Giovany Munoz Lopez
Advanced Digital Media
Learning to Look
Photograph Title:
The Fontenelles at the Poverty Board
Photographer:
Gordon Parks
Digital, Film, or Other: Film
Date Taken:
1967
VALUE
Is there a range of tones from light to dark? Squint your eyes. Where is the darkest value? The lightest?
Yes there is a range of tones from light to dark. The darkest values are in the bottom left corner, top right, top middle and in between the family.
SHAPE
Do you see geometric or organic shapes? Are there positive shapes, such as objects, or negative shapes that represent voids?
There are geometric and organic shapes. There are rectangles on the window and papers on the desk. There isn’t really a lot of negative space that represents voids.
LINE
Are there thick, thin, curvy, jagged, or straight lines?
There are thin and thick lines on the window.
TEXTURE
Do you see visual textures within the photograph? Is there an actual texture on the surface of the photograph?
The walls in the room have a wood like texture/look.
LIGHT AND SHADOW
Does the light seem to be natural or artificial? Harsh or soft? What direction is the light coming from? Describe the shadows. Are they subtle or do they create strong contrasts? Did the photographer use a lighting pattern?
The light seems to be artificial and it is harsh. The direction of the lighting seems to be coming from the side. The shadows are really dark and create strong contrasts. The photographer most likely used side lighting.
Based on what you have seen, what do you think the work is about? What does it mean or communicate? How do you know? What words would you use to describe it?
Based on what I have seen, the work is about a family struggling with poverty. It shows a mother who looks defeated with her children around her who are most likely oblivious to what is happening with the exception of her two children holding her shoulders. This photograph is about the struggles African Americans endure in the United States with poverty specifically. I know because the name of the photograph is The Fontenelles at the Poverty Board. The words I would use to describe this work are sad and emotional.
Based on what you answered in the above sections, what are 4 items from the above sections that you would like to emulate in your own Photography? Why?
I would like to emulate Gordon Parks' use of value, line, texture, and lighting. The reason I would like to emulate each of these elements is because I believe they will come together well to make a great photograph.