Period 6 -- Critical Analysis #7

11/3/2017

Today you will be writing about this photograph by artist Bryan Schutmaat. This image is from his series called Grays The Mountain Sends, a series of portraits, still life, and landscapes Schutmaat made of mining towns in the contemporary American West and the people who inhabit them.

Your analysis must be 5 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's post, it will not be graded.

If you do not complete your analysis in class, you must finish it for homework before your next class on MONDAY, 11/6/17.

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

Claire Williams

11/3/2017 12:27:09 pm

This image is of a man sitting down and looking at the camera. He is sitting in a backyard with a fire pit, people, and lots of stuff/trash behind him. The main colors being used are green, white, and grey, and brown. The background is a little underexposed but not a lot. I looks like it is around 5 PM and everyone is hanging out outside. The man’s shirt is dirty and he looks like he has had a long day.

The rule of thirds is not being used; the man is centered. It seems like the photographer was standing up. However, there’s not really a height difference between him and the man because the wooden stump that the subject is sitting on is fairly tall. A shallow depth of field is being used because of how everything else around the main subject is blurred. You can still kind of tell what everything is, but the main focus is on the man. There aren’t really any lines that direct my eyes anywhere except for maybe the corner of the house’s roof.

I think the main theme in this exposure is tiredness. It seems to me that this is probably a big family that doesn’t have a lot of money staying there. There is a little kid who appears to be pushing something, which might be a toy, around the yard behind the subject. The man looks like he’s been working all day; as he looks tired and dirty. The yard behind also just looks very trashed and full. There are many toys and filled buckets and cans behind him.

I like this photograph, because it allows me to infer about what is going on. I enjoy the fact that the photographer decided to use a shallow depth of field, and I can still see the background fairly well. The time of day and way that this exposure was composed really shows in the photo that I am seeing. I think that the photographer chose a good time of day to shoot this because it is not too bright outside, and maybe the things going on behind the main subject might not have been happening if this were to take place earlier in the day.

I think that this photograph was made somewhere in a rural town. I know that the photographer, Bryan Schutmaat, was doing a project on mining towns in the contemporary American West. To me, this looks like a whole family moved out west for work and this man is one of the few in the family going out to the mines every day. The background of the image shows the poverty that many people go through. But, it also shows that this family is getting through it.

boyd meltzer link

11/3/2017 12:29:53 pm

This image depicts a man situated atop a loglike structure. The time of day appears to be relatively close to the evening. This man appears to be worn out and overworked, and his clothing is battered and worn. The image is shot with a shallow depth of field, but it is clear to see that in the background things are strewn about carelessly. A large fire burns at the right side of the image. Only a slim number of people are featured in the image, one of which is a small child. They seem to be doing some kind of work, perhaps to clean up the immense mess. This man simply appears as if he requires a break from his countless hours of work.

The image is not pleasing to look at, in my opinion, but I think that was one of the objectives of the artist. I think that he wanted to bring light to these types of situations: people are overworked and poor and their surrounding environment is dilapidated. It is not pleasing to look at because of the messy background and the demeanor of the subject. I feel sorry for the subject because of what I know he’s been through. The rule of thirds is not being used due to the fact that the subject is in the very center of the image. The photographer captured the photograph level to the subject’s head.

The depth of field in this image is quite shallow. The subject is the only thing in focus. The focal point is clearly the subject: the man. There are no definite and visible lines, because the background is very chaotic and messy. The foreground of the image is organized, but the background of the image is not. The subject does not fully fill the frame, as there is a lot of room in the background of the image for additional items. The edge of the image crops off half of the fire pit.

A prominent theme in this image is that people are heavily overworked in mining towns and need a break every now and then. The story I think is being told in this image is that of the subject’s life. He has lived and worked tirelessly in these conditions since he was born. The artist made this image to bring light to that concept. This image does not remind me of anything due to the fact that I am lucky enough not to be worked hard my entire life.

This question challenges stereotypical beliefs. Many people believe that situations like this do not even exist. They’re narrow minded about the subject. The image is interesting due to that fact. I enjoy this images because it attempts to challenge those beliefs and bring these kinds of situations to light. This photograph would be successful only if many people were able to view it.

