Category: Coffeehouse #1

In Teju Coles’ essay “Perfect and Unrehearsed” I feel as if Suzhou Creek by Henri Cartier-Bresson is a portrait photo and a documentary too. The photograph has people holding up a cross while at the same time, you see what they’re doing which makes it a documentary too. The reason for me choosing the second photo was the way I look at it it’s kinda funny to me. It looks like the people were working hard all day by the docks which I can only assume that their probably fishing. As you see everyone else still working you see another guy who looks like he’s tired and wants to go home and he just doesn’t want to be there. That’s why it was funny to me because as soon as I go into I just don’t wanna be there. The dominant impression is the cross in the photo. Other than the guys sitting on the doc the cross was the first thing that caught my attention. The reason it probably caught my attention is because religion is a big part of life which made me attracted to the cross first.

In Teju Cloes essay “Perfect and Unrehearsed”, my favorite photo was Three boys in Liberia by Martin Munkacsl/ Howard Greenberg Gallery. This photo can be defined as many things as possible but to me it is documentary photo. Documentary photos capture the beauty of real-life stories or events in its nature. Three boys in Liberia, is a snapshot of three young boys enjoying the lovely waters of Liberia. The photo gives a sense of joyfulness and freedom as they seem to be running into the water ready to swim away and enjoy their youth. We can say the dominant impression are the colors of the photo. The only colors we see are black and white. But although we can’t see any facial expressions, we can see hand gestures and water splashes on the sand which is the main idea, that although there is barely any color to this photo, we are still able to capture its true nature. To me, the decisive moment is kids being kids, even as adults we can feel the energy of freedom and happiness these children are living and think about a time in our lives, we had a similar moment of carefreeness.

In Teju Cole’s photo essay “Perfect and Unrehearsed” one of my favorite photos is “A young Haitian man grieving at the funeral of his mother in Port-au-Prince, Haiti ” by Maggie Sterber/Redux in 1987. This a Documentary photo that tells about a man grieving to his mother and how devastate he was. This photo shows how the son is being assisted and supported by his people, which can be friends or family members. It also shows how disbelief and sorrow he is from losing someone he loves. The photograph highlights the intense emotions of grief and mourning. It provides a window into the personal pain of loss. Also By capturing the scene in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, the photograph may reflect aspects of Haitian funeral customs and mourning practices. The way the funeral is conducted, the symbols, gestures, or even the setting may offer insight into the way Haitian communities honor their dead and come together to cope with loss. It may showcase the significance of family and community in the grieving process. The central event is a funeral, specifically the funeral of the young man’s mother. He is experiencing a range of intense emotions, particularly grief and sorrow.

In Teju Coles’ essay “Perfect and Unrehearsed,” one of my favorite photos in his essay was “A Young Haitian man grieving at the funeral of his mother Port-au-Prince, Haiti.” By Maggie Steber / Redux 1987.  The photo type for this is a documentary photo as it records the events that transpired and could be a story. From the title of the photo, I can infer that the photo is trying to tell a story about the man dressed in a black suit mourning the death of his mother. There we have his supposed friends who are hugging him, helping carry him onto his feet and are sad with him in the photo. In the photo, the people around the man were dressed formally and some of them holding the cross of Jesus Christ for a funeral. The dominant impression that I had for this photo is the overwhelming sadness of the man as people around him are helping him off the ground since he is having a breakdown due to his mother’s death as stated by the essay. Some of the people are trying to comfort him While others have a dark sad expression as they all seem to march forward for the funeral.