Period 7 -- Practice Critical Analysis

9/25/2020

McLean, Virginia, December 1978 © Joel Sternfeld

Every other week in class, you will complete a written analysis on a work of photographic art. An image will be published bi-weekly on our class blog. We will discuss the work together. Then you will spend time studying the image and write a detailed analysis of the photograph. You will publish your analysis as a comment to the blog post; this comment should show your name and time posted. your analysis must be posted to the original blog post in order to be graded.

All analyses must be 4 paragraphs minimum, 5 sentences minimum per paragraph unless otherwise noted.

Students will write 7 critical analyses per semester, and the lowest grade per semester will be dropped.

On the class blog, if you look to the right you will see the word Analyze. There is a link to a handout you may download or print called your "How to See" handout. This will help you learn to write about art. 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

11 Comments

Carter Herrera link

9/25/2020 01:27:03 pm

The picture is of a farmers market that sells pumpkins with a house on fire in the background. The pumpkins are smashes toward the front of the picture. It seems to be winter time because the trees have no leaves on them and pumpkins are around winter/fall. The farmers market shack also looks like it is falling apart.

The picture has a deep depth of field because everything is in focus, from the pumpkins to the fire truck. The lines in the picture are the trees and the t-post fence facing towards the farmers market. The subject does not fill the page. The POV of the photographer is facing toward all of the action.

The picture makes me remember a pumpkin patch we had at our old school. That makes me happy because I had a lot of fun times there. I do not like the vibe gives because it gives off a gloomy and cold vibe to me. Also the fire does nat make me happy.

Overall I like the picture because it has a lot of different things going on which I think is cool. It makes me think a lot of things when I see this. It also makes me want to ask questions about it as well. The artist was successful in my opinion.

Carson Moore

9/25/2020 01:28:52 pm

This photo uses a lot of specifics. You see two buildings, with pumpkins surrounding one building, firefighters surrounding the other building. A house is on fire in the background with firefighters racing to help, then the lone firefighter looking to take home some pumpkins for the family. Pumpkins are smashed in the front of the image, and trees have lost their leaves. The image is a disaster, yet there is a sense of peace behind the disaster seen in the firefighter looking for good pumpkins.
The image at first glance is pleasant to look at, but you build on what you see and it seems like I keep adding to the list. The image provides us with a very deep depth of field, with everyone and everything in focus in the image. The image is taken from a view like you are on the street, passing by possibly, and this is what you see. Two buildings seem to be the focus, and they are not completely in frame. The lines in the image are seen in fence posts and trees that direct us to the market and house on fire. The image has no symmetry, with everything in the image bringing newness to your mind.
When looking at the photo at first, I immediately thought of the cold winter, buying hot chocolate from the street and sitting by a warm fire. Odd right? This emotion just seems to appear with the warmth of the fire, leaves off of trees, and grass dead as can be. I get a sense of the cold winter with this image. The artist’s intent with this image is to show how you can form a story with things that you see, and every story is unique in a way. To describe the image in one word, I would describe it as confusing. Maybe the man getting pumpkins salvaged a sacred pumpkin for the house, or he is on duty to get pumpkins for kids. It enables our minds to ask many open ended questions that we can only think we have the answer to.
The image overall would receive a 8/10 on the Carson Scale. It shows me very interesting things that I really have to think about, but just the content of the photo is not preferred by me. The photograph is a total success, do not get me wrong, as they really make you think about everything you are really looking at. I hate the fact that I am asking so many questions, but at the same time I am in love with the idea.

Rainey Davis

9/25/2020 01:31:58 pm

One of the first things I see in this image is a huge house on fire. In Front of the fire there is a farmers market selling pumpkins and apple cider. The colors that are shown seem to be cool toned, but the pumpkins and the fire both have a very warm orange tone to them, which make them stand out more in this picture. There are many dead pumpkins in the picture and the famers market does not seem to be in the greatest shape. I can also tell that it is the end of fall/start of winter judging how the trees no longer have leaves and most of the pumpkins are decaying. There is also a firefighter buying a pumpkin which is very peculiar because there is a big fire going on in the back and he does not seem to be too concerned about it.
The depth of field in this image seems to be very big. I say this because nothing in the image is very blurry and everything is in focus. Some of the lines in this image are coming from the various trees in the background and also the firefighter ladder that is going on to the roof. The image also has two different subjects instead of one focal point. I think that this all depends on what catches you eye first, weather that being the fire or the farmers market.
We have not been told anything about this image yet/we have not been given a backstory of it so it is kind of hard to decipher what is going on. One message that I was able to come up with is that maybe this image shows how oblivious people can be to things going on around them. I came up with this answer because there is just a firefighter picking pumpkins when he should be helping with the big fire in the back. One memory that this brings up is when I used to go to a pumpkin patch every year with my family and this picture kind of takes me back because it would be around the same time of season and the places that we went would always sell apple cider. I do find this image interesting because there is so much going on and there is so much you could focus on.
I actually really like this image, it's kind of soothing. I know that sounds really weird and I don't mean that I find the house being on fire soothing, rather the pumpkin patch and the weather. Fall/winter have always been my favorite seasons and the pumpkins just take me back to when I used to go to corn mazes and pumpkin patches with my family. I also really like the cold and you can tell by the dead trees and the fireman wearing a heavy coat that it is probably quite cold where they are. Overall I think that this image is very interesting.