Elizabeth Wray

11/3/2017 12:35:16 pm

This image is focused on a man probably in his early 30’s. He doesn’t seem to be in a wealthy place as the image is shot because his clothes and the surroundings around him are dirty. His head is shaved, but he has blonde hair. He has some sort of tattoo on his left inner forearm, though i can't see what it is. There are children in the background of the image playing outside. There also seems to be a fire towards the right of the image. I am not sure what it's for since this is all occurring during the day.

Bryan Schutmaat used a shallow depth of field when taking the image because only the man in the center is focused. The man does not fill the frame and the areas around the man are blurred. The series that Schutmaat is photographing is called “Grays The Mountains Sends”. It is about all the miners that are mining and the work the put into the mining process. The images tell us just how hard these men are working to get gold or other metals.

The point of view in this image is third person. The photographer is straight ahead facing the subject. The image is very focused, where it should be. Around the edges of the image are multiple objects. On the left side, there is a worn down house, probably where the children live. On the right, as i already explained, is a fire, not sure why because it is day time. Maybe it is cold in this area because it is up in the mountains.

In this particular image, the man does not look happy. He seems tired, and sad, probably from doing so much work all the time. He is sitting on some sort of log stump that is by the fire. The log stump is one of many log stumps that all fit in a circle around the fire. The image is interesting to be because it has a back story. I like images that have sentimental back stories.

I like this image for many reasons. I like images with shallow depth of fields because the blurry effect is soothing to me. I like how the photographer can get the perfect focus on just the right spot. I think all of his images are very well done, especially in this series. The photographer was definitely successful in this image.

Jordan Bell

11/3/2017 02:03:53 pm

This photograph by Bryan Schutmaat is a picture of a middle aged man sitting in front of a house and what appears to me a fire pit. The view can also make out the figure of a little boy and possibly another adult in black behind the child. This image mostly has natural colors such as greens, browns, and tans. The lighting used in this photo is natural either dusk, dawn, or a cloudy day. Many of the objects in this image, because they are blurry, appear to be junk or trash. To the subjects left you can see a little boy playing in front of a house and to the subjects right you can see a fire pit with smoke billowing from it. This image seems to be an everyday routine or set up.

The image is pleasing to look at because the subject is in focus and the rest of the image is not. The rule of thirds is not being used in this image because the subject is in the center of the image. Schutmaat took this photo from an eye level point of view with a very shallow depth of field. The focal point of this image is the subject who is in the center of it and the image is not being framed by anything. There are no prominent lines directing the viewer's attention to anything in particular. The subject does not fill the frame and the extra space is filled up by other blurry objects. At the edge of the image there is a house and a campfire that were cropped off.

A theme that is being conveyed in this image is the day-to-day life style of worker. This photo, I think, captures a moment of rest for the worker after a long day of work. The artist made this image to convey what the hard working people living in mining towns feel and what working in the mines does to you and your body. This image kind of reminds me of somebody from district 12 in the Hunger Games. This image is beautiful because of the composition of the depth of field.

I really like this image because of the composition of the image. First, The depth of field is very mesmerizing. The blurred objects in the background give a nice soft effect and really draws the viewer’s attention to the subject. The second reason why I like this image is because of the the colors it utilizes. The subjects green shirt and brown pants match the background of the image. The top half of image is green with trees and grass and on the top half of the subject he is wearing a green shirt. The bottom half of the image is brown with dirt and on the bottom half of the subject he is wearing brown pants.

This blend of colors and depth of field allows the subject of the image pop out but at the same time blend in. This photograph is very successful because of the composition of the image combined with the background and the subject’s facial expression allows the view to see into the life of one of the hard working people in a mining city. The objects in the background, though blurred out, seem rusted and left to the elements. By the state of the man’s clothes and his expression the viewer can see that he is tired and worn out which is one of the things the artist was trying to convey in this photo.

Annie Mosis

11/3/2017 06:50:17 pm

In this image There is a man sitting on what looks to be a log. The man has dark grey pants and is wearing an old worn collared shirt. The man has a tattoo on his right arm. His man looks tough. He has a light beard and has a buzz cut. The light portrays the image clearly and is a good diffused lighting. Though the background is blurred there is a bunch of trash and a few kids or people in the background. The man is looking straight into the camera.

