Dorothea Lange Analysis
Dorothea Lange was born on May 26, 1895 in Hoboken, New Jersey to Joanna and Heinrich Nutzhorn. Her father worked as a lawyer and her mother stayed home to raise her and her brother. At the age of seven Dorothea came down with polio, which left her with permanent damage to her right leg. Suffering from this disease cause Dorothea to develop her compassion for people suffering since she had lived through suffering herself. At the age of twelve her parents separated, and Dorothea blamed her father for the failed relationship causing her to drop her father’s last name and take her mother’s maiden name, Lange (Oden). After her parents divorce she attended Public School 62, where she often skipped class and earned low grades. While was not attending
…show more content…
school she wandered the crowded streets filled with the homeless and unemployed people. While wandering these streets she learned how to stay out of everyone’s way and not draw attention to herself, which would later be key to her working as a Great Depression photographer (Kreiser).
When Lange graduated from high school in 1914, her mother sent her to a school for teachers even though Dorothea had dreams of becoming a photographer. While in school she began working under Arnold Genthe, who owned his own studio and was known for his photo’s of the earthquake that happened in 1906. In January of 1918, she dropped out of the school for teachers in order to focus completely on her photography career. She had the skill set to open her own photo studio, and that is exactly what she had intentions of doing. However, she was ready to leave her home state and travel west towards San Francisco (Oden). Soon after she arrived she got a job as a photo finisher at a local department store. While she worked there, she developed her own clientele and took an opportunity to open her own studio by borrowing money from a businessman who offered to fund it.
Her studio experienced much success and about one year after opening the studio, Dorothea married a painter named Maynard Dixon. They had two sons together, John and Daniel, having a family forced Dorothea to devote less time to her photography but was still able to keep her studio up and running(Oden). During the time she was able to devote to her photography, she started to spend her time observing the people in the streets. Since it was the middle of the Great Depression, the streets were crowded with people who had lost their jobs and were looking for work( Gordon). Seeing all of these people suffer made her want to document the conditions people were living in.
In 1935, Lange started taking photographs for the Resettlement Administration, which made up part of the New Deal to improve the conditions for families who worked on farms (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica). While working here, Lange took one of her most famous photos of her career, at a pea-picker's camp in California and it became known as the Migrant Mother, the photo consists of a 32 year old mother staring into the distance with her two children next to her (Kreiser). After this photo was seen by thousands the government shipped 20,000 pounds of food to the camp where Lange took the photo. Next, in 1942 Lange joined a team to take photo’s for the War Relocation Authority to document the evacuations of the Japanese internment camps. Her photos focused on showing the lives of citizens who are suffering because of events out of their own control (Kreiser).
Lange’s career took an unexpected turn in 1945, Lange was hospitalized for internal bleeding, and was forced to take time to recover, but once cleared by doctors she returned to photography. She began traveling across Europe and the Middle East working for the Agency of International Development (Gordon). Until 1964, when she began to produce a retrospective show with the Museum of Modern Art. The show would become the first solo show produced by a women in the museum (Kreiser). Unfortunately Lange would never see it open because during the final stages of putting it together, she was diagnosed with esophageal cancer . She passed away on October 11, 1965 and the show opened just three months after her passing (Oden) . Her talent did not go unrecognized, she is still known for the impact her photos had on the Great Depression to this day.
This picture was taken in Oregon in 1935, it is a picture of an eleven year old who works on a farm to make money for his family. Lange captioned the photo by saying the average temperature reached up to 105 degrees daily (Kreiser). Something that I like about this photo is that it is in black and white, it adds to the message Lange was trying to show others about the time period. Something I dislike is the man that is in the back left of the photo, it distracts from the main focus of the picture and he does not add to the picture. I think the photo give a sense of strength being shown by the people living through the depression. The picture is properly focused and shows everything in the environment, but still focuses on the boy. Some of the plants in the bottom left make the photo very busy but it also adds to make it more realistic of how things really were in these environments. I think while taking this picture Lange was focused on composition. She followed the rule of thirds by making the the subject to the side and where the lines would intersect. The person in the background is also where the point would intersect. The thing I like the most about it is the black and white, because it makes the photo appeal to the viewer’s emotions. Something that could be improved would be to remove the pole in the middle which creates a distraction from the subject. Overall I think it displayed the right message and was able to show the conditions during the Great Depression.
