Period 5 -- Critical Analysis #1

9/20/2019

Today you will be writing about this photograph by artist Joel Sternfeld. Your analysis must be 4 paragraphs, 5 sentences minimum per paragraph. Remember to post your analysis as a comment to the blog post that corresponds to your class. If you post your analysis to the wrong class post, it will not be graded.

If you do not finish your analysis in class, you must finish and post your analysis before class on Monday, 9/23/19.

Refer to your "How to See" handout for analyzing a photograph--

Describe specifics.
Describe form.
Describe the content.
Evaluate the image

Your analyses will be graded on:

meeting minimum length requirements
depth of organization
evaluation of the content
grammar/punctuation

6 Comments

Ali Welsh

9/20/2019 01:29:53 pm

This picture is like on a bridge or on top of something that almost all the people in this picture are looking down on the edge. There is also a baby crying on a see-through crib with blankets in the middle of the street. The colors that are being used are yellow, white, blue, orangish-reddish-brown, gray, cream, and black. The artist chooses one dominant color that becomes the focal point of the image and draws the eye of the viewer to it immediately. The greater the intensity of the color, the more it’s going to dominate, otherwise, a secondary subject could overshadow it because it has a dominating color.

It's pleasing to look at since it is calm and not hard to focus. The photographer took this picture from an eye angle. The focal point is the three people that are closer to the baby. Since the depth of the field is wide it would be a big number. The line is on the right side and it directs us to the center then to the right then to the left going around and then you finish. The image cropped off a person and it doesn't fill up most of the space since there is a gap in the middle right.

The theme of this picture is not everything you see is true and irony. It is ironic since the baby is crying in the crib that’s on the street and instead of calming down the baby everyone is giving their back to the baby to look at what is dow from the edge. There is probably a story behind this image but I don’t know it. This picture reminds me of a UFO setting or movie due to the background colors, how there are few people and all looking down instead of paying attention to the baby. It questioned my belief that this baby may be left abandoned on the streets while the people are trying to ignore her so they won’t need to take on the responsibility.

I like this picture since it looks mysterious and like a UFO. In my opinion, the photographer was successful because since the photo that he presents is clear to make a story, he has humor, an ironic twist. This picture also just shows a photo that doesn’t have a setup or was in the studio so it shows some of the countryside. The way the photographer took the picture make it interesting for me and engaging. By the looks and color, when I first saw the picture I came quickly to a negative conclusion about the baby in the crib that's in the middle of the street crying alone, instead of their parents calming her down and by the color of the clouds it looks like it's going to rain.

Andy Cubriel

9/22/2019 07:34:37 am

This photo depicts a large wall that looks like a dam, with many people in front of it. There is a baby crib in front of the edge of the wall, and if you look closely, you notice what looks like a command building, and two towers that lead down the wall. The children are wearing shorts that are reminiscent of 80’s basketball shorts, and you can see a man that looks like he is wearing a beret. In the background over the wall, you can see what looks like canyons. The colors that are mainly being used in this photo are gray, orange, and yellow. The overall color scheme is dark. The lighting is natural, and it is overcast because the clouds are covering up the sun just enough to still get a good exposure.

This image is pleasing to look at because it makes you remember the 80’s when you see the colorful eighties style clothes. The photographer took this photo from an eye level point of view. The lines in this photo are the sidewalk, the wall, and the towers.They direct your focus away from the baby in the crib, and toward the family on the sidewalk. There is a tiny bit of extra space in the left-hand bottom corner.

The main theme I notice in this photo is the 80’s, with everyone being dressed in clothes from that era. The photo also has an ‘older’ tint which is emphasized with the dark colors in the photo. Another them I noticed was being out of place, because the baby in the crib is very out of place, but so is this big man-made object in the middle of these canyons. The story seems to be that the family put their baby in a crib, and just ignore it for a little while and stare out into the dam. The reality is that this photo is part of a collection of photos by a man named Joel Sternfeld. The photos are part of his collection American Prospects, and he wanted to capture the real America by driving around the country.

