Giovann Collazo
Intro to Digital Photography
Old Dominion University
These images were captured by the famous Dorothea Lange during the Great depression. This was also known as the Pre-World War II era. She used a Graflex Super D camera, which was also widely used by other photographers during the time. She probably used a tripod to support her camera and stood about five to six feet away from the car. She also made sure the car was in front of the sign that reads " A Great New Oil" and I'll talk more about that later. The children shown in the second picture are a boy and a girl she probably met and conversed with. She probably was prone and took the picture about three feet away from them. The third picture shows a family that finally made it to California. She stood about ten feet away from where they set up camp with a tripod.
The first picture shows a seemingly dysfunctional and hauntingly forlorn car. This is to be a reminder of how hustling and bustling the country was before the depression. She also made sure that the car is in front of a sign that reads "A Great New Oil", which is probably to add a touch of irony in which the broke-down automobile is aching for a taste of that "new oil" but LACKS the means to attain it (much like the people of the Great Depression). She took the photo of the children to show that the youth of America are starving both literally and mentally. The children appear to be very upset and, of course, hopeful that their miserable lives will get better. The picture showing a family gathered outside their tent and vehicle shows that, even though the times they live in are tough, they are still able to stick together and take care of each other.
The first picture makes me feel as though the car has a story to tell. A story of a long journey far into the west, but that it was never completed and that its driver had forsaken it in desperation. Now it sits and waits for a new driver, a new set of wheels, and a new quest. The second photograph with the children makes me feel angry that these youths have to go through such hardship. Lange captured the sadness and hope through the expressions in the childrens' eyes. I really love how that she captured a moment of hope and perseverance through the third picture showing the very large family. Though many of them are not smiling, as it is customary to smile in a photograph, they are still together and will survive through the storm.
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