Blog Post 9: Pre-writing assignment 2

The photo of the Marcella Plantation was taken by Marion Wolcott, where she worked for the Farm Security Administration from 1938 to 1941. As you look at the photo, you can see that the two adults are looking straight ahead as they continue to walk without acknowledging the photographer. The small boy, following shortly behind the two adults, does not follow the same pattern as the others in the photo and looks straight to the camera. Perhaps this was intended, or maybe he just couldn’t keep focus. The “vectors of attention” for the two adults are likely to be the farm house which is not located to far from where they are. The child’s attention is drawn to the photographer.

The vectors of attention gesture towards the rhetorical appeal of logos, ethos, and pathos by coming together and making an ideal image and/or statement. This photo, when looked at in depth, has a lot of reason behind it; you can see beauty mixing with a day’s work and struggle. I think that the author is trying to capture that beauty because it is often overlooked, and connect with the audience on a personal level. The mood(s) in this photo is somewhat neutral; there is not direct form of sadness or happiness for that matter.

The photographer employs the techniques of framing by selecting the people in the photo as her vector of attention. She then also wants the audience to notice the environment in which they are in by including a large portion of the plantation into the photo as well. The coloration in this photo is not very well. For hue, the main colors are mostly blue and brown, with a little green. The saturation is low, the reds, yellows, and blues are not fully pure in the photo. I would say the brightness is medium to low as well because there is not a lot of white in the color, except for parts of the blue in the sky. I think that the coloration of this photo gives it a darker and gloomier look, hence, the feeling of depression or sadness from poverty. However, if the colors were brighter and the saturation wasn’t so low, the photograph would appear to be happier and more joyful; possibly even think they may not be going, or walking home, from a long days work.

I find that the lighting works particularly well with this specific photo, only because it was taken during a time of need. The setting of the plantation with the dirt road to the side also shows economically what was important during this time. It touches us on an emotional level of work, and the thought of how much labor went into the job. Times have changed so much over the years and it is nice to see a flash back of what reality really used to be like. Looking at this photo in modern day, you learn to appreciate what you have.

Blog Post 8: Pre-writing assignment 1

This photo was taken on the Marcella Plantation in Mileston, Mississippi around the time of September 1939. As you may know, the Great Depression occurred during the years of 1929 to 1939, and World War II took place from 1939 to 1945. This was a rather difficult time for society, especially to families with children since they were stuck right in the middle of the two tragedies. Mileston, Mississippi is located a little bit west from the center of Mississippi and is found in Holmes County.

In this photo there are two adults, a woman and a man, and a child that appears to be a boy. It seems that the three of them could be a family or perhaps friends at the least. Since they are on a plantation, I assume they are most likely of the working class. Their clothing also sort of gives away that they are of working class. They are wearing more grungy types of clothing than what might regularly been seen on the street. If this is a family, they probably live a lifestyle of poverty and make it by day to day. The reason I think this is because if they are of the working class, and are just barely coming out of the depression, there is not going to be a lot of money.

The landscaping is neat, because of it being a plantation, with a line of trees in the far background. There are currently crops planted in the plantation so they only activities which occur there are harvesting or tending to the plants. You may notice that there is also a dirt road in which the three people are walking on. During this specific time period, this road was probably mostly used for transporting back and forth from locations, either by foot or car. Children may have also took part in playing on the dirt roads as well.

There is minimal architecture in this photo, a house and a small shed or barn of some sort. The house in the background seems to look descent in size, maybe numerous people live there or a large family, and there also appears to be a car or two. The house itself, in my opinion, most likely belongs to the plantation owner and is being either passed on their way home, or approached to start a days work. Since this could very well be a family, the child is probably present because both parents were in need of work, so the child had no choice but to tag along.

When I look at this photo, the first thing that I notice is the family, especially the little boy because he is looking towards the camera. It also makes me wonder though, who is taking the photo? Perhaps another family member. Secondly, I focus in on the small shed, then the house. The background, and landscaping is what I notice, or focus in on, last. It’s hard to take into perspective what the two adult in the photo are feeling. They do not seem to show despair, but more of being proud.