Caption: A St. Charles fire fighter carries the body of Chase a two-year-old boy from the Fox River in South Elgin, IL, Thursday; July 27, 2006. The young boy had been missing for nearly three hours when the firefighters found him near the shore. Rescue personnel were unable to save him.
Please study this image by Brian Hill, of the Daily Herald in Illinois. Based on EVERYTHING we have discussed so far in class. provide your thoughts on this image. And yes, you should include a discussion of ethics, composition, technique, style, and anytyhing else that comes into your head.
Post your comments to the blog by Wednesday, Nov. 28. This will be your record of "attendance" for Tuesday's class. So you must do this by Wednesday 10 p.m.
9 comments:
First off I am not too sure about the news worthiness of the photo because I don’t know the context. It seems some type of rescue is taking place so I’m sure it is news worthy. The composition is interesting even though it is centered. The fact that the items in the foreground are there and out of focus adds to the photo I think. The face of the person standing is blocked a bit by the tree. Not to sure what I think about that. The way it was shot almost makes you feel like you are trapped and the next on the list for this gentleman to rescue. Maybe if it had been shot a second earlier the trees would have framed them a little better and too the left. The more I look at it the more I think I like it. The way the two people are in good light makes it even better. Not sure how long I should ramble on here. How much post production work was done her I wonder. Is this maybe another example of the dodging and burning you keep telling us about Carlos?? Is that the reason the two subjects stick out so much?? That’s about it for me I guess.
Robert
For me, I am really torn here. At first I really didn't like it. Like Robet said it's hard to tell just from the photo, the exact context and/or story the photo is trying to convey.
To me, this does appear to be a rescue of some sort. To the right of the photo you recognize another figure mostly out of the frame, wearing an orange "emergency" vest, which does let you know that this is not just a random person with his child. Something definately happened here, what though, I'm not sure.
For me the background and foreground is very busy. My eye keeps getting drawn towards the pink flowers and that white looking brush behind the figures. Also my eyes keep traveling from object to object within the photo and though the background and foreground are pretty much out of focus, and the main figures are in good focus and light, I still have a hard time keeping my attention just on them. For me, the composition is a little too busy.
The feeling I get is as though I really am there, as someone just as a bistander, catching a glimpse of this "rescue" as it occurs. That part of it is interesting to me, because I do in that respect feel drawn into the photo as if I am there watching this moment as it happens.
On a limb, I'm not sure if the boy is alive or dead, I almost want to say that he does look dead or unconscious. As far as the ethical lines of that.... looking it over, if the boy is dead, I think that the photo does do a decent job of portraying the moment with subtlety (sp?) and stillness, if the boy is dead, the "death" is not in your face. And it simply gives you a very discreet moment of solace. The longer I stare at the photo, it almost seems like I can catch the "rescuer" moving slowly with the boy. But I still think the overall composition is very disctracting and could be cropped tighter and still give the same feeling that it does. If the bike in the background has something to do with the story, then perhaps it's necessary in the frame, otherwise I would take it out.
But the figures themselves I think are captured very nicely. Very sharp and the boy seems to be lit up like an angel (purposely?)
So that's my two cents of it. I'll be looking forward to discussing the context of this photo in class and see what everyone else has to say about it.
I think the photo is decent. I think it captures the moment with out throwing it in your face that this child has died. I do not like the fact that it is centered i think it would have been better if the firefighter was on the left side the tree would have framed him better and the branches wouldn't have covered is face. On the other hand the photographer may have wanted the focus just on the lost child which is why the firefighter's face is not seen but if that is the case i think the left side should have been cropped a little more. I think the lighting is very good, the way it lights up the child, it give the allusion of heaven. I like the blur in the foreground and background. But overall i think the photograph is very good i think the bottom could be cropped up and i am assuming the left is kept because it is the bridge over the river??
As I have stated before “Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder”. This photograph is hard for me to get a handle on. Since I do know the setting is a retrieval of a child’s body who apparently drown. I think this would be an inappropriate picture to be run in a news paper. Keep in mind the grief the parents are going through and do not need to see this picture, as well as there close friends and relatives.
Aside from the morality of the picture the picture, in my opinion is to busy, objects seem to be just enough out of focus as to make it hard to place them in the photo. Is that a bridge in the back ground? What is the red at the right edge of the picture?
I think that the photographer did well with the lighting, concentrated his focus on the little child and it may be for the purpose that the photo was taken was an excellent shot. Based on the caption he did get all the elements covered i.e. bridge, bicycle, fireman, a feeling of being deep in the woods, and flowers(how ironic).
I would not have used the picture but as I say “Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder”. William Engle
The composition of the picture is really nice as I didn't focus on the dead child when I look at it at first. The thing that kept my attention was the leaves. Although there are some leaves covered one third of the picture,I still think this photo is sad because that the photographer purposely wanted to show the death of the child. Before we talked in class that was about the ethics of taking pictures of someone who was dead, and I think the most concern about this picture is the death of the child. But the composition of the picture makes the death of the child less harmless to show to the public. The bridge at the back of the picture obviously shown where the child missing. And the bike in the picture might reprsent the childish activity.
lulu
In terms of ethics, I think the photo was done tastefully and not with the intention of shock value. I believe it offered visual closure to the story of this missing child. I don't feel that it would have been offensive or disrespectful to the family of the child. It is a haunting and heart-wrenching image. The perspective seems to me like it could have been that of someone also searching for him who happens to glance over and see that the firefighter has found him as there are hanging tree branches that cover the two subjects just enough to add that effect. The overall picture is soft and hazy yet crisp and almost looks like a painting. The composition has the firefighter and child in the center but they are framed by the bicycle, trees and potted flowers which contrast the horrible reality of what's happened. To me, the outstanding features are how the child is lit and the look on the firefighter's face. It seems that the child is being illuminated by the warm glow of the Heavens. The expression on the face of the man takes on complex meaning. He can be seen to be in shock at having to face the family of the boy with the awful truth that he alone knows at this moment and must at the same time, be devastated at having lost the hope everyone has in these situations that the boy will be found alive.
I think that photo's lighting is very good and it's look like the baby is die in his father's arm.And his father looks like very worry. The view is great too!
Bennet
I think that photo's lighting is very good and it's look like the baby is die in his father's arm.And his father looks like very worry. The view is great too!
Bennet
well, I didn't get the assignment until this morning, I hope it doesn't count too hard against me...... the only thing I do not like about the photo, or that I think takes from it, are the leaves comming down and blocking the fire fighter. The child looks seperated from everything else, and he is much brighter which, I think, takes your eye right to him, where it should be. the blurry back ground and the child lit up give the photo that sorrowful appeal because I can look right at the picture and tell you the child is gone, and the photo being candid could have grabbed some real feelings from the fire fighter, had the leaves not been right in the way.
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