Essay about Modern Photograph and Realism

Dorothea Lange’s Migrant Mother is a photograph that documents a moment of distress within American history. The image works as a visual representation of suffering for those who were lucky enough not to live within the Dust Bowl region. To many it is uncertain if Lange’s image became an American Icon because of the struggle it presented or because of the eye capturing composition of it. However, with this image came forth the issue of a photos validity after photo manipulation, as Lange edited the image by removing the thumb of the mother who was a large subject. Despite the slight manipulation in Migrant Mother, the photograph still presents the situation truthfully, making the photograph function as both a work of art and a historical document.

The United States experienced both the Great Depression and harsh weather conditions during the 1930’s causing Americans to suffer through extreme hardship and impoverishment. Many of the migrant farmers were bankrupt, destitute, and struggled to survive. Photographer and photojournalist, Dorothea Lange, captured the dangerous conditions migrant workers and their families endured through her photograph, Migrant Mother. The photograph not only displays a woman and children suffering, but also reveals the determination and willpower the woman had to provide for her family.

The images and lighting are similar to images that record the suffering of people during the depression of the 1930s. However, inside the park the weather starts to brighten making everything look lush and vibrant. It seems absurd to see such a strong contrast after passing through the imperial gates. This brings to mind the saying “The grass is always greener on the other side” This helps to show how the members of the public see this part of London as a desired thing and that everything is better, but this saying usually ends up being false; these people still live in the same world, it is all an illusion, Further on in the scene Theo says to his cousin Nigel, “A hundred years from now, there won’t be one single sad f**k to look at any of this (meaning his apartment). What keeps you going?” To which Nigel replies “You know what it is, Theo? I just don’t think about it”. He is just ignoring the inevitable.

As New York photographer James Maher quoted from A World History of Photography, “photographs used in campaigns for social reform not only provided truthful evidence but embodied a commitment to humanistic ideals” (361). Moreover, as shown in the article Documenting the Social Scene, the powerful photography that Hine and Riis have captured of immigrants encapsulate the need for change; furthering the separation of their photojournalism from illustrative and recreational art. From Hine documenting much of the practices of child labor, to Riis exposing the harsh living conditions of the Lower East Side of Manhattan, (Maher) both photographers comply to a code of ethics and sense of journalistic integrity— Riis and Hine showcase the truth behind the photos in a way that attempts to humanize the subjects on film as much as it attempts to engage a moral debate of the situations at hand. In addition, to exemplify the impact of photojournalism, we must consider the perspective of the Gilded Age

Dorothea Lange’s started her career with “street photography” as the depression occured. Later, capturing these “harsh” pictures was a part of her job as she worked for the Farm Security Administration (The Making). Dorothea was a sociological researcher and tied her photography work into her research. She did not want these pictures to represent only a tragic time in history but also, something much more meaningful. Not only did she take these pictures, she would ask the homeless questions about their personal life and get to know them.

The purpose of my study is to give people a chance to understand what is the meaning of photography and how it was invented, plus how people was able to take photographs before the camera was invented.

During the Great Depression, Dorothea Lange photographed the unemployed men who wandered the streets. Her photographs of migrant workers were often presented with captions featuring the words of the workers themselves. Lange’s first exhibition, held in 1934, established her reputation as a skilled documentary photographer. In 1940, she

When Robert Frank published his photographic masterpiece, The Americans, his collection of images was met with widespread criticism. Challenging not only the documentary tradition and the aesthetic of photography, Frank’s blurry exposures uprooted the very fabric of America. Traveling the roads of the United States from 1955-1957, Frank took over 28,000 images, depicting every strata of American society, from the assembly line of Detroit, to the opulence of Hollywood. Overall, through the lens of Frank’s camera, the viewer is given a collection of images, which directly undermine popular understanding of 1950s America. In a mere eighty-three images, Robert Frank tells a story of renewal and rebirth, of struggles, and hope, and of the very nature of America.

As photographer Jackson recalled, "No photographs had as yet been published, and Dr. Hayden was determined that the first ones should be good. A series of fine pictures would not only supplement his final report but tell the story to thousands who might never read it" (1940, p. 196). Jackson's photographs and Moran's watercolors and illustrations were instrumental in the successful lobbying effort to get Congress to designate Yellowstone the country's first national park. More significantly, I contend that the landscape art of Watkins, Jackson, and Moran are not merely evidence in a conventional political argument. They are not simply representing reality or making an argument about

An exhibition never fails in taking the spectator on a journey through the chosen art’s narrative. The vast selection of exhibitions that were available at the National Gallery of Art made it difficult to narrow down the preferred choices. While examining the exhibition list one word seemed to capture my attention. Urban. I had the privilege to be born in a foreign city and to grow up in yet another city. This perspective colored my gallery selection and placed emphasis on the word “Urban.” Located in the West Wing of the Natural Gallery of Art, “Urban Scene 1920-1950” is an exhibition that reveals the four century-old artistic interpretation of the dynamic life that comes with residing in a city. Part of the beauty of the exhibition is the incorporation of less recognized American artists that worked on various printmaking techniques to create these astonishing achievements. The installation utilized minimalistic styles that introduced the viewer to various cities in the US. During the

It is shot with color film using an 8 x10 large box camera from a frontal perspective. There is a casting of shadows from the trees on the street, but the light focuses more on the three buildings, which is the main objective of this shot. Shore respected natural light, shot in the daytime and rarely used flash. The composition in Shore’s photo is balanced and symmetrical. The gray building is the focal point since the entire building is included whereas the other two buildings have partial views. The eye is also drawn to the center since it has a red door and it is positioned in the middle. Looking from the top left of the photograph, you can see that the buildings step down in height which adds

The black and white photograph captured by Jose Miguel Martinez incites a range of sentiments to the audience with its landscape of the seashore at nightfall. A pile of rocks and a tattered brick wall are in the foreground, the sea and cliffs are in the middle ground, then the remote sailboat, distant land, and the moonlit sky are in the background. This photograph impressively demonstrates the uses of balance, utility, and variety in its composition. Balance is achieved asymmetrically by the raw and unintended placement of the mountains, brick wall, the sea and land. The composition also has a great balance with the use of positive and negative space. Because of the asymmetrical balance, the photograph is more stimulating to look at as both

In this picture, Victorian style house stands alone in the field. A railroad track cuts through the foreground. There is a bare sky behind the house with no secondary objects in the immediate surroundings of the building. this enables us to keenly focus on the articulation of the building and its relationship with its environment.

The name "Photography" comes from the Greek words for light and writing. Sir John Herschel, was the first to use the term photography in 1839, when he managed to fix images using hyposulphite of soda. He described photography as "The application of the chemical rays to the purpose of pictorial representation". Herschel also coined the terms "negative", "positive" and "snapshot".

Photographs are used to document history, however selected images are chosen to do so. Often times these images graphically show the cruelty of mankind. In her book, Regarding the Pain of Others, Susan Sontag asks, "What does it mean to protest suffering, as distinct from acknowledging it?" To acknowledge suffering is just to capture it, to point it out and show somebody else that it exists. In order to protest suffering, there has to be some sort of moral decision that what is shown in the photograph is wrong, and a want from the viewer to change that.