Raghu Rai

"Mother Teresa at her refuge of the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta. During prayer." In being aware of Mother Teresa's contributions to others, I think this photo tactfully conveys her devotion to this mission. She appears very at peace with herself and yet so powerful in her thoughts. I like the contrast of this photo and the white vale that could symbolically represent her pure heart. She seems to gain such strength in the power of prayer. I wonder what task she went on to conquer.

Burt Glinn

"Seattle, Washington. 1953. Members of the Seattle Tubing Society in full float." I just thought this photo was hilarious. Tubing Society? They have those? The guy with umbrella is priceless.

Library Assignment

I looked through several different books at the library and studied the work of various artists. Of all the photographs I looked at, these two really stood out to me.

These two women seem to express everything they are feeling through a distant gaze. While one shows determination, the other demonstrates despair. These photos seemed to depict the struggles of women of color and of lower class.

The first photo of the girl and boy was taken by Roy DeCarava and captioned "Mississippi freedom marcher, Washington, D.C. 1963." I felt that I could experience everything this girl was feeling by observing the look in her eyes. As a freedom marcher, she had such an intense look of pride and willpower. The natural lighting of the sun further captured this expression on her face.

The focal point of the photograph is clearly the girl, even though there is a boy standing right next to her. The boy is cut out of the picture and he is not in focus. His positioning, however, helps frame the girl nicely. It is also interesting how the photographer chose to leave the boy’s eye in the shot. In doing so, the viewer is able to interpret the emotions of both characters. The boy has a very sad look on his face, perhaps feeling he is fighting a loosing battle. The girl, on the contrary, looks more hopeful in their march for freedom. The photograph is able to capture a wide range of emotion through the expressions of these two people.

This picture has great contrast, both in the quality of the photograph and between the white uniforms and dark skin of the people. In looking at their matching attire, I wondered whether these people were coming from a segregated school in which uniforms were required.

The second photo of the woman and child was taken by Sebastiao Salgado and left untitled. As with the first photograph, this one tells a story through the eyes of the woman it features. She holds a distant expression as she breastfeeds her child. The child appears malnurished and at an age too old to still be breastfed. With the mother and child's rags for clothing, their small body statures, and the lack of proper food for the child, it is apparent that they are of minimal income.

With the intense look in the mother's eyes, it is easy for the observer to overlook both the child and everything else in the photograph. The mother and child are placed in a dark area with everything around them illuminated by a spotlight. This further suggests a sense of helplessness. The light in the background and the darkness around the figures provides good constrast in the photo.

In glancing quickly at the picture, the image greatly resembles the "Madonna and Child" of Christianity. The way the woman is holding her child is similar to Mary's embrace of baby Jesus. Also, the woman's wrap on her head resembles the wrap Mary is wearing in the painting.

Comparison of Photographs

Ansel Adams
Joshua Thomas Cooper











When first glancing at these photographs, they appear to be very similar in style. The both look like pictures of water taken in different settings at different angles. The photograph taken by Ansel Adams is of a waterfall flowing down a cliff. The photo taken by Thomas Joshua Cooper appears to be of water rushing into a valley. After examining the picture more carefully though, I believe what I originally mistook for water is actually light coming into the scene.

Abbas

The children in this photo were imitating Abbas behind his camera. I thought it was an adorable picture that nicely captured the innocent humor of these children.

This photo was captioned "MALI. Bamako. At sunrise, a fisherman in his boat on the river Niger. 1994." I thought this was a very serene photo and found myself wondering what the boy was thinking as he drifted along the water. Was he content with his job? Did he rely on his boat as an opportunity for escape? Was he alone on long journeys trying to make a living for himself and possibly a family?

Leonard Freed

This photo was captioned "ISRAEL. Jerusalem. 1967. Religious Jews at home in Mea Shearim." I thought the stance of the baby was just hilarious. The people seemed like such a cute and happy family in that moment. While their home appears very simple and plain, the photo conveys a family content with each other. I liked how their lifestyles was one unique to my own.

This photo was taken in 1988 of a refugee family. There is so much anguish on the faces of these women. The picture makes me very curious about the lifestyles they live. I wonder about the relationships between the people in the photo and on what level they interact. I think it is interesting how they wear minimal clothing and yet decorate themselves with jewelry and ribbon.

I really like Leonard Freed's work. I thought he captured moments from a great perspective. This first photo was captured "New York City. 1978. A policewoman plays with local kids in Harlem." I thought this shot was just so fun and innocent. It's nice to see a photo of positive role models interacting with children in a rough area. Usually the pictures taken in Harlem are not as pleasant as this one. It's so easy to focus in on the game and everyone laughing that the viewer easily overlooks the flooding trashcans and graffiti in the background.

Werner Bischof

This first photo taken by Bischof really stood out to me. I was drawn to the level of emotion displayed in the eyes of the children. With the older woman in the background, it appears as if the photo is forshadowing the life of the young girl holding the small child. One may assume the older woman is the mother of the three children, and relies on her oldest daughter to assist her in the childcare. I found this to be a very moving photo that certainly allowed me to project myself into the lives of these people.












I found this second photo of Bischof's to be a lot lighter in humor. I thought it beautifully captured the excitement of the children in their innocent game of tug-of-war. The caption read "FINLAND. Village of Naarva. Students of a country school during their recreation. 1948."