Watermelon Man – Aaron Siskind

In this photograph, Photographer Aaron Siskind intended to capture the man standing on the back of the truck full of watermelons. Siskind also wanted to capture the man’s gaze and the buildings to the left and right of the man.

If I were the photographer, I would name this picture “Which Path Does the Melon Lead?” The reason being, that I noticed how the buildings on the right side were dark in tone and the buildings on the right were brighter. I can see that the man’s gaze and the watermelon slice that he is holding both are pointing toward the direction of the brighter buildings. It gave me the idea that it symbolizes that man is choosing light instead of darkness.

The photograph features the top of the buildings forming a line that leads the audience’s eyes to the man. The man’s gaze and the direction of his watermelon slice both diverge the audience’s gaze to the top left of the picture. The shapes featured in this picture are usually sharp, aside from the watermelons and the man with his hat. The most distinct shape of the photo is the triangle which is the melon slice that the man is holding. There is no noticeable pattern in this picture. The picture is taken from far away so it lacks texture, the most distinct textures are the man’s clothing which is soft and wrinkly, and the brick wall of the buildings. The picture’s darkest tone is the shadow of the truck and the brightest tone is the building on the left. The interesting thing is that the two opposite buildings have a contrast in tone, one is bright while the other is dark. The focus of the picture is on the man, and the background is a little blurred. Overall the picture’s focus is pretty clear.