I think this image is pleasing to look at because to me this image makes you want to know the story behind this man. This image is not using the rule of thirds because the man is in the center of the picture. The photographer is taking the picture from someone's else's point of view of this man, as if he's looking at him. In this image the artist is using a shallow depth of field because the background is blurred. The focal point of this picture is the man in the center. Their is no need for leading lines in this photo because their is a shallow depth of field. In this image the artist crops his legs out of this image.

I think the idea of this image was to show the rugged people in rugged places. I think this man is a lumberjack worker. I think this image is to show how blue collar working class people live and sustain day to day. Also to see the impact of hard work may look. I think this image is interesting and noteworthy. I think this image tells a unique story of this man.

I enjoy this image and its content. I like the lighting and the dark shadows in this image. I think this image is successful in its message and in its content. I think this picture is unique and interesting. This image makes you wonder what this man does in his life.

I admire the artist's intentions on his work as well as the actual photo. I like how the artist captured the real feeling and hard times these people like this man. I also enjoy the lighting and use of space the artist uses. In this picture I also enjoy the shadows and the use of the deep depth of field. Overall I enjoy this image and its composition.

Brandon Collins

11/4/2017 11:56:46 am

The image is of a man with a background of a low income town, that seems to have been through some kind of disaster. The photographer is using very neutral colors to set the mood to make people feel sympathetic. The photographer is using outside light the day is probably cloudy. The main part of the image is of a man with a tattoo on his arm, in a low income town, trash on the ground, a child dragging a broken vacuum cleaner, and a low lit fire with smoke.
It is not that pleasing to look at because so much is happening in the background but its all not in focus. The rule of thirds is being used because he is in the middle of the frame. The point of view is a third person facing straight at the man. A shallow depth of field is being used. I do not know where the lines are but my eyes go directly to the man because he is in focus.The subject does not fill the frame, he is in the center with a background that is filled with other things. There is no negative space because there is little to no empty space.
I feel like the theme of this image is you can’t assume everything is fine every where in the world. I feel like the people in this town were cast out treated like outcasts, so they had to live on their own in a low income town that had something devastating happen to it and the image is of the aftermath.The image gives me a post apocalyptic feel to it.
The image is interesting but i don't like how there's so much happening in the background and its all blurry. If the background was more clear then i would like this image.I feel like this image is unsuccessful because of the background.

Matthew Weiss

11/5/2017 04:53:57 am

The photo is by a portrait by Bryan Schutmaat from a series that he created called Grays the Mountain Sends. The portrait is of a man sitting on a post. In the background, there is a young child outside of an old, worn down home, and on the other side of him there is a fire going on the other side of him. The man’s clothes seem very worn down, as his shirt is wrinkled and looks as if it were crumpled up, and it is covered in dirt. In the background, buckets and random items are strewn throughout the image. The sky isn’t visible however, due to the lighting, it seems to be very cloudy, grey, and dull outside.

The man is in the very center of the image, and it is taken with an extremely shallow depth of field, so that everything outside of the man is blurred out. The man doesn’t take up the whole photo, but rather only the center of the image. There is obvious positive space, in the man, and negative outside. In that negative space, everything seems sort of worn down. The man’s house looks old, and the yard is messy. In combination with the man’s clothes, the details in the background set the tone for the worn down area that the man lives in.

The series that this image was from, was partly made to show how a rough industry like mining wears down the people around it. What this photo does, is it shows how mining wears down the town, and the community as a whole. This is shown by his environment. Firstly, the lighting seems almost muggy outside. In addition to that, the man’s clothes are also worn down. In addition to both of those things, the man’s house is very old and worn down and his yard is messy and unkept.

I like the image because of how well it carries the message of what a rough industry like mining does to a community. The series as a whole show how it affects individuals. This image however, is a portrait that takes into account the man’s surroundings. It Illustrates what happens to the communities that are formed near mines. It shows not only the man, but everything around him being sort of eroded.

However, this image is not just about being worn down in my eyes. It displays people who are getting through it, and people who have gotten through it in the past. It is about the people who persevere through their struggles. By showing the child, and the house in the background, the image is at least partly about managing through the struggles that they face. It is about how those struggles are overcome, and how the man has supported his family, and put a roof over their heads.

