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Jackson Cung
Prof. Ted Shank
English 908
24 March 2013
Famine in Uganda
This photograph was taken by Mike Wells on April 1980. It was taken in the driest region of Uganda, the Karamoja district during the 1980 famine that wiped out twenty-one percent of the population. The photograph has a hand of a missionary holding the hand of a starving child; its purpose is to show the audience how severe the famine is in Uganda by contrasting the two hands. I believe that the target audience would be the general population because if the purpose of the photo is to inform the audience about how severe the famine in Uganda is, then why not inform everyone? Wells tried to get it published in a magazine, after five months the magazine didn 't publish the photo but instead they entered it in a contest. The photo then won the World Press Photo Award. Wells didn 't like the idea of winning an award with a photograph about a starving people.
Wells utilize four elements in this photograph, imagination, mood, contrast, and impact. First off, what is imagination and how does it apply in photography? Well according to Lou Jacobs Jr: “Its takes imagination to see the commonplace in an artistic way”(Stubbs 133). This photograph is just a picture of two hands, at first glance it may seem like the photograph has no imagination because its so simple. However due to the fact that its so simple and yet it leaves such a huge impact on people such as myself, makes it very imaginative. Imagination isn 't the only element in the photograph that leaves an impact.
Other than imagination this photograph also invokes mood. Mood could be considered a sub category under impact: “The picture 's impact evolves from many qualities such as the drama of the light, the mood invoked, and the magic sense of realism.”(Stubbs 130). When I look at this photograph the first thing I felt was depression and sympathy which makes it more memorable. In photography it is important for the photograph to invoke the
Prof. Ted Shank
English 908
24 March 2013
Famine in Uganda
This photograph was taken by Mike Wells on April 1980. It was taken in the driest region of Uganda, the Karamoja district during the 1980 famine that wiped out twenty-one percent of the population. The photograph has a hand of a missionary holding the hand of a starving child; its purpose is to show the audience how severe the famine is in Uganda by contrasting the two hands. I believe that the target audience would be the general population because if the purpose of the photo is to inform the audience about how severe the famine in Uganda is, then why not inform everyone? Wells tried to get it published in a magazine, after five months the magazine didn 't publish the photