze the action. The water is in focus and clear allowing the true beauty of the water to be reflected. If the image were taken in a slower shutter speed it may have been to blurry to tell that is water running through the trees.
Untruthful
The truth is that not all things seen by the human eye in a photograph is a true reflection of what the photographer is seeing with their own eyes. Professor Nordell stated, "I wouldn't want to photograph someone in a way that I myself would not want to be photographed." I agree with this statement and it goes along with one of my morals to follow the golden rule and treat others the way you would want to be treated. I myself would never want to be photographed when I die and therefor would never photograph someone dead. Many photographs are edited now a days to show what they want you to see, not what they actually see. In the image of above a corpse is wrapped in plastic and is shown "floating" above the ground. These images were edited in order to try and create awareness of all the plastic waste in our country. My logic and reasoning allows me to know that this is an altered image because I know that people can not fly, especially dead body's.
Principle 1- Abstraction- This image is an representational of all of the plastic waste in our world. The photographer stated that, “Visually, I want to convey the sacrifice we have made by our consumption and waste. The wrapped bodies represent invasive cocoons floating over vulnerable landscapes.” The reality of this photo is that their is a lot of waste and something needs to be done before we run out of room in landfills to put it.
Principle 2- What feeling does this image create?- This image creates and eerie feeling. Anything involving dead bodies is a little unsettling in one way or another. This image captured my attention because I wanted to have a photograph of a corpse and after seeing it floating off the ground I had to find out the meaning behind the photo.
Principle 3- In and out of focus- This image is in focus in the front of the corpse and of the actual corpse itself. I think the photographer did this so your eye is drawn immediately to the corpse floating in the air and the water on the ground. The background behind the corpse is a little blurry. This helps to create the overall effect of the body floating by drawing your eyes to the space between the corpse and the ground, not the corpse and the background.
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