Kylie Bruehler

11/5/2017 11:26:12 am

This is image is a portrait done by an artist named Bryan Schutmaat. This image uses a shallow depth of field to almost completely blur the background and focus on the object of the image. The object of the image is a man who appears to be quite young. He looks like he has been working because of his dirty shirt and clothing. He is sitting on something that looks like a tree stump and might be taking a break from working. Through the expression on the man’s face and his stance, his story is well told and this makes this image very successful as a portrait. The man looks rough from his work, but as the image focuses on him, there is an innocence and a purity to how he looks in the face.

This photograph has a great use of light, as it uses the light from a cloudy day with light shining through. The image is completely focused on the man and blurs out the background behind the man almost completely. There is still motion in the background of the image but the main focus of this image is the man. Though the background of the image is out of focus, the subjects in the back can still be easily identified. I notice over in the far left corner is a house or a building that looks a bit worn down. This might be where the man lives and was purposely included in the image to show his condition of life. There is also a small boy in the edge of the frame that might belong to the man. The image uses both background and focus to describe the man who is the object of the image.

The photographer might have faced a challenge when getting the approval of this stranger to have his picture taken. The man in the image is focused towards the camera and has a straight face. The photographer might have directed the man to sit where he is sitting so that the man could be in a good position of focus. The man looks like he did not change anything about his appearance before this image was shot. The photographer might have wanted to include the man’s current state to show who he is as a person and how he lives his life. The man is also sitting relaxed with his hands crossed and looks completely harmless despite what someone might think at first glance.

It would be hard to get the subject of this image to be completely in focus because of all of the things in the background, but the photographer perfectly focused the subject, I assume by using a longer exposure and a/or shallow depth of field. This image is very successful for many reasons. The overall composition of the image is alone very successful. The light is used nicely and illuminates the entire image. The focus of the man also contributes to the success of the image. Not only is the composition of the image very well, but the main point of a portrait is to tell a story about the person being photographed and this image does that very successfully.

I personally really like this image because though the man who is being photographed looks very rough because of the environment around him and his appearance, his stance and the soft look in his face lets his true humility shine through. I believe that that a portrait (especially of a stranger) is truly successful when their true beauty and personality is shown. This image does this very nicely. There is a lot to be learned about this man just by looking at this image. When a story is successfully told through an image, that is when an image is successful.

Payton Down

11/5/2017 06:56:43 pm

The image contains a man sitting down in a campsite or a small place for people to live. The colors are dull not very vibrant. The lighting is natural, sunlight probably taken in the morning or later in the day. The objects include a man showing his face and then many more people behind him. Nothing is really happening in the photo he seems pretty relaxed and worn out, maybe a hard work day. He might be at a get together with some people because there is a fire going into the back with kids in the background.

It is an interesting photo to look at but it might not be pleasing. It makes you think though. The rule of thirds is not being used he is in the center of the photo. It looks serious and maybe even upset. He doesn't look too happy. The photographer took the photo at a normal level. Not from down low or up high. The focal point is the man sitting on the tree stump. It is shallow depth of field that is being used because everyone is blurred out except for the man. The shallow depth of field looks really nice with portraits. The image is framed by the landscape that's behind the man. The image is very balanced and the lines draw your eyes to the face of the man. The image is very symmetrical. The subject does not fill the frame because on the edges is the fire and campsite area. The fire and a house get cut off from the image.

The theme or maybe idea of the photo is that he is a man who works really hard and just got his break. Some of the ideas are sadness and maybe serious thoughts. There could be, the photographer is making a statement of the man. He is depicting the loneliness one might have. The artist might of had some type of message they wanted to express with the world. This image doesnt remind me of anything i've experienced. It socially can be telling a story through the man's eyes and how he sees the world. The image is very interesting and makes you think. The person looking at the image wants to know what this man is thinking and if he is upset or not and why might he be sad. It makes the person looking think.

I do like it, i think it makes people think and maybe even feel bad for this man who looks sad but has no idea what really is going on. The photo is successful because it's a great photo that expresses this man's thought. It has nice dull colors to go along with the vibe and can send the person looking at the photo to be happier maybe. It has a great sense of what his world looks like. His shirt looks a bit dirty so maybe this is his normal day and can help the person looking at the photo realize that there are more people who have different living conditions that they do. I do like the photo it makes me think.