I like this particular image a lot. It gives you a sense of nostalgia when you see that the people in the photo are wearing 80’s themed clothing. I also like this photo a lot because it is almost comical with the baby in the crib. I believe that this photo is successful because the image quality is good. The exposure quality is good as well, and it gives you the sense that everyone is just there, undisturbed.

Gabby Beck

9/22/2019 02:36:42 pm

The image shows many people looking over into a deep pit of some sort surrounded by many buildings. The sky is overcast and looks about to rain. In the background, there seem to be canyons and more people looking down at another pit. On the side of the road is a baby in a play crate. The main colors are neutral like gray and others like orange and beige. The lighting is natural but darker due to the cloud cover. There are some buildings around the ditches that look like they belong to a research facility. It's about to rain, but the people are looking down into the holes, mesmerized.

I like the image because it has a lot of intriguing details going on such as the baby left alone in the street, the rain in the background, the two “interesting” ditches, and the canyons. The photo was taken at eye level and has a deep depth of field. The road to the left of the picture lets your eyes travel on it, leading you through the picture. It is not that balanced because there are people and buildings scattered about, but the background is pretty even. There is really no empty space because the buildings, people, canyons, and rainy sky fill it up. The ditch is mostly cut off along with the road and the canyon.

The image was most likely taken in the 1980’s because of the clothes and hair styles people are wearing. It was probably taken in a more dry place like Arizona because of the canyons in the background. Joel Sternfeld took this to add to his collection of American photos that show a more authentic America. The photograph reminds me of going to a zoo, where you are always looking into the cages to get a better look at the animals. I find it interesting that people would go out there with no cover from the rain to look at whatever is in those ditches and abandon their baby in a play crate on the side of the road.

I like how the colors in the canyon stand out against the cloudy sky. I admire the way the photographer got the whole picture in focus to show that everything was important. I also take to the fact that the image makes you wonder what’s in the ditch. The image is successful to me because it has good exposure of light and has a deep depth that allows you to see a lot. It is able to take a normal landscape and makes us want to dive deeper into understanding the photo.

Suly Welsh

9/22/2019 08:33:34 pm

BLOG | Photograph by Joel Sternfeld, from 'American Prospects'.

