This picture was taken at the end of June this summer. Yes so I cheated. I just feel that this picture captures the innocence and natural expression of two children who were having fun that I can’t possibly duplicate in the exact same sense. They are brother and sister, and they happen to be my boyfriend’s little cousins. You can instantly look at this picture and see that the four of us were unaware of the camera so that encapsulates the naturalistic part of the photograph. Looking at the picture as a whole, one can say that the four of us belong in the same story. Given that we were at the same location and not far from each other and simply put, we were all enjoying ourselves at this wonderful wedding. But when you disassemble the image, you can conclude that everyone is in their own space. Look a little harder and you can see that my boyfriend is in his own world, probably playing games on his phone as he seems to fade away from our perspective. Once he’s out of the picture, the two kids and I dominate the view. Then you can break the picture down even further as you look more carefully. You can simply eliminate my existence as well because I was just watching the children interact with one another. If I remember correctly, I was probably deep in thought as to how much of a pain it was to be there while the weather was a torture. It was over 105 degree Fahrenheit outside and everyone was sweating including me. But you can’t really tell it was that hot by just looking at this picture. So going back to the content of this image, and from my perspective, I view these two adorable kids as the product of one image rather than the four of us as from the photographer’s view. And if my boyfriend happens to look up at us in between his game breaks, he may incorporate my existence in addition to the two kids in his view as well. But then again, a picture can be view from many different perspectives and that’s why I feel that it’s great to just sit back and examine one photo while many stories unravel. Besides, I think that anyone who looks at this picture can come up with their own view and story about us and that is why this assignment is so different and fun. Apparently my story from my perspective will be a little different from my boyfriend and from that of the photographer. In conclusion, I wouldn’t mind hearing other people’s perspective on this particular photograph and what kind of story they can come up with.
2 comments:
I really like how you end your post with an invitation to your reader to continue on the work of interpretation: you model one possible interpretation of this photo, and then you make an opening for further dialogue to continue. I also like how you link up the image with the possible 'stories' that can, as you say, "unravel."
So here is what I see: I notice the black framing device on the left hand margin of the image—this gives me the sense that the camera lens is sneaking around a corner, capturing the moment covertly. I also see a light blue color block; the wall creates a strong background, one that is so dominant that it almost becomes a foreground. You can stare at it until the profiles of the people become deemphasized and the photo is about swaths of color more than anything else: black stripe, brown shirt, light blue striped jacket, pink and white dresses...and the blue wall running behind and in front of all. Do you see what I mean?
I found this picture to be very natural, and I like it. At first, I did not know you were in the picture until you mentioned it in your post. I finally recognized you as I clicked on the picture to zoom in. At first, I thought the people in this photo were the couple’s immediate family or other relatives at the wedding. I imagined that the children were laughing at each other because one of them was teasing and that the children's mother was behind the little girl, since I didn’t recognize you in profile. It seemed sort of odd that their mother was so young, but these days some parents are very young. I also thought that the young man could be the children's older brother or cousin because he is a little bit distant from the other three people in the photo.
You gave a good description of this photo, which helps us to imagine what the four of you were doing at the wedding. I liked that none of you recognized that the photographer was taking the picture. I enjoy taking pictures of other people while they are unaware of what I am doing. These pictures look beautiful compared to pictures in which people look at the camera lens. You mentioned the extreme heat that day, and I was surprised that your boyfriend and the little boy did not seem to mind how hot the weather was. They are dressed up in long sleeves and looked relaxed. Your explanation of what your boyfriend is doing is surprising because I thought he was looking at the little girl or at her feet. I had no idea, just by looking at the picture, that he was playing games on his phone. However, now I can see from his expression that he is concentrating and in his own world. Probably that’s why he doesn’t feel the heat. I like that you talk about how the four of you relate in this setting and about the different perspectives involved.
*by the way, my picture is uploaded so you can view it!
Post a Comment