Berenice Abbott
Q1.
The view of Seventh Avenue comes across as artistic since the photograph carries several elements of artistic expression in images. Among the elements, texture is captured through the angle chosen, where the contours made by the buildings represent the diversity of the city. Light use is artistic, with the street surface being lighter, thus easily marking it out (Sonnentaga, Hufkens, and Teshera-Sternea, 165). This perspective of the city would thrill a New Yorker, by giving them a perspective of the city from above the ground.
Q2.
Abbot means photography that attempts to be as representative as possible to the location, atmosphere, and context where the photograph is taken. The Seventh Avenue photograph is the demonstration of straight photography since the photography chooses appropriate natural lighting conditions, as well as a relevant subject.
Q3.
Current photographs of Seventh Avenue might differ from Abbot’s images on several counts. The resolution of a modern photograph would be higher, thus making the objects much clearer. Further, the composition of the street would be different, with the developments made between then and now easily marked out.
Q4.
At first sight, it is not immediately apparent that the image represents a bridge. The photographer chose the particular angle and composition as a means to emphasize the support structure carrying the weight of the bridge.
Q5.
The images are beautiful since they both have a captivating quality that ensures the observer takes the time to observe and decipher what the photographer wanted to communicate during the taking of the photograph. Further, they both capture manmade objects in a manner that accentuates the care and planning that went into their creation. The straight avenue, as well as the intricate weaving of metal beams, demonstrates this aspect.
Q6.
New York City is renowned in photography, producing some of the best photographers in the world, while at the same time playing host to a variety of scenic photography sites. The statue of liberty is not only one of the most iconic places in the United States; it is also one of its most photographed. The empire state building is also subject to many iconic photographs, as is the Imperial Manhattan Bridge. ‘The Man Who Knows’ situated in the retro-furnished Sherwood Café, is one of the multiple modern New York landmarks in photography.
Q7.
Photography has undergone several changes since Abbot’s time, where new inventions such as holography are used to present captured images. Further, the photography industry went ahead to develop color films with the ability to develop color prints on paper (Sonnentaga, Hufkens, and Teshera-Sternea, 173). Computer technology has also simultaneously developed along digital photography, where photographs are at present accessed through digital forms.
Lewis Wickes Hine
Q1.
The image is representative of a typical construction site, as the employees are seen moving the also various materials as required. Further, upholstery and lifting equipment is also visible on the photograph, all aspects that are congruent with a construction site. However, the workers are not spotted wearing any protective clothing such as helmets, which slightly negates the expectations for a construction site.
Q2.
The photographer must have been at a proximal place to where the subjects of the photograph are, and as such implies that he must have been hoisted to an elevated position similar to then one assumed by the workers in the project. This inference is made given the absence of the zoom lens during Hick’s time, which would facilitate such a photograph from a further distance out, perched in a safe location such as a building
Q3.
This photograph is a good illustration of the risks involved in the execution of everyday work, where the workers on the site risk their lives in a bid at actualizing the project at hand. Their lack of secure harnesses, as well as protective clothing such as helmets, is evidence of the danger posed by the work they are undertaking. The photographer is immersed into the work environment of the photograph subjects, exposing him to the same risks facing the subjects.
Q4.
The photographer utilizes aspects of both interiors and exterior spaces in the making of the photographic art, where the site where the workers are seen drawing the attention of the observer as the focal point of the image, thus, its interior (Zakia, 214). Further, New York City skyline is discernible in the background, with the Empire State building silhouette being identifiable, and comprising of the exterior space of the photograph.
Q5.
A sweatshop describes a warehouse or factory and normally applies to the clothing industry where the manual laborers strife for minimum wages, work long hours and are treated to very inhumane working conditions. The room in the image is a sweatshop since the laborers are crammed into a small space, which does not seem sufficient for the comfortable completion of tasks assigned to the workers.
Q5.
Space within which these people are working seems more like a living room other than a factory. The headroom is insufficient to house such a high number of people and is a ready indicator of the possible low quality of air circulating for ventilation purposes.
Q6.
As a practice, posing for photographs is beneficial in instances where the subject needs their emotion and mood captured, however, in a photograph that attempts to capture an ongoing process such as work, the candid taking of photographs produces the most representative result, as it captures the subjects in the spirit of their work.
Q7.
The cramped nature of the room requires that the men huddle at one end of the sweatshop to avail the other end as a common ground for purposes of moving from one point to another within the s hop. Further, they could have moved to one corner of the sweatshop to fit within the camera’s field of vision, and into the frame of the photograph.
Works Cited:
Sonnentaga, Oliver, et al. "Digital repeat photography for phenological research in forest ecosystems." Agricultural and Forest Meteorology (2012): 152(15)159-177. Online.
Zakia, Richard D. Perception and Imagaing; Photography - A Way of Seeing. Vol. 4. Newyork: Taylor & Francis, 2013. Print.