Niya Omiridis

9/25/2020 01:33:52 pm

The image shows a firefighter at a Farmer’s Market buying a pumpkin. In the background, you can also see a house burning. The main colors in the photo are orange, grey, brown, and yellow. The two main yellow objects that caught my attention were the firefighter and the sign for the Farmer’s Market. The image is perfectly exposed it isn’t too dark or too light. I would call the lighting pure because it is sunlight. One of the other focuses of the photo is the trees, especially the one behind the market. You can also see tons of smashed pumpkins on the ground.

I think this photo is not overly pleasing to look at. But I do think it’s interesting to look at. When you look at the photo for the first time you can see a few things like the fire or the trees but the more you look at it the more you see. The second time I looked at it, I noticed the firefighter and the truck. The photographer is using a very deep depth of field. You can tell this because all of the photo is in focus, not just one subject. In a sense, the photo is framed by the trees and the fencing in the foreground. The main focal point that I noticed is the house burning and the Market everything else seems to fall in place around it. I would not call the photo balanced because it is not symmetrical. The market is on one side and towards the front of the picture while the house is more towards the background. The lines in the photo are the trees and the fence in the front. The fence makes my eyes go towards the market and then I look at the trees and work my way over to the house.

The themes in this image are very strange. The theme to me is Irony. I find it ironic that the firefighter is getting a pumpkin while the house is burning. I feel like a story that could be going on is that the firefighter realized that the fire isn’t going to calm down. He decided to take a break and buy himself a pumpkin. I think the artist made the image because they wanted to show the irony of life and also how something can look a certain way and not be true. I do find the image interesting and it reminds me of the movie Halloween Town. The house and the pumpkins remind me of the movie.

I do like the image. I like it because it is kind of spooky. I think that the fire and the chaoticness make it very interesting as well. I think the image was very successful and caught the vibe of craziness. As well as the viewer’s attention. It really makes us think.

Emily Kitayama

9/25/2020 01:36:51 pm

In this image, I see A LOT of things. The 2 main subjects are houses. The house in the background is on fire and the house in the foreground is a farmers market selling pumpkins. There are a bunch of trees, some with leaves and some without, leading me to think that this picture was taken late fall or early winter. There are also some crushed pumpkins in the foreground and a firefighter is looking at the pumpkins.
This photographer is using a deep depth of field. You can see this because most of the picture is in focus. I think the focal point is on the farmers market sign because that is the first thing that my eye is directed to. There are a few leading lines that make your eyes move around the picture. For example, the green poles are leading in the direction of the farm market. The image is definitely filled, but there is a lot of foreground with the scattered pumpkins, but that is definitely on purpose.
The theme is unclear, but we know that the artist was traveling to find ironic scenes. This picture has a fall vibe to it because the color scheme is warm. We see a bunch of yellows and dark oranges and the overall tint is pretty warm. We can also see there might be a bit of a transition towards winter because all of the leaves have fallen off the trees and they are bare. I have no idea why but this image reminds me kind of Halloween, it might be the pumpkins or maybe some of the grey tones in the sky.
In my opinion, personally, I don’t really like the image. It makes me feel restless and a bit anxious. I think this is because everything is so crowded and chaotic, that my eyes don’t know where to look. This image is obviously pretty successful because we are using it in a photography class as a reference.

Claire Harthan

9/25/2020 01:38:32 pm

When looking at this photo I see the Farmer's Market, crushed pumpkins, a burning house, and dead trees. This photo has dull and unimpressive colors like browns, blacks, grays, and oranges. The lighting in this piece is very dark. you don’t see any light at all, only the clouds. In the image there is a firefighter buying a pumpkin while there is a fire going on at the house. It is concerning because he is not concerned.

The focal point in the picture for me is the Farmer’s Market. This is because it is the closest thing to the camera and since it is closer to the camera it is the largest thing. A deep depth of field is being used in this image to capture everything. You want to be able to see both the fire and the farmers market in complete focus. Since there are two subjects(farmers market,and burning house) it does not fill the whole frame.