The photo uses great shallow depth of field to really enhance the man's facial features. The colors go nicely together and can come across as outsiders like and rugged. The mans emotions can tell its own story but all people who look at this photo and depict different emotions and thoughts. This image is a great photo and the depiction is up to every single person that looks at the photo which is super cool.

Lucas Prado

11/6/2017 10:57:55 am

This image is a portrait of a man in living in a mining town in rural America. The man is wearing a green, collared shirt with some dirt on it and some dark brown jeans. He has a buzz cut of light brown hair, with a full beard and a mustache. On his right arm, he has a tattoo of a shield and a crown with centered words in cursive going down the middle of the shield.

The rest of the image is outside, with a house in a clearing in the woods. The sky is overcast, and it looks fairly humid. The house is fairly worn down, with a red tiled roof and some worn wooden walls painted white. There is a kid in the back in front of the house, with a green dress; the other features are too blurry to make out. There is some fire smoking behind the man in focus, with some spare wood even farther off. In front of the house, there is a pile of trash going horizontally across the photo.

This image has a notably shallow depth of field, probably because it’s a portrait of the man. Also because of this, the main focus is the man, with him in the center of the image. There is still a significant amount of extra space, even though it’s blurred. There’s also the trash in the background acting as lines towards the man. The image is fairly asymmetrical, with the house on one side and some empty woods on the other side. The main edges of the image is the tall pine trees in the background.

The main theme behind the image is the stories of people living in rural America. This could also be about the struggles of the people in rural America, or even the underlying theme of poverty. The artist probably made this to show the lives of people growing up in these conditions, and the hardships that they may endure. It does question a bit of how we tend to see people who live in rural America. In this day and age, this is more important than ever before.

Overall, I do like this image. It is successful in showing how other people live in different conditions, even though they share a country with us. It is also successful in showing the effects of poverty and what kind of people it affects. This photo is what most people who think certain generalizations about rural America need to see. It is important to see how other people live, so that we don’t become narrow-minded.

Natalia Orquin

11/6/2017 12:34:41 pm

Specifics:
This man's facial expression looks sad and melancholic. He is wearing a dirty green shirt. He has a tattoo on his forearm of some type of shield. He is located in a mining town, which explains the black coal on his shirt. Surrounding the man is trash everywhere on the floor, in a trash bag, and in small piles. There’s a fire with smoke, which could be being used to boil food. On the left side of the image lies a untreated abandoned looking portable home. Next to the building we can see a small boy in a big t-shirt blue with no pants and some flipflops. The smoke of the fire adds a light contrast with the green trees in the background.

Form:
The image is very pleasing to look at. The man is centered in the middle of the image on a tree stump. The photographer is looking straight at the subject. The image was shot in a shallow depth of field. The focal point of the image is the man sitting on the tree stump. The things in the background guide the eye to look to the man because since there is so much going on around him and he is closer up and in focus that I leads you to look at him. The image is symmetrical since he is centered in the image. The subject does not fill the whole frame, but is surrounded by things that lead to the focal point. The Image is framed by the background, but there is no actually thing framing the image. The lines of the house, the smoke give the image focal points.
Content:
The photographers theme of this image was to capture the poor people of mine cities. The story of the image is seen throughout the whole image. With the coal on the man’s shirt to the trash laying around to the first boiling food shows that these people are living in poor conditions but are working tirelessly to make it. This artist created this series The Mountain Sends to try and portrait the landscapes, still lifes, and portraits of people in mining towns to tell their stories. The image is breathtaking because it is so personal and tells someone’s story.
This image reminds me of when i visit Mexico CIty and you see so much poverty in the country. People working hard everyday to make living. You can see children on the streets selling gum and random little things or begging for food because they are hungry. Trashes all over the streets because the certain parts of the city are so poor that they don’t have someone to pick up the trash. This touches my heart and reminds me of the heartbreak that people endure working
Evaluate:
I loved this image because it has so much depth and perception within the image. You can see his story through his eyes. You can see his under eye circles, his dirty shirt, and the messy background all show his life. It shows how difficult his life must be and how much he must have to work for. The photograph was successful in sharing his story.

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