One photograph that stood out to me was from Eugene Richards’ Stepping through the Ashes collection. The image is of a missing-persons poster that was put up after the tragedy of September 11th, 2001. This photo is one of many similar to it – Richards said that these posters weighed heavily on the minds of both him and his wife – showing how many people were searching for loved ones still unaccounted for days after the buildings collapsed but hoping that they were still alive. The mood of this photo is a somber one; you can feel the heavy sadness. The poster is ripped which may mean it has been there for weeks, exposed to the outside elements, there are other posters on the pole so you know that this person isn’t the only one missing, there are people gathered around looking towards where the buildings were – all of these things let you know that the image is a sad one and it shows that something terrible has happened even if you don’t exactly know what it was.
The photographer’s use of contrast between light, the paper of the missing-persons poster, and dark, the people in the building, in this photo allows your eyes t goo to the main subject of the image. The pole that the poster is on is all the way to the left edge of the frame but still manages to be the focal point because of other elements like depth of field- the poster is the clearest part of the image and the people and buildings get blurrier as you look further away from the poster. The vantage point seems to be almost at eye level, allowing you to feel like you’re part of the photo. I don’t feel that there is much use of line or pattern to add to the feeling of this image. These elements all help to convey the somber mood because they allow you to feel that you are in the situation, seeing what the people there are seeing. They help you to identify with the people themselves; to feel their sadness and sympathize with those who were uncertain of their loved ones whereabouts as a result of this tragic event.
I agree that shallow depth of field directs out attention to the poll with the poster on the left. I also like in this photo the juxtaposition of the photo in the poster with the woman walking by, the people we assume must be dead and the woman who has survived, is alive, is moving around.