Documentary and War - Photography
Photographic Category:
James Nactwey is the photographer for the war photo shown. He has taken photographs of war and conflict to convey a message and to show the darker side of war that nobody thinks about. Nactwey has been in many conflicts and has decided to record these and as he said in his website that he has chosen to record these types of photos so that it would be remembered for those times of conflict. Each of the photos that Nactwey has photographed each has a message of what war does to the people. (http://www.jamesnachtwey.com/)
NACTWEY J. (2015) Bosnia, 1993 available at: http://www.jamesnachtwey.com/ [Accessed at 16/3/2015]
Purpose:
The purpose of of war photography is to convey the message of destruction and literal results of war. An example could be of the first picture; the room the combatant is currently in is devastated and destroyed but one would think how it looked prior to the destruction. The second photo is the result of war; it destroys lives and causes loved ones to be lost, to an unjustifiable cause. Both of these photographs cause the audience to ask the question 'Why?'. Another purpose is that it records that moment in time, so that people understand what happened during that time. These were photographed because Nactwey himself said that he has recorded these events so that they may not be forgotten and so that it must not be repeated.
Image Analysis:
Like other photographs, the subjects Nactwey has chosen to photograph are all in the center of the photo. This is to create the focus around that subject. The use of his focal point is different to say, sport photographer who photographs their subjects to create them to be the center of attention. War photography that Nactwey has done seems to create the feeling of destruction and the world wasting away around the subject; as show in the second picture where the two people are mourning for a friend. The photographs are mostly black and white due to the pictures being taken in the 20th century but the more recent photos are in colour. However, none of these photos have been enhanced in any way as it is kept as a direct documentation to the events of the photographs; they were not made to impress. This photograph has an average shutter speed (1/125th of a second). The depth of field used is a shallow depth of field. This is to focus on the subject at hand which is two people grieving. Considering it is black and white, the lighting is more obvious that it was a well-lit day and it most likely used a lower ISO (400-800) and an average aperture size (f11). It’s a tragic irony that even though it’s a bright day, it’s far more darker in the events of what happened. The framing used seems to be mixed between the trees, the people and the graves that have been put up. This is also another thing to focus on, as the graves are one of the main focal points in the picture. It is seen to find the context of the photo. The rule of thirds clearly show the 2 people in mostly all the thirds and are placed proportionately so that our eyes are drawn to what they are looking at something.
Meaning:
Each of the photographs as aforementioned, are not specifically meant to impress but are rather made to give the person looking at the photographs the reason to ask the question 'Why?'. Each of the photos have a representation, for example the two photos above give their own messages: The first image shows the people fight back and conflict causes more conflict and it doesn't solve itself. The second photograph represents the results of those conflicts and why war and the things that happen in war cannot be justified by any forms of reason.
Photographic Category:
James Nactwey is the photographer for the war photo shown. He has taken photographs of war and conflict to convey a message and to show the darker side of war that nobody thinks about. Nactwey has been in many conflicts and has decided to record these and as he said in his website that he has chosen to record these types of photos so that it would be remembered for those times of conflict. Each of the photos that Nactwey has photographed each has a message of what war does to the people. (http://www.jamesnachtwey.com/) NACTWEY J. (2015) Bosnia, 1993 available at: http://www.jamesnachtwey.com/ [Accessed at 16/3/2015]
Purpose:The purpose of of war photography is to convey the message of destruction and literal results of war. An example could be of the first picture; the room the combatant is currently in is devastated and destroyed but one would think how it looked prior to the destruction. The second photo is the result of war; it destroys lives and causes loved ones to be lost, to an unjustifiable cause. Both of these photographs cause the audience to ask the question 'Why?'. Another purpose is that it records that moment in time, so that people understand what happened during that time. These were photographed because Nactwey himself said that he has recorded these events so that they may not be forgotten and so that it must not be repeated.
Image Analysis:
Like other photographs, the subjects Nactwey has chosen to photograph are all in the center of the photo. This is to create the focus around that subject. The use of his focal point is different to say, sport photographer who photographs their subjects to create them to be the center of attention. War photography that Nactwey has done seems to create the feeling of destruction and the world wasting away around the subject; as show in the second picture where the two people are mourning for a friend. The photographs are mostly black and white due to the pictures being taken in the 20th century but the more recent photos are in colour. However, none of these photos have been enhanced in any way as it is kept as a direct documentation to the events of the photographs; they were not made to impress. This photograph has an average shutter speed (1/125th of a second). The depth of field used is a shallow depth of field. This is to focus on the subject at hand which is two people grieving. Considering it is black and white, the lighting is more obvious that it was a well-lit day and it most likely used a lower ISO (400-800) and an average aperture size (f11). It’s a tragic irony that even though it’s a bright day, it’s far more darker in the events of what happened. The framing used seems to be mixed between the trees, the people and the graves that have been put up. This is also another thing to focus on, as the graves are one of the main focal points in the picture. It is seen to find the context of the photo. The rule of thirds clearly show the 2 people in mostly all the thirds and are placed proportionately so that our eyes are drawn to what they are looking at something.
Meaning:
Each of the photographs as aforementioned, are not specifically meant to impress but are rather made to give the person looking at the photographs the reason to ask the question 'Why?'. Each of the photos have a representation, for example the two photos above give their own messages: The first image shows the people fight back and conflict causes more conflict and it doesn't solve itself. The second photograph represents the results of those conflicts and why war and the things that happen in war cannot be justified by any forms of reason.
No comments:
Post a Comment