Raylin Antigua
Journal 4
English 1101 (Prof. Scanlan)
September 30, 2015
Favorite Photograph
“Riveters attaching a beam” by Lewis Wickes Hine is the photograph that most caught my attention. This photograph alone contains many elements that make the viewer question themself: Where was this photo taken? Which position was the photographer located? What time of the year was this photograph taken? From the very start, we can notice that Hine’s style of photography is for the most part meticulous.
One of the elements we can notice is men at work in a construction site in New York City. How can we tell this photograph takes place in the city? The background is the answer to that question. Instead of focusing in what is closest to the camera, we can see that the background contains various buildings of different sizes. Therefore, a rural-suburban setting can be crossed off. Another thing to notice in the background is that is blurry due to fog. It could have simply been an unimportant feature, or it could have been the photographer’s decision to include the fog in order to realize that the workers are in a high place.
The reason I chose this photograph as my favorite is because it embodies the life of a common New Yorker. New York City is often defined as the “city that never sleeps” due to many people on the streets exploring and having fun, but the grand majority, working. I believe that Lewis Hine wants to depict how four construction workers can represent a city full of people working. This photograph simply shows one small function, that adds up to what is an enormous working city.
Raylin, I really liked how at the beginning of your journals, you included the questions that the picture had made you asked yourself. This seems like a good idea because it expands on the amount of questions another person might have come up with already, making one expand how he or she think. I also appreciate the reason why you liked this picture the most. The idea that the picture depicts the phrase “city that never sleeps “, which makes sense and is an idea unlike the others that believe that the picture only shows the safety changes that the work environment have had through the years.
It does sort of strike me as curious when you brought up the location of the photographer. Most of the time, people react to the image, and rarely is any lingering thought brought towards the photographer’s reaction. You’d be correct in the style of Hines, as he’s sort of emphasized on large city scenes, but with people littered here and there, like the workers, or the busy streets with cars in New York.