The theme of this picture could be how oblivious we all are to our surroundings. This is shown by the firefighter because there is a fire at a house but he is in his own world not really caring about it. I find this photo interesting because the photographer might have purposely taken this photo to give his viewers a creepy and weird feeling. This picture reminds me of Halloween because of the pumpkins. Also it reminds me of the movie Halloween town because of the creepy feeling.

I do like this photo because the way the photographer was able to capture both the burning house and the market amazes me. Every little detail matters in the photo like the pumpkins and the crushed pumpkins because it gives a Halloween feeling. The photo is very successful because it has the perfect lighting and it feels like there could be never ending questions to it. There is always something different to look at every single time I view it. The photographer did a great job on combining two different things in one picture(farmers market, and burning house)

Lisa

9/25/2020 01:40:01 pm

In this photo there using a house that's on fire. There using mashed pumpkins and there using a farmers market as a place in the photos. You see trees, firefighters trying to help save the house and stop the fire. In these images there showing the house on fire pretty much burning down. They show one firefighter shopping at a farmers market during the fire. They have this really tall tree that looks very different from the other trees.

In this photo from what i can tell there is a deep depth of field because everything is clear. Meaning everything is showing, nothing is blurred out and you can see everything that is happening clearly from front to back. The photographer got everything at a good view. You can see everything that happens because it's right in front of your face and that is very helpful when investigating a picture. You can see the lines in many different places. You can see them in the front, the metal poles. You can see them in the background, all around the picture.

If someone asked me if there was a story being told I would say yes and no because from what my teacher told me this was a planned picture but if i had no idea i would say yes there has to be a story. There isn't just a house burning in the middle of nowhere and a firefighter shopping at a farmers market in the middle of the day there would've had to be a story to it. This story reminds me of a scary movie. It makes me feel cold. I don't know why but it does. Most scary movies are set in late fall early winter so that would be like the exact type of weather.

I liked the picture because it was very well detailed and there was so much happening that it was fun to look and react to it. I would one day want to try and do a photo like this because it's a great photo and however the photographer did this, did a great job. And a masterpiece. I think the author did a great job of showing of showing what was happening.

Hannah Jackson

9/25/2020 05:09:01 pm

In the image, there is a house of fire, a farmers market, and trees. The farmers market has a lot of pumpkins. There is a fire fighter looking at the pumpkins and it looks like he is choosing one to take home. The trees look dead and dry, so it must be fall or winter. Most of the trees don't have leaves on them. The grass also looks dry and dead and could catch on fire easily. The color that stands out to me is orange. It stands out to me the most because besides the fire and the pumpkins, everything is brown, yellow or green. Nothing else is a bright as the orange. This image doesn't seem very happy for several reasons. The sun isn't out, it isn't super bright and the house is on fire.
The depth of field is very deep. You can see the entire image and it isn't focused on just one thing in the front. The photographer chose to get both the market and house in the picture at the same time. There is a lot going on in the image with the house, fire, pumpkins, trees, and market. There are some lines in this image. The poles on the right side, the trees, and the angles on the house and market are all lines.
Because there is a lot going on in the image, I think there is a story. It's kind of weird that a fire fighter is shopping for pumpkins while everyone else is fighting the house fire. Maybe it is a controlled fire. The artist could have made this image to show the calmness in the storm. It looks like chaos in the image, but the firefighter is calm and buying pumpkins.
I have mixed feelings about this image. I don't like it because it isn't very happy and there is a lot going on. I like it because it is well made and you can think a lot about it. I think this image is successful because it is super clear and well made. I also think it is successful because it looks like it tells a story.

Kyan Jones

9/26/2020 11:53:45 am

This is a picture of a farmers market with a burning house in the background. It’s very cloudy outside, it brings a sort of gloomy atmosphere to the scene. There is a fireman with a pumpkin in his arms while the other firemen are fighting the fire that is burning down the house. There are a bunch of destroyed pumpkins in the foreground of the image. A lot of the colors in the image are warm colors, lots of orange and brown.
The main focal point of the image for me would be the fire, that’s where my eyes went straight to. The whole image is in focus so you can see all of the picture. There are two subjects in the image, the farmers market and the house on fire. There is plenty of extra space to see the trees in the background. The image crops off the rest of the fire trucks, you can only see half of one.
There is a story being told in this image. I imagine that the photographer wanted to make it look like a chaotic scene. It reminds me of the chaos of everyday life and how we can get caught up in what we are doing. With the context that it was a controlled burn, it’s a completely new image from a new perspective. It’s a very thought-provoking image, it really makes you think.
I personally like the image. It’s a very interesting image that really makes you think. I think the photographer did a great job capturing the scene of what is going on in the picture. I think it is a successful photograph. I like images that can be seen from different perspectives.