This picture was taken in 1939, it is of a tidy kitchen of a home on a farm. My first impression of this photo is it shows clean lines and is very dark in the middle. I like how it is a tidy setting and it uses leading line on the walls and the floor. Something in the photo I do not like is how dark it gets in the middle part, it makes it hard to see the furniture in the corner. The general feeling in this photo is very cozy and homey. I do not think this photo had enough lighting, which caused the large shadow. I think she used a shorter exposure time which is why it turned out to be a darker picture. It is properly focused and does show any unwanted blur and even though there is a window it does not seem like there is a glare that interferes with the picture. The subject in this photo is purposeful because it depicts when homes during this time looked like and how they did not have much to live on. The black and white makes the photo more effective in appealing to people and making them feel bad for what is going on. I think Lange followed the rule of thirds because at each point the line would intersect, there is a subject for the viewer to focus on. I also like the use of natural light from the window, it helps highlight the subject and create dimension throughout. Something that could be done to improve the photo would be to increase the exposure time, in order to let more light in to prevent the dark spot. This photo follows Lange’s photography style because it shows the living conditions during the Great Depression and it uses the black and white setting.
This is Lange’s most famous photo she took during the depression.
My first impression of this photo is that it is sad but shows the conditions that many Americans faced during this time. Something that I like about this photo is that all three people are in focus, but the main subject is the mother. I also like that it is bright and taken in an actual place people spent time. Something that I dislike is the feeling of sorrow it makes me feel when I look at it. This portrait evokes very raw emotion and shows the her strength because she is having to take care of her children and provide a place to live for them through the hard time. This photo is properly focused because all three subjects are in focus and it does not have unintentional blur. The color makes the photo more dramatic and better shows that they are suffering. I think she used the correct exposure because it is very bright and does not show any unwanted shadows throughout. She used balance in this photo because there is a child on both sides of her. She also used the rules of thirds because the children are on the sides of her which are where the lines would intersect. The main thing I like about this photo is the emotion that is shows and how you can know what they are feeling just by their facial expression. Overall I think this picture did exactly what Lange wanted it to do, it created sympathy for those who were
suffering.
school she wandered the crowded streets filled with the homeless and unemployed people. While wandering these streets she learned how to stay out of everyone’s way and not draw attention to herself, which would later be key to her working as a Great Depression photographer (Kreiser).
When Lange graduated from high school in 1914, her mother sent her to a school for teachers even though Dorothea had dreams of becoming a photographer. While in school she began working under Arnold Genthe, who owned his own studio and was known for his photo’s of the earthquake that happened in 1906. In January of 1918, she dropped out of the school for teachers in order to focus completely on her photography career. She had the skill set to open her own photo studio, and that is exactly what she had intentions of doing. However, she was ready to leave her home state and travel west towards San Francisco (Oden). Soon after she arrived she got a job as a photo finisher at a local department store. While she worked there, she developed her own clientele and took an opportunity to open her own studio by borrowing money from a businessman who offered to fund it.
Her studio experienced much success and about one year after opening the studio, Dorothea married a painter named Maynard Dixon. They had two sons together, John and Daniel, having a family forced Dorothea to devote less time to her photography but was still able to keep her studio up and running(Oden). During the time she was able to devote to her photography, she started to spend her time observing the people in the streets. Since it was the middle of the Great Depression, the streets were crowded with people who had lost their jobs and were looking for work( Gordon). Seeing all of these people suffer made her want to document the conditions people were living in.
In 1935, Lange started taking photographs for the Resettlement Administration, which made up part of the New Deal to improve the conditions for families who worked on farms (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica). While working here, Lange took one of her most famous photos of her career, at a pea-picker's camp in California and it became known as the Migrant Mother, the photo consists of a 32 year old mother staring into the distance with her two children next to her (Kreiser). After this photo was seen by thousands the government shipped 20,000 pounds of food to the camp where Lange took the photo. Next, in 1942 Lange joined a team to take photo’s for the War Relocation Authority to document the evacuations of the Japanese internment camps. Her photos focused on showing the lives of citizens who are suffering because of events out of their own control (Kreiser).
