I would like to explore some issues in society. One really appealing to me is when people tell us that our dreams aren’t as worthy as a single number on a piece of paper, and when people deny us of our capability to achieve our dreams.

I want to express a feeling of being controlled by other people through my photos in this project. Many parents control their children’s future; they plan everything beforehand, leaving no choice for the kids to make themselves. One photographer that had done something similar is Richard Burbridge. His photos with people wearing masks signify a feeling of control. I plan on making the photos have a dark and moody feel, preferably with a foggy texture. I would also like to have the pictures be black and white, which emits a sense of sadness. However, in Richard Burbridge’s photographs, some photos are actually colored while still showing a depressed feeling.

Mood Board:

This photo is an excellent example of the feeling I want to try to achieve. I want to have a black and white background, with a few colored bits that leak a sense of sadness and depression.

This photo is taken by Richard Burbridge. It uses a black-and-white tone, emitting a depressed and sad feeling.

This photo is also very nice, it gives out a feeling of loneliness, which is partly what I want to achieve.

The gloomy feel and the black and white tone sets a perfect background feel for the photo. The hand controlling the doll also expresses a feeling of control. I want to try to aim for photos like this. A gloomy background, and a subject that can show control.

This somewhat resembles the background I would like to have, an empty void of black with some fog.

Statement of Intent

The title of this project is probably going to be “Control” with this project, I’m exploring the social issue of how people’s dreams are not respected or viewed as important as what their elders had planned for them. “A number on a sheet of paper is all that matters” is now the motto for many parents, and what many kids work day and night to achieve. But people forget their reason for being here, to make a difference, not to be controlled like robots, doing the same thing over and over and over again. Now, with so many things available to us, we have to dispose of the old generation’s visions and follow our hearts. I want my photos to make the audience feel connected and empathetic. Everyone’s dreams should be treated with respect, not like a joke, and easily disposed of. I want the audience to strive for what they dream of becoming, not what their elders or peers want them to become. I will get inspiration and develop my ideas by looking for photographs that have nostalgic backgrounds, a void of darkness, like the hole that people have fallen in, following their elder’s lead.

Arthur Rothstein

Almost all of Arthur Rothstein’s photographs are taken in black and white. The scenes in the photograph feel really nostalgic and sad. For example his photo “Fleeing a dust storm” shows 2 kids with their father running to a broken down shack in the desert. Another example is a photo from the great depression. The black and white tone along with the broken down shack makes the photo look sad.

The black and white tone is used throughout Arthur Rothstein’s photos. I think that Arthur is trying to make his photos have a sad and depressing feeling. A majority of his photos include a broken down house in a very poor environment, with really poor looking people. For example the father in the photo “Fleeing a dust storm” looks extremely depressed, running into a broken down shack with his children. Furthermore, a lot of his photos are taken with a horizon line. For example, again, the photo “Fleeing a dust storm” has a visible line of horizon in the distance. Other photos from the dust bowl collection also have visible horizon lines.

The 4 images I chose all have black and white tones. 3 of which feature people, another one consists of only a building. They all have a feeling of sadness, especially the 4th photo, “Son of Sharecropper”. We can visually see the despair in the boy’s eyes. I want to implement that in my own photos. I will definitely be using a black and white tone. I have chosen this artist because the people in his photos look actually alive. The expressions on their faces are very obvious, which is what I really like about Arthur Rothestein.

The first 3 photos I chose have visible horizon lines, which makes them look like they belong with eachother. The first photo shows a man with his two children, in a dust storm running back to their broken down shack. The whole scene looks sad enough, but with the black and white tone it feels as if they had been forgotten. The second photos shows a house that has been devastated by a dust storm, sand piled outside the window and inside the house, even though the photo does not feature any people, it still gives the audience that feeling of despair. The third photo shows a man with his son digging holes for what I am assuming are fences to trap the cows from escaping. The black and white tone is what makes the photo really sad. The last photo is one of a boy, the expressions on his face look extremely realistic, I can feel how miserable the boy is through the looks on his face.

CONTENT

The subject of the photo is the man with his two children running to their broken down shelter to escape a dust storm. Their shelter is made of broken pieces of wood strapped together using some sort of cloth. The children in the back looks to be very young, and looks like they think that they are playing. The young children’s innocence really contrasts the harsh environment they live in, making people feel empathy for them.

The setting in the photo was probably a desert during the great depression, as a lot of photos by Arthur Rothestein was taken at that time. There isn’t much detail in the background, due to the black and white tone.

The man and the kid beside him looks old and in a hurry, trying to get to the shelter to be protected from the sand storm. However, the children in the back looks to be playing, the children’s innocence contrasts greatly to the harsh environment they live in.

The three characters in the photo are trying to escape from a dust storm, which is very common in deserts. We can see from this photo the power of nature, it also acts as a warning to not mess with nature.

The photographer is standing pretty far from the people.

The three characters and then the shelter because thats is where they are faced and headed.

The horizon line is the most noticeable, since it separates the ground and sky.

There is barely any light in the photo, since it is all black and white. I would assume that the lightest part of the photo is in the sky.

The people and the shack is the main subject.

The people running to the shack, since they have contrast with the background.

The photo is very sad.

The lighting and the people and broken down shack makes me feel sad and miserable, since people should be living in conditions bette then that.

I think that the intended effects is to create empathy. Since the photo is taken in such a sad way, the author probably wanted to make the audiences feel sad.

Final Photo:

I feel that this photo fits the theme. The lack of people. creates a depressing feeling. The silvertone filter I used make the photo look pretty similar to Arthur Rothstein. The horizon line is visible like Arthur’s photo.