Ansel Adams

When looking at Ansel Adams set of photo's this one in particular stuck out from the rest. Although there were plenty other of landscapes and other portraits this one seemed to be the most interesting so to say. When looking at this photograph, there are plenty of things that come to mind. For instance, the people are all outside practically surrounding this man on the bed in the center front. Now what exactly a bed is doing outside is the real qeustion. Is this photo a set up or are these people actually living like this in the outdoors. If these people truly are living under these conditions, why do none of them have a look of concern on their face. For the most part there is a calmness and satisfaction in a sense amoung all of their faces. They are living in these awful conditions hypothetically, yet it doesnt seem to phase any of them. Could Ansel Adams possibly have been trying to capture the true meaning of being happy with life. Possibly by showing these people in these non-ideal conditions could have helped show that people dont need to be living a life of luxury to be content in life.

Edward Weston

Dead Man, Colorado Desert 1937

When going through Edward Wetson's book of photography, there seemed to be a disterbing quietness within every picture. In some it was simply a beyond still landscape, while others like the one above, there was something dead (literally) about the piece itself. Whether or not the man in this photo is dead or not is beyond me, but by the looks of the rest of Westons photography, the man probably is. Looking at this photograph, one can see that this man had suffered greatly within the Colorado Desert. By looking at his face you can see the leathery sunburnt looking skin, that seems painful just by looking at it. His hands seem extremely dry, perhaps from the dehydration of his body from being out in the desert for a long period of time. The clarity of the photograph was extremely well done by Weston. He was able to get a hold of all of the little details from the face of the man nown to the slightest pebbles within the dirt. By Edward being able to do this, he was able to allow the viewers to grasp ever little struggle that lays upon the dead mans body.

John Szarkowski

LaSalle Street

When going through the photography book of John Szarkowski, there were a ton of landscape photo's that were all in all quite beautiful, but his few social landscapes are what I believed to be some of his best pieces of art. Within all of his social landscapes there seemed to be a certain stillness to each and every one of them, whether the subject matter was truly at a standstill or not. The photograph of LaSalle Street is the one that I found to be the most successful. Although the people who are waiting to cross the street are still, and silent in a sense, the surrounding area is not. The people in the background are blurred from being in motion, and the look of some of the cars in the background seem to be in motion to, but without the extent of the blur found within the people. The ability of Szarkowski to have such stillness in such a moving scene is quite impressive. He was able to make it seem as though the people were in essence frozen in time, or at least slowed down compared to the rest of the world. He was able to make it appear as though he was able to slow down time just for those people alone. The best part about this picture is the look on each of the peoples faces. They all seem to be in deep thought about something, and it makes you question what exactly is on their minds. Maybe that was his inspiration for making it seem as though time was frozen. As if they were trying to figure out what was going on within the chaotic world that surrounded them.

Sally Mann

The New Mothers

When looking at Sally Mann's book of photography, I was not all that thrilled at the work she did. Although I'm sure many find it extremely artistic and meaningful, I did not. Personally I found her work some what distasteful and wrong on a lot of levels. Seeing children of all ages nude in a good amount of her photography came off as somewhat grotesque when going through the book. Although most of the photo's were of nude children, I must admit there were a few that I did find to be quite powerful, like the one above of the "new mothers". When looking at this photo I automatically get the sense of children constantly wanting to grow up. You always see children saying how they just want to be older, and how you can see them constantly trying to mimic that of their parents or of other adults around them. Children today are always trying to grow up faster than they should be and this picture portrays that very well. Not only can a viewer see that the children are holding cigarettes and babies, essentially portraying a mother, but the looks on the childrens faces are quite intense as well. Their faces are what I would picture a worn out mothers face to look like, tired and just in need of a cigarette break. The fact that she was able to captivate this emotion from a young child is beyond impressive.

Nan Goldin

Gina at Bruce's Dinner Party
Going through all of the photos within the book about the photographer, Nan Goldin it was quite apparent that they liked to get a sense of what goes on when no one is looking, whether it be a moment of intimacy, hidden emotions, or anything else that could happen behind closed doors. Out of all of the photos within the book, this one stuck out the most to me personally. At first glance I was already captivated by the underlying emotion that layed within the photo. The captian alone says a lot. It explains that this woman is at a dinner party, now usually when I think of dinner parties I think of everyone gathered around a table or all huddled up in the livingroom or some spot talking and laughing over a bite to eat, but this photo is far from that. Instead the woman in this photo seems quite lonely, and is in fact alone within the picture. The expression on the womans face is what I found to be the most captivating part about this photo. Just looking into her eyes makes you feel as though she is thinking really hard about something that is on her mind, or that she is regretting having gone to that dinner party. Like the rest of Nan Goldin's photo's the characters within the photo's have extremely big emotions evoking from them whether that person is aware of it or not. The rawness of the pure emotion within Goldins work, is what I find to be the most amazing form of photography.

