Weekly Response 5

Week: Jan 31 to Feb. 7
One thing I noticed in the similarity of the pictures was that they all had people in them, and most had people expressing an emotion, whether of joy, anger, or pain.  The pictures were also visually interesting, whether it was the sun shining through the workers' hands or the curiosity-evoking image of a man trying to move his TV through a flood. 

The first of my favorite shots is the one of the girls running out of the church with pans, the girl in the back looking astonished as she flips a pancake and the girl in front looking really excited and happy.  It's a shot that makes me want to know more - what are these girls doing with pancakes outside a church, and why are they so happy?

The second picture I really like is the one of the Floridian farmers picking tomatoes and putting them in the back of a wagon.  The whole picture is so vibrant, green, and sunny, and I like the way the tomato plants seem to stretch on forever.  I also like the pop of red in all the green that the bucket provides.

The third of the pictures that I like is the one of young refugee boys playing on a crashed airplane.  The contrast between their joyful faces and the dirty surroundings, from the broken airplane that has become a playground, to their dirty clothes, is really interesting, and I love the way the sun shines through behind them, so bright and lovely.

Each picture tells a different story, and there are many different factors that add to their effectiveness in doing so.  One thing that I think is important is including people in all of the pictures - as a world culture, we're more drawn to pictures that have people in them.  Showing the emotional expression on the subject's face also captures a viewer's attention and shows the feeling the story is trying to convey to its audience. Finally, action shots show a story better than does a formal portrait, and all of these pictures appear to be unposed shots of people going about their lives.