DB 5

War Images

Fenton, Brady, Gardiner and Capa were all photographers that captured images of war.  

Fenton, the first to depict the war, did not take any photos of actual war or the aftermath . I got the impression that he wasn't close enough to the real action and took photographs of what he saw from where he was on the outskirts.  

Brady did not take many of the photographs in his collection.  H hired others to do the work for him.  The collection did not capture the reality of the war.  

Gardners photographs are a lot more graphic!  He captured the reality of the ugly side of the war were happening around them.  

Capa, unlike the others, liked to photograph peoples expressions as events of the war.  He tried to show the brighter side, showing caring and compassion in his photographs.  He lived by his own rule "If your photographs aren't good enough, you're not close enough".

DB6

Documenting the Great Depression

The project had a large impact on society since everyone could relate to the photographs.  The Great Depression effected everyone.

Eugene Atget called his photographs documents.  They were mostly of architecture and urban views.  He sold them to painters as study guides.

Jacob Riis was a police reporter for The New York Tribune and photographed the lower East Side of New York to bring awareness.

Lewis Hine was a staff photographer for the National Child Labour Committee.  His photos showed the horrid conditions children worked in and when possible he posted their ages.

Dorothea Lange was considered one of the greatest.  She documented the Great Depression and migratory farm workers.  She was on a month long assignment with the Farm Security Administration, who assisted struggling farmers.  They had decided to hire photographers to hopefully bring awareness to the rest of America just how bad some farmers were struggling.  On her way home from her assignment she decided to stop at a pea farm on an impulse.  She took many photographs there, but her most famous photo, The Migratory Mother was shot here.  The photograph depicts a young mother with two of her children living in a filthy tent.  They are filthy too.  The picture was published and Florence Thompson identified herself as the Migrant Mother.  She was not pleased that the photograph was published without her permission, and she was angry that she didn't get paid or wasn't asked her name . Years later she had a change of heart once she discovered that the picture raised a lot of money for the farm workers.  For that she was grateful.  The reason the Farm Security Admission started this photography project was to bring awareness.  It seems this photograph may have single handedly done that!