August Sander

Going through Sanders work, there was a consistency within the theme of each of the photographs. Each of the photographs were able to capture the essence of each of the individuals. The photo that I selected from the group of their collection was the one I found to be the most captivating in a sense. This photograph of this soldier was extremely appealing in the sense that we have this young man standing there within his military uniform. The look of his face us so angelic and almost childlike (although he is clearly not a child). There is just an innocence to his face, as if this was taken before he had gone to war. There is a certain look of both dedication to his country as well as complete and utter fear. This soldier appears as though he has yet to see any of the horrors of war, and quite honestly looks extremely clueless as to what will be coming his way. The simplicity of the background, or the haziness of it, adds to the definition of the individual itself. This allows the viewer to focus all of its attention on the soldier without it being completely overbearing. The ability of Sander to capture this moment was extremely well done.

Diane Arbus

After going through Diane Arbus' album it was clear to see that she gravitated towards the "odd" side of society so to say. Whether she was photographing people in their ridiculous circus outfits or even capturing a brief weird moment in a persons life, she was able to get that sort of vibe from every single photo. Her ability to showcase an individuals uniqueness in a sense is beyond amazing. For this photograph for instance, it was so clear that this was not just some ordinary person. She was able to take a person and capture their moment of simply being them,even if it was something insane like this. Normally people would not go around prancing in an outfit like that, but this lady right here did. She looks as though she is proud of whatever it may be that she does with that outfit. There is no shame whatsoever in her face, the look of pride is the only thing that exist. Although odd and definetly out of the ordinary, the simplicity and truthfulness of this photo is what truly makes it captivating.

Lewis Hine

http://photography-now.net/lewis_hine/portfolio1.html

Looking through Hine's album, there was a common them among every photo in the portfolio, struggle. The struggles ranged from everyday labor, to child labor, to poverty and so on. This picture especially had captivated me Looking at the woman in a physical manor, you can see that she is carrying a very heavy burden. Not only is this woman carrying big trunks in her hands, but she is also carrying a very bulky sac on her back. Although this woman is carrying more than she should probably be carrying, she shows no sign whatsoever of struggle. Her face is blank in a sense. She is not cringing or showing in any way that she is in pain from the load she is carrying. The significance of this photo all relates back to the hard times of what could possibly be during the great depression. Back then, the people often had very hard struggles, but they never let the struggles overcome them. Rather, they dealt with their problems and moved on. The photo of this woman proves that she is a very strong person, and isn't letting this massive labor get the best of her.

Another thing that I found quite interesting in Hines photo's was the simplicity of the backgrounds. Although some of them you could tell that they were in a factory or somewhere with lots of items in the background, he somehow was able to in a way fade those objects in the background to focus on the individuals struggles, but at the same time keeping those subtle object in the background present, to help showcase the persons struggles.

Tomiko Jones

Going through Tomiko Jones photos, this one seemed to be the most compelling to me. At first it appears as though it is just a photograph of a bride in the middle of the desert, with a bunch of foot prints within the sand. Looking at the footprints, can be slightly deceiving at first, because of the fact that they just end...in the middle of the desert, with nothing at the end of the trail. In reality, this would be impossible. Looking at the footprints in regards to the photo and the bride actually make a lot of sense. When a woman gets married, she is leaving one chapter behind her, and beginning a new one with her soon to be spouse. Looking at the photograph, it seems as if the footprints represent the bride as her last steps before she says her vows, and officially ends the past chapter of her life. The reason why the footprints end in the middle of nowhere is quite simple. They end like that because when anyone makes a major commitment, like marriage, you begin a new chapter in life...which means the prints that she leaves behind her will be different than the ones she leaves now, as an unmarried woman. The other reason the footprints do not appear is simply because when you start a new chapter in your life, you have no idea where you will be going or the journeys that will follow. It is the unknown, as are the continuing footprints, that are not visible to the eye ..yet.

Andre Kertesz

Going through Andre Kertesz photos, this one in particular struck me the most. At first glance it seems as though it is just a photo of a street merchant trying to sell flowers or some objects to people who pass by, but taking a closer look at it, there seemed to be a bit more than that. After observing the photo for quite some time, it was clear to see that the woman who was passing the merchant by was paying him no mind whatsoever. She mearly walked passed him without giving him even a second of her time, as if she was too good to be around him. Her body positioning is straight ahead, not a single once of her body is slightly towards the man. As for the merchant, if one looks into his eyes, the sign of desperation is there. Just looking at his face makes it seem as though he is longing for help, and that he really needs the money badly (which is why he could be selling flowers on the streets).
I believe Andre Kertesz took this photo to show people that even if we dont necessarily mean to, we often put people in their place, whether they are looked up or down upon or seen as equals. At the same time, I believe that Andre is trying to say that people get too selfish and wrapped up in their own lives that they forget about everyone else, and often times do not help out those who are truly in need of some kind of assistance, whether it be financial, emotional, physical, etc... problems. In general he is showing that people need to take a second of their time to realize that there are others out there struggling and need help.