Category: My Photo Essay (Page 1 of 3)
 âAcross the Platformâ Â
âNot So Yellow School Busâ Â Â Â
âThe Golden Corner Seatâ
Is Photography Really Art?
For a long time I thought all photos needed to have a meaning. Art is a creative form of communication, a language if you will, and therefore all photographs must have an innate meaning when translated in the mind? Since taking this course, I have decided that this perspective is flawed. In the 21st century, Sontag (2013) says âthe age when taking photographs âŚ[was] the toy of the clever, the wealthy, and the obsessed– seems remote indeed from the era of sleek pocket cameras that invite anyone to take picturesâ (532). A paintingâs composition and meaning is intentional, most documentary and commercial photos specifically try to capture your eye to promote a product or highlight a social issue. However, an art photo can just be a moment in time forever encapsulated in the confines of your photo gallery app giving you a place to reminisce. In the words of Sontag (2013) photos are âmainly a social rite, a defense against anxiety, and a tool of powerâ (533). I never liked taking photos because I felt like I had to find this deeper philosophical meaning and it took away from being in the moment, but in reality photography is a tool to encapsulate and eternalize moments that are meaningful to you.
In my first photograph, Not So Yellow School Bus, the aforementioned ideas are spearheaded. The only thing in the foreground is a silver bar that is bolted down to a chair, immediately next to it you can see the road with an out of focus truck and stores in the distance. Through the technique of framing, the inside of the bus is separated from the operations going on outside, the truck on the side of the road can be presumed to be unloading supplies into the stores, a normal function of daily metropolitan life. This separation is automatically intriguing because as the eye wanders into the background the bus appears to be empty, and this is where subjectivity comes into play. The empty bus is adorned with repeating yellow lines almost a geometric sequence as the yellow poles create a square framing the empty head of the bus. This reminded me of the kaleidoscopic effect Cole (2015) referenced when talking about Suzhou Creek by Cartier-Bresson (2). He begins with a quote from Cartier Bresson who states âIt is the photo that takes youâŚoften multiple potential moments to discover in many situationsâ and that different photographers will find different moments.â Like in Suzhou Creek, I believe the yellow poles create a kaleidoscopic effect, however a kaleidoscope usually leads to a blank point at its center. Much like this photo there is nothing at the center of the arrangement of poles, however one can focus on the patterns surrounding it and pull the theme of yellow highlighting the title, Not So Yellow School Bus. The yellow on the bus is reminiscent of the loud and rowdy morning school bus rides in middle school on the short yellow âcheese busesâ. Although a public MTA bus is not bright and cheese colored the yellow theme is still very prominent so it highlights the contrast between the loud rowdy days of elementary and middle school to the more serious days of high school and college where a quieter empty bus would be preferred.
My next picture, The Golden Corner Seat at first glance has nothing much to interpret or analyze except the empty blue seat and bars covering it, even the ad is cropped out of framing demonstrating how it isnât the focus of this photo. Relying solely on the photoâs punctum with the only semblance of one being a window, but from the angle the only thing we can discern from this photo was that it was morning light outside and a gloomy day. To give context, during my morning commute I must walk 15 minutes to the bus stop, wait on average 5-10 minutes for a bus, then take the bus for another 15 minutes, get the train line and ride it around 15 more minutes, then transfer to another train to ride the train for around 20-30 minutes. Altogether my commute even to just the Brooklyn Bridge is already over an hour not to mention the possible delays. With that in mind we can go to the title, The Golden Corner Seat, without a subject in my photo it leaves so many pieces to the subjectivity of the viewer which again reinforces my first point. When analyzing photos I like to have historical context that I can apply to find the intention behind the photo. I hoped for this series of photographs to speak specifically to New Yorkers who know to expect a crowded train and pray to have a seat in their morning commute. Again I related to Sontag(2013) as she believed âphotographs give people an imaginary possession of a past that is unrealâ (533). This moment could mean nothing to a viewer but to me it is the capture of a peaceful morning commute. There is no deeper philosophical meaning in wanting to capture a luxury seldom appreciated in the fast moving urban life. However the photo is still meaningful and for that reason deserves a place in my gallery letting me possess this moment in my past.
The last picture in my essay is Across the Platform, the title is quite literal as the point of view is literally across the platform. In the photo, there is a repeating sequence of lines that cover the entire photo, youâre looking âacross the platformâ but through bars as yet again the background is blurred and out of focus. There is less to see to see and interpret than the last again playing on the idea that photos can just be a moment in time without a specific meaning or other purpose. The train platform again is empty highlighting the previous theme of a peaceful and quiet commute, however if youâre from New York City you know the train station is never quiet and always bustling with people especially on the elusive A train line. I waited until everyone passed for the 3 second window in which no one was walking in frame, so in a way I employed Bressonâs Decisive Moment because if I had waited a couple more seconds before or after then I wouldnât have gotten the shot I wanted. In Coleâs(2015) words the Decisive Moment is âa precise organization of forms, which give that event its proper expressionâ (2). He emphasizes the âprecise organizationâ, as it demonstrates intention in the composition but not so much the meaning. So feigning the quietness of the station by snapping at just the right moment allowed this to be encapsulated as a moment of peace in such a busy and fast-moving commute.
Truth be told, all of these photos were just things I snapped without thinking about them, just to fulfill the assignment I didnât intend to learn anything about. This very essay answers its own title, photography is art. Art is a form of communication and through deciphering the language these photos were able to reveal to me the importance of intention and lack thereof. Each time IÂ said I used little intention, the photo proved me wrong I able to analyze and pull out an idea that was unique to me and my perception of this photograph that was seemingly lacking content, this can go for any viewer as the theme of yellow in Not So Yellow School Bus can personally resonate with the viewer’s own connection to the color yellow. This contradicts my earlier idea that not all photos have meaning, even after this assignment I still believe photography is a form of creative communication that is not as direct as a book or speech and therefore lets everyone resonate with it differently and more subjectively finding their own innate meaning.Â
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References
Sontag, S. (2013). On Photography. The Library of America, On Photography: Susan Sontag. (pp. 533) Â OpenLab – The Library of America. https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/profscanlan- english1121-fall2024-d536/files/2024/02/Student-Example-PhotoEssay-1121.pdf
Cole, T. (2015) Perfect and Unrehearsed. New York Times, Perfect and Unrehearsed: Teju Cole (pp. 2) OpenLab pdf. https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/profscanlan-english1121-fall2024–d536/files/2024/02/Teju-Cole-Perfect-and-Unrehearsed.pdf
