seems like history repeating itself to me. From franks photographs the Americans many of his photographs shows the racism towards back then and Scott Olson picks shows in this day and age African Americans still fighting for justice for an unarmed man that was shot dead. Scott Olson photographs shows the excessive force used by law enforcement. while Franks photograph shows the divide and separation between races. both photographs shows the unjust treatment African American gets now and in the past. it is sad to see that we are right back where we started or maybe haven’t truly changed. The American justice and law system have a long way to go to be just and fair to our people but then again a system can not fail those it was never meant to protect.

these Photographs showed realism and was a direct description of the drought happening. it is very devasting to know that here in the United States People are experiencing drought and farmers are struggling. I don’t think people are aware of how bad it is. I knew California was low on water supply but I never thought the conditions were that bad. its sad to see what we take for granted like a sip of water is someone else livelihood.  the photographs and the video was very depressing to watch and I am surprised that not more is being done to end this drought.

I do agree with the article about Robert capa photograph being staged. the shot it almost too perfect and there is no sign of blood in the photograph from a solider being shot. the photograph is an amazing shot and I think it deserves an award but I don’t think that it should be told this happened in war if it did not. in some ways authenticity matters if you are documenting that is what you have experienced and done.

Robert Frank’s photographs from his publication of “The Americans” were highly criticized due to publicly displaying the factual, daily issues of racism, in a series of photographs. John Filo’s infamous Kent State photograph illustrated the protest against the Vietnam War which resulted in the deaths of four Kent State University students and many others injured by the National Guardsmen. These numerous photographs depict the opinions of many and how they argued to be heard. With the recent occurrences of protests, Scott Olsen documents the many protesters against racial profiling in connection with the police force like Eric Garner and Michael Brown. Many of the protesters display the gesture of raising their arms to imitate the supposed gesture of Brown before he was shot by Officer Darren Wilson. Regardless of one’s stance on these issues, it is very valid how sensitive racism is in America based on how far Americans will endure in the pursuit of their beliefs through protests.

The documentary photographer, Matt Black has a series of captivating photographs that documents the harsh conditions of modern-day farms and how it affects the lives of farmers. The images were extremely similar to the Farm Security Administration photographers, Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange photographs during the era of the Great Depression by illustrating the destruction the drought and winds caused to transform the Great Plains into the Dust Bowl. I am, unfortunately, one of the Americans unaware of the drought conditions that had affected the agricultural supply of fruits, vegetables, and nuts in Central Valley located in California. I think so many Americans were unaware of this crisis because the government wanted to keep it from the mainstream media. By drastically cutting the water irrigation supply to a main location of farms that provide a variety of agricultural supplies, it allowed the government to save money while on the contrary was still able to make money by hiking up the prices for these particular items.

Although, Robert Capa’s war photograph “Death of a Loyalist Soldier” was constantly criticized for being a posed farce of the death of an actual soldier, personally I feel the authenticity of a photograph does not matter. Robert Whelan argues that the photograph had so many specific features which evoke the credibility of Capa’s captivating image; I was convinced by his arguments. But I do not believe that the authenticity of a photograph should be this intensely questioned. The photograph portrays a soldier facing his impending death which displayed the severity of war, specifically the Spanish Civil War despite the validity of the photograph it still induces an array of emotions for the soldier.

The pictures taken in Kent state are and what happened that day is very disgustful because people were being shoot at without even being violent people have the right to fight for what they believe and they want to be heard. Same thing is happening now with Michael Brown protest. Just that in this case there has been violence. I happened to be in Rockefeller center for the Christmas tree lighting and it was chaotic people were insulting the cops they began to throw down the rails. There were people who stopped traffic from circulating. I think people should be allowed to speak and be heard, but only if those people know how to do it and I don’t mean that cops should arrest, shoot or even kill because that is not right either. Pictures from both of these events are very heartbreaking and awful to see and imagine that there is so much unfairness out there. We are suppose to be a country of peace but in reality we are not and things need to change.

I think that people are aware of the drought conditions in California because it has caused a great impact on our food supply. If you have ever walked in to a supermarket 1 or 2 years ago and walked in today you will have noticed that the prices have increased drastically. For examples you would be able to get 20 lemons for 1.50 now you only get 5 lemons for a dollar. Land needs to be giving time to rest is a living organism just like us humans we do not go throughout days months with out sleep because our body needs rest to start its like a phone the battery dies and it must be recharged, same concept with land it must rest. The FSA photography look a lot like California’s pictures the lands look very similar, something must be done and we need to be more conscious and take care of our land.