Lange’s career took an unexpected turn in 1945, Lange was hospitalized for internal bleeding, and was forced to take time to recover, but once cleared by doctors she returned to photography. She began traveling across Europe and the Middle East working for the Agency of International Development (Gordon). Until 1964, when she began to produce a retrospective show with the Museum of Modern Art. The show would become the first solo show produced by a women in the museum (Kreiser). Unfortunately Lange would never see it open because during the final stages of putting it together, she was diagnosed with esophageal cancer . She passed away on October 11, 1965 and the show opened just three months after her passing (Oden) . Her talent did not go unrecognized, she is still known for the impact her photos had on the Great Depression to this day.
This picture was taken in Oregon in 1935, it is a picture of an eleven year old who works on a farm to make money for his family. Lange captioned the photo by saying the average temperature reached up to 105 degrees daily (Kreiser). Something that I like about this photo is that it is in black and white, it adds to the message Lange was trying to show others about the time period. Something I dislike is the man that is in the back left of the photo, it distracts from the main focus of the picture and he does not add to the picture. I think the photo give a sense of strength being shown by the people living through the depression. The picture is properly focused and shows everything in the environment, but still focuses on the boy. Some of the plants in the bottom left make the photo very busy but it also adds to make it more realistic of how things really were in these environments. I think while taking this picture Lange was focused on composition. She followed the rule of thirds by making the the subject to the side and where the lines would intersect. The person in the background is also where the point would intersect. The thing I like the most about it is the black and white, because it makes the photo appeal to the viewer’s emotions. Something that could be improved would be to remove the pole in the middle which creates a distraction from the subject. Overall I think it displayed the right message and was able to show the conditions during the Great Depression.
This picture was taken in 1939, it is of a tidy kitchen of a home on a farm. My first impression of this photo is it shows clean lines and is very dark in the middle. I like how it is a tidy setting and it uses leading line on the walls and the floor. Something in the photo I do not like is how dark it gets in the middle part, it makes it hard to see the furniture in the corner. The general feeling in this photo is very cozy and homey. I do not think this photo had enough lighting, which caused the large shadow. I think she used a shorter exposure time which is why it turned out to be a darker picture. It is properly focused and does show any unwanted blur and even though there is a window it does not seem like there is a glare that interferes with the picture. The subject in this photo is purposeful because it depicts when homes during this time looked like and how they did not have much to live on. The black and white makes the photo more effective in appealing to people and making them feel bad for what is going on. I think Lange followed the rule of thirds because at each point the line would intersect, there is a subject for the viewer to focus on. I also like the use of natural light from the window, it helps highlight the subject and create dimension throughout. Something that could be done to improve the photo would be to increase the exposure time, in order to let more light in to prevent the dark spot. This photo follows Lange’s photography style because it shows the living conditions during the Great Depression and it uses the black and white setting.
This is Lange’s most famous photo she took during the depression.
My first impression of this photo is that it is sad but shows the conditions that many Americans faced during this time. Something that I like about this photo is that all three people are in focus, but the main subject is the mother. I also like that it is bright and taken in an actual place people spent time. Something that I dislike is the feeling of sorrow it makes me feel when I look at it. This portrait evokes very raw emotion and shows the her strength because she is having to take care of her children and provide a place to live for them through the hard time. This photo is properly focused because all three subjects are in focus and it does not have unintentional blur. The color makes the photo more dramatic and better shows that they are suffering. I think she used the correct exposure because it is very bright and does not show any unwanted shadows throughout. She used balance in this photo because there is a child on both sides of her. She also used the rules of thirds because the children are on the sides of her which are where the lines would intersect. The main thing I like about this photo is the emotion that is shows and how you can know what they are feeling just by their facial expression. Overall I think this picture did exactly what Lange wanted it to do, it created sympathy for those who were
suffering.