This critical analysis was about a photograph published by the artist Joel Sternfeld which we wrote our practice analysis with (the burning house with a farmer's market). This image shows a bunch of people observing some kind of attraction, looking down from a concrete bridge-like wall. It's like a zoo. Whenever an animal is in an area that is covered by a concrete wall and then the spectators can observe them from above looking down. Warm colors seem to be the most prominent in the image, but there is still a bright grayish sky covering a little less than half the image. We aren't able to see the sun directly, but this picture does take place outside so the brightness lights up the whole frame. There is still a gloomish feel to it because of the gray sky, and it contrasts the brighter (bottom) half of the image. The image shows a concrete structure that looks like it's used as a barrier. There is a big group of people gathered on the farther side of the barrier. There are a few kids on their tippy-toes trying to look down the barrier, and then there's this family of three looking intently. There is a baby in a baby crib with a baby inside on the side of the road next to the concrete barrier.
The picture is pleasing to look at because it isn't tilted and it isn't at an angle. The image seems to be taken from eye level and has the objects centered and straight forward as if this is what you would see if you were standing there. It follows the rule of thirds because it has the main object on the bottom left box of thirds. Since it follows this rule, our eyes will spot the main focus (which is the baby in this case) with more ease. The depth of field isn't very high in this image because we can make out the shapes and figures in the background and it's not as blurry. The sidewalk and the street are noticeably defined by the yellow line that is painted on the step to get on the sidewalk. It starts on the bottom left corner which then leads us right to the baby in its crib. Across from the baby are the parents and the other child, which then leads us to the other watchers. We follow this concrete barrier to the back of the image like a semi-circle, and we see the concrete structures in the back and the orange terrain as the backdrop. The sky is the better half of the picture, which only means more extra space. The image crops of the rest of the concrete barrier and the body of a person at the right part of the image.
The themes in this image are very much like the one we analyzed for our practice blog. It depicts candid moments in America. Mostly ironic, and causing some sort of controversy from the first glance. In this image, there is a family idly staring down a concrete barrier, and in the back is a baby in the crib on the street. The artist is trying to freak the spectator out. WHO IN THE HECK LEAVES A BABY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET UNATTENDED? Plus, the baby is inside the crib, so did someone deliberately place the baby there? We don't know if the family across is the baby's family or if cars are passing by that street, but just the fact that this baby is just sitting there with no supervision is so ironic. Usually, mothers are always with their new-borns, and to have this little one in the middle of the street is defying some socially accepted motherly customs from the USA. I think this image is as interesting as the one before because I wouldn't normally be thinking about a baby left alone on the street like that.
I enjoyed getting to analyze this image. What I take away from this image is this feeling of hopelessness. We see an uncomfortable look on the baby's face as he slumps in the crib with nobody around. If the crib was placed anywhere other than the street, I doubt that the same sense of distraught would be evoked. It is this very notion is what magnifies this feeling of helplessness. There are so many people around, but all of them are too entertained by whatever the view is from the barrier that they don't even tend to the baby. Maybe this is hinting at all of the abandoned babies who are left on the streets or put up for adoption. Maybe it has to do with feeling like an outsider. Not having parental support or attention, and not having the support or attention of the people around you.

Kate McDaniel

9/23/2019 11:29:49 am

In this image, there is a dam in the foreground and red cliffs in the background. I also see a baby in a travel crib, but the baby is also crying. I see that the sky is gray, the cliffs are a reddish orangish color, and all the colors aren’t very bright. All of the colors are pretty dull. The lighting a mix between light and dark. It could of been brighter, but because of the clouds, its not. Also, I think the photographer captured a real life shot, so it doesn’t look staged.

The photographer took the photo at eye level. It looks like he didn’t zoom in or out. My eyes first see the crying baby in the travel crib, then the lady in the white dress stands out to me. Next, my eyes travel down the railing, to the cliffs, and left out of the frame. I also see a road in the middle of the cliffs. The space fills the frame. The only thing that doesn’t fill the frame is the sky.

One theme that could be found in this photo is lifestyle. This theme could be present because the picture doesn’t look staged. It looks like the photographer only staged one part of the picture, which is the baby in the crib. I think he staged this part because it looks so unnatural. I think this image is both natural and unnatural because it looks like the photographer took a photo that wasn’t staged, but it also looks like it was staged because of the baby in the portable crib.

I think this photo is cool because of the scene. The scene looks natural and unstaged. However, it’s also cool because of the unnatural baby in a portable crib in the center of the walkway. I think this photo is successful because I think that the artist did a good job. He did a good job because he made me question myself what was going on in this photo. Thank you.

colin finerghty

9/25/2019 09:15:41 am

When I first look at the image the first thing my eye is drawn to is the massive dam that groups of pedestrians are looking at, they stare down at the dam, children stand on their tippy-toes to get a view of below. The second thing that my eye is drawn to is the baby in the crib on the side of the street, the baby has toys and a blanket in the crib, most likely the family close to the cribs is the baby's family. There are more families surrounding around the dam, there are younger children that are laying on the side wall that protects people from falling, they are looking down and they look curious. behind the dam there are red rock cliffs, they add a very good fling of color because the dam is kinda bland color so the vibrant rocks in the background add a good fling of color, the lighting in the picture is kinda darker.

I like this image a lot, there is not really anything standing out but there is a story behind it, a family maybe on a vacation is looking at a dam, it is a big family with younger children and also a baby. This is a really cool image.

Period 5 -- Critical Analysis #1

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