Different Views

This picture is heartbreaking yet inspiring at the same time. It's heartbreaking to see these people being attacked for standing up for themselves, but it's so inspiring to see them sticking together and helping each other stand up. I like how the two people are in the center of this photo and everything else is just blurred. It emphasizes the unity. This photo makes the times of the civil rights movement so much more real. I think for my generation it's hard to imagine times like that, but photos like this almost put us in the moment. It's like we are there watching them flee.

I instantly fell in love with Ernst Haas's work. It's so unique and beautiful. I really like this picture of the ballet because it shows the dancer's strength. At first glance it might look like their legs are just crossed. When you look closer you see not only are their legs crossed, but so are their feet. They make this pose look so simple, but this position is only achievable with hard work and discipline.

The city from the 40's to the 60's are my favorite times. I would love to go back to these times. This picture captures that moment and that's why I love it. I also love it because it is taken at a quiet moment of the city, either early morning or late night. It's also great that the street is wet making the picture glisten more.

Both the ballet photo and the city photo are brilliant.

Although the ballet could be in color and the city be in black and white, I think the way they are is the best way for them to be. I think the black and white of the ballet shows the seriousness of the ballet. If it were in color it would seem more fun and not so serious or disciplined. I think the city photo needs to stay in color because this was a time when America was coming to life. The color shows this. It's vibrant and real. The black and white would dull it out. So even though both would work either way, I don't think the reverse would tell the story as well.

I think the photo on page 349 was taken in the 40's or 50's in the winter season. The way they are dressed and the way their hair is done is way I think it was in the 40's and 50's. Their coats and hats is why I believe it was in the winter months. I think this photo was taken in New York City by the water. It's either by the water or up in a tall building like the Empire State Building because there is nothing really in the background of the picture. At first I thought that maybe the man was with one of the women and the other woman was just a friend, but now I believe that they are brother and sisters. They seem to have a playful comfortable look to them and that's why I think they are brother and sisters. I think they are higher class because of their dress. Plus if they live in the city they probably would be higher class. Even though I think they are higher class, I don't believe they are snobbish. I think they are friendly and fun loving. Their posture and look just seems laid back to me. I think this photo was taken for family memories for them.

The photos of the mothers on page 351 can be interpreted many ways. I don't think what we can use what we know from our time of mothers to interpret how those feel and know. Things are so different now than the way they were then. They had different responsibilities and different worries. Illnesses were different and living conditions were different. This is why I don't think we can judge how these women feel in their life. I do think that we can say that these women protect their children, love their children, and worry for their children. Those are natural instincts a mother has that I believe doesn't change with time.

I think Koudelka focuses on the place and not the people because I think in our busy world we forget to really look around us and he wants us to slow down and look around us. We look at people and give our opinions, but we rarely stop and look around us. I think he really wants the audience to see what is going on around us. The captions underneath the pictures totally changed what I thought. When I first looked at the pictures I didn't really know what was going on. Then I saw he was trying to make us see what was going on in our world. I like it as panoramas better because it lets us see it as though we were there. It doesn't scale it down to make it look like a snapshot. We can't see the whole picture in one glance. We have to look over the whole picture like we would in real life. Again I think these pictures are shown in black and white to show their seriousness. Maybe even make them seem older. With these photos I feel like I'm down in the photo. I feel like I am really there looking at the landscape with my own eyes.

It's so neat to see how artists can convey so many different feelings and messages.