Andrea Garcia Riojas

9/27/2020 09:49:21 am

The image is of a fireman looking at pumpkins in a small pumpkin patch while behind the stand of the pumpkin patch, there is a fire burning a house with a firetruck right next to it. I’m not sure if it matters but the pumpkins and the fire are almost the same shade of orange and this could be a symbol of how the fireman seems to care for the pumpkins he is inspecting to find the one he wants, the same amount he should be caring for the fire. It is bright outside but it isn’t a blue sky, the sky is just one large white cloud.

If I understand what composition is in photography then the photographer arranged/showed the objects in the photo in the way he did for a reason. The photo is meant to be ironic and it is successful at that. I wouldn’t say it is necessarily pleasing to look at but the photographer was successful at capturing the ironic scenario of the firemen looking at pumpkins while there is a fire right behind him. I think the rule of thirds is being used. The burning house is positioned at the intersection point of the top line and the right line. The fireman is positioned along the left line and the farmers market is at the intersection of the top and left lines. The artist’s point of view and angle seems to just be an onlooker standing on the flat ground of the street. He doesn’t seem to be tilting his camera at all in order to include any part of the picture. A deep depth of field is being used because the image is pretty clear all the way to the back of the photo. When I first looked at the photo, I didn’t immediately see the fire, I just saw the farm market sign so I think that is the focal point. I guess everything else would be what is framing it. The sign is yellow which is brighter than the orange of the pumpkins & the fire and the other colors of the scenery. The trees in the top left corner and the top of the roof of the farm market and the tops of the trees next to it create lines that bok in the house that is on fire. The shadowed area with the fireman and pumpkins inside the farm market is kind of boxed in by the walls and roof of the market and the field as well which are all lines. The picture is asymmetrical. Most of the focus is near the top and on the left. There is extra space in the field in front of the market mainly, but there is some extra space on all sides. The photographer could have zoomed in some if he wanted to. Because the image has some extra space on all sides, it doesn’t seem to crop off anything important. The negative space in terms of color it is the corner above the market and next to the fire but in terms of just background or empty space/background area, it would also include the field in front of the market. The positive space would be the market and the house.

The theme of the photo is irony. The story visibly being told by the image is that the fireman is either oblivious to the fire right behind him or is neglecting his job. What is actually happening is a controlled burn by the fire department and the fireman didn’t need to be at the site so he went to the little market. The artist took the picture to show an ironic situation. It was probably meant to be humorous in some way but I don’t know that. The photo as a whole didn’t remind me of anything but the fireman reminded me more of a fisherman than a fireman. The did not make me challenge or question any beliefs or assumptions that I may hold. The image is interesting to look at because it is an interesting situation being shown but I wouldn’t say that it is beautiful or noteworthy.

I don’t hate things so I would not say that I hate this photo. I do not like it either. I guess indifference would be an adequate descriptor. The photo has a lot of warm colors in the pumpkins, fire, signs, and even the fireman but it is still gloomy. The crushed pumpkins are off-putting and I don’t enjoy looking at them and the sky and the burnt/grey trees add to the gloomy feeling as well. Usually, I like storms but cloudy skies aren’t something I enjoy. As for being successful, the photographer was able to show his ironic situation well with the fireman not paying attention to the fire behind him.

Devin Khemalaap

9/27/2020 07:02:56 pm

This photo showcases two different scenes. One scene is of the farmer's market in the foreground of the photo, and the other is of the burning house in the background of the photo. In the background of this photo, there’s a house that is on fire. There’s also a fire truck that is seemingly attempting to put out the fire. In the foreground, there's a farmer's market with pumpkins, and it looks like there's some other produce as well. What’s ironic is that there is a fireman shopping for pumpkins at the farmer’s market while the house is basically burning to the ground. The overall image is somewhat dreary which kind of gives off a late fall, early winter vibe along with the farmer’s market in the foreground.

The pumpkins are definitely the main focal point of the farmer’s market just as the fire is the main focal point of the background. This, perhaps, could be to have a common pop color between the foreground and background since the overall photo is mostly dull and drab colors. The photographer used a deep depth of field, so he could keep both aspects in the foreground and aspects in the background in focus. To me, this image is actually quite pleasing to the eye. I find that the contrast between the dull colors and the orange really catches my attention.

I would think irony would be the idea of the photograph because of the fireman shopping for pumpkins while the house is burning. Maybe the photographer just meant to show the irony that happens in life, but it’s kind of unclear.

Personally, I rather enjoy this photo. Probably because of the photo’s general ambience which gives off an autumn feel to it. I don’t particularly care for the fire though, which is probably the opposite of what most people would care about.

Period 7 -- Practice Critical Analysis

Leave a Reply.

Analyze

Archives

Categories

Home