Thomas Holton
http://www.thomasholton.com/
The Lams of Ludlow Street
The image that I chose is a Family portrait from The Lams of Ludlow by Thomas Holton. This photo was taken in New York City Chinatown. The Lams of Ludlow shows a family of 5 living in a very small Chinatown apartment that is only 350 square feet. Holton follows the daily lives of the Lam family. This family photo shows a family of five standing with a dinner table full of food and jackets hanging in the background from small to big jackets. The purpose of this image is to show the living conditions of living in Chinatown. The mood that this image brings is welcoming and friendly. The intention of Thomas Holton is to show the lifestyle of living with a family of five in a very small living space. Also, to show a family struggling with space. Holton became a part of their family and continued to capture more pictures of the family.
The three formal elements from Steve McCurry that are most important in this photo are figure to ground, symmetry, and diagonals. Holton uses figures to ground by having a contrast between the family portrait and the objects in the background of the photo. Jackets and lights hanging with a sink on the side of this image. Also, This photo shows symmetry, The family portrait gives an even look when divided in half. The third component that Holton uses is diagonals. When looking at this photo, this photo does not look centered but looks slanted. These three elements help create the mood of the photograph by showing that Holton worked in a small area capturing these photos of the Lam family. These components that Holton used give a confined feeling but a family and friendly feeling.
Thoughtfully stated. Holton does a great job of showing the families closeness while not avoiding their challenges.
Certainly in this photo the background around the family is an important as the family itself so in that sense it is an example of figure to ground. usually though we use this term to describe when the shapes of the background play in important role in the composition.