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.