http://www.eugenerichards.com/
The photograph I chose was Eugene Richards stepping through the ashes picture #1. In this picture we can see two little girls holding something to their nose so they don’t inhale the ashes. The feel of the picture is a sad feeling and it makes you wonder about the girls in the picture. The most intriguing factor in this picture is the fact that the girls are by themselves right after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 making an abstract sense of loneliness. The light coming from the sun in the background gives an extra perspective and can’t help to wonder if it was meant to be this way or it was coincidence.
Eugene Richards has an unique style of photography. Most of Richards photographs are shot in black and white giving it a great contrast between light and dark. Most photographs in this series are about the aftermath of a tragedy and try to capture the reaction of people when they seem to be out of their normal. Looking at other albums from his website Eugene also incorporates life events in peoples lives. Eugene uses silhouette combine with tragic backgrounds full with indistinguishable lines. Many of the shapes include aftermath of buildings collapsing and building still standing. The mood in most of his photographs is insinuated by the facial expressions of those in the pictures or by factors such as memorials for those who have perish. Some of his photographs include people who are in terminal conditions or veterans of war exposing the lives of many that the media wouldn’t show in national news giving it a more private feeling to his work.
The dominant feature of this photograph is the perspective and sense of deep space but we are also looking into the light. It is blinding and the girls seem to be escaping from it. I agree that the fact that the two girls are alone makes this picture scarier as we start to think about where are their parents and why are they fleeing.