Photography Blog 3

"W. Eugene Smith"

I chose to do my third blog on W. Eugene Smith because when I look at his photos he seems

to have a variety of different ways he takes his photos. Some are playful and fun while others may be serious and down to the point but in most of his photos I noticed that he sticks to the black and white effect which I honestly believe brings out the story behind the photos more than it would in color. 

This photo is my favorite photo from W. Eugene Smith. I'm not quite sure why this photo became more eye captivating then all of his other photos maybe it was the his smile or the fact that I found this image to be both pleasing and horrifying. Horrifying because I have a weird phobia towards clowns but once I took the time to actually take in the full image I noticed that the clown isn't as terrifying as I made him seem. I believe that when you actually take some time out to view another persons work you begin to see more than what you saw at a quick glance. It's almost like the saying, "never judge a book by its cover." After taking the time out to view this image properly I began to think about the clowns profession how he's meant to please kids by entertaining them and making them laugh. I realised that being a clown might not be everyone's dream job but just by the smile he has in the photo he makes it seem as if its the best profession out there to be apart of. Not only does he get to bring joy to children but he also gets joy out of it by seeing the children laugh and enjoy themselves. He's a great example of someone who loves doing his job instead of being apart of a profession just for the finances instead of your personal reasons to enjoy what you do. 

This image is an example of his more serious photographs. When I first looked at the photo I automatically thought about the United States, California to be more specific. Although there are many times when I tell people here in New Zealand that California isn't that bad its actually a lot worse than how it is out here. In my opinion I believe that it's all about where you're brought up at. It's not the whole state of California that's dangerous just some places there, Compton is the main area that everyone seems to know about. The states came to mind when I saw this photo because it reminds me of all the older guys I used to see trying to teach the younger boys how to run the streets. Then I took a longer look at the photo and thought about the Military. The Military came to mind because to me it seems as if the man in the photo is a soldier that recently came back from fighting for his country and has time to spend with his new born. It looks as if he uses the time that he has to spend with his new born teaching him how to use a gun. Some people may think bad of this because it is just a baby but others like myself may think of it in another perspective that represents him getting his son ready to do what he might have to do one day which is one of two things maybe even both. Protect his family incase the father is lost at war or protect his country following in the footsteps that his father has already created for him. I think positively about the photos because I grew up with the army through my uncles and cousins so it only makes sense that a father would want his son to be prepared to protect his family or his country just as the father has done. 

After viewing many other photos I realised that the saying "A picture is worth a thousand words" is actually beyond true. Looking back at my blog I can see that my opinion towards the photos change as the time I spend on each of the photo increases. Some people might not understand what I'm saying about photography but to be able to understand things myself and seeing the importance of photography is just fascinating to me.