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.