Photo Collections and Opinion - Essay Example

Photo Collections and Opinion and Picture Fig The memorable terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York (September 11th Terrorist Attack 2). This photo majorly centers on the lighting contrast. The photographer tries to depict the centered building under explosion. His point of focus is the tall tower that is in near collapse following an explosion. What inspires the photographer is the need to bring to the audience’s attention the impacts that the September 11th terrorist attack had on the American people for those who have forgotten. From the picture’s background, it is clear that the photojournalist failed to capture the sky to tell the readers the climatic condition of that fateful day. Also, he has not sharply brought the impression that the large mushroom of white smoke is not cloud, but smoke. Irrespective of the type of camera used, the focus of the image is clear. The photographer clearly aims and focuses on the tallest tower under fire attack. Other buildings surrounded by the tower are an addition to indicate the extent of damage brought about by the great explosion. The shallow depth of field used leaves every element out of focus except the buildings under attack, as well as the messy environment created by the impact. The purpose for using a shallow depth of field is to keep the viewer’s focus on the main subject (the tower), and to bring about a sense of mystery over where the event occurred. Additionally, crafting a monochromatic tone brings about a vintage feeling which further reminds the viewer that it is an historical event. When it comes to matters concerning the framing of the shot, the photographer intends to guide the viewer’s roaming eyes from the tower of focus, to the buildings surrounding it. The photojournalist also seeks to show the viewer the surrounding environments and buildings that have been literary blanketed by the mushroom of smoke coming from the tower. This adds extra interest on the picture. Picture 2 Fig 2: Soldier on a Rescue Mission (September 11th Terrorist Attack 3). Opinion In the second picture, the photographer seeks to create an impression of a war-tone environment where there are casualties of war. He focuses on the dark, often unmentioned effects of war. The soldier pictured, is the subject of focus. The object he is trying to hold with his two hands, is probably a war victim, who might be a fellow soldier, or innocent non-combatants. The object that relays an impression of war includes the full combat outfit worn by the person under focus. The photo has an extremely sharp contrast which creates a blurring effect. The point of interest in this photo is the soldier. To distinguish them from other elements captured, the photographer captured a photo with a shallow depth of field, which gives the viewer a hard time to understand whatever is happening within the environment that the subject is. This is because he leaves many details out of the photo that can give viewers a clue of whatever is happening. While the photographer’s intention was to concentrate the viewer’s eyes on the soldier, he left out too many details, which makes the viewer not to concentrate for long. With regard to framing, the photographer has not fulfilled the principle of guiding the audience’s focus from the soldier to other subjects of focus. He locks the audience’s attention on the soldier for too long, resulting to boredom. However, blue background works well in seeking to create an impression that it is an aged photo. Additionally, the lighting condition is not ideal for the photo. It needed proper lighting since there are other objects that appear blurred as a result of improper lighting. Picture 3 Fig 3: Aftermath of terrorist attack (September 11th Terrorist Attack 3). Opinion In this photo, the photographer clearly captures a city in utter destruction. Several buildings are collapsing and properties destroyed by the calamity. His goal was to create a sad feeling of, perhaps war or natural calamity such as earthquakes, and he succeeds to do that. It is obvious that this photo has been taken on a sunny day, given the clarity and proper lighting of the objects of focus and their surroundings. The two bulldozers shown in the picture are probably being used to bring down the destroyed buildings which have been declared inhabitable after war. Although there is no sight on anybody walking around the vicinity of the scene, it serves to explain to the viewer that it is possibly a restricted area, or they have deserted that scene following many deaths and destruction of properties. In fact, the objects which communicate to the audience a feeling of abandonment are the bulldozers and the leaning buildings. The sunny weather further gives the audience a clue that the event occurred during the day. In general, the centers of attention in the photograph are the buildings under destruction. The photographer has managed to bring about a proper depth of field between the buildings under collapse and the untouched ones behind them. Additionally, he has succeeded in cropping the image perfectly. This is because it does not have any blank spaces. Moreover, there are no observable scratches that can draw the viewer’s attention. Therefore, the photograph has been shot successfully. Picture 4 Fig 4: An American soldier tries to save the life of his colleague who was shot in Afghanistan (September 11th Terrorist Attack 4). Opinion In the above photo, a soldier tries to rescue his colleague who is in an emergency situation in a war-tone environment. He administers a first aid operation on the unconscious soldier in a bid to rescue his life. In this photo, the photojournalist was seeking to convey to the public the woes that soldiers go through in their mission to defend their countries. He also indicates that not all military professionals deployed to fight for their nations go back alive or healthy. Some do not make it on the way back home. Further, the picture tells us that soldiers are humans. They also get unwell and die. The overall focus of the image works well. Clearly, the photographer has used a shallow depth of field. This had the effect of eliminating unwanted elements out of focus except the subjects of interest. The primary intention for using a shallow depth of field was to lock the audience’s eyes on the key objects of attention (the two soldiers). It was also done to bring about an impression of mystery, since it makes it hard to guess the location of the two subjects of interest at the time of its capturing. The blue tone that the photojournalist has used in this photo matches well with the operation being undertaken. First, it depicts a sad situation of life and death. This is the only color that best matches with the situation at hand. Secondly, it creates a modern kind of feeling, suggesting that such an event took place not very long time ago. The equipments used and the dressings worn by the soldiers speak volume. They depict a modern style of dressing for war and other military operations. Also, the lighting conditions used are ideal for the pictures since they increase clarity of the image, thereby making the information to be interpreted accurately by the viewer. Picture 1 Fig 5: A military jeep owned by American army burns following a bomb explosion in Afghanistan (September 11th Terrorist Attack 4). Opinion At a first glance, the audience may be traumatized, and possibly have compassion for the victims whose vehicle has been set ablaze or probably bombed. Other viewers may interpret the picture as captured in the scene of war. Whatever the case, the photographer might have placed himself at a vantage position to get such an awesome shot of the picture. From the bursting burning wheels to the terrifying scene of explosion and deadly attack, the photojournalist succeeds to arrest the viewers’ attention by depicting the military vehicle as being driven away from the fatal war scene. From this picture, the viewer is left with questions over who the owners of the jeep were and if they really survived the deadly attacks they were trying to escape. Like the preceding photo, the depth of field used is shallow, focusing only on the military jeep and its immediate background. The photographer should have used a deeper depth of field to give the audience a more detailed understanding of other things that transpired at the fateful date. The photographer has therefore left out other objects of focus and only chose to center on the vehicle. He should have widened his view to get a glimpse of the warring parties as well as the individuals who were at the scene. He also fails to satisfactorily answer the question that may be raised by the viewers on what was being bombed, rather than the vehicle which was just coincidentally at the scene. It remarkable that the photographer was particularly focusing on the vehicle and that is why he gave it a sepia tone against a blue background. This has served to make the point of focus clear. He has also managed to lead the viewers’ eyes from not only the jeep, but also the humongous cloud of smoke arising from military operation. Let me also note that the lighting condition at the time of capturing that photo was ideal for the photo. Work Cited September 11th Terrorist Attack. 2001. A Decade in Pictures Ibrahim, Yahya. “Letter From the Editor.” Inspiration 11 Sep. 2011: 2-4. Web. 02 May 2014. < http://www.jihadtalks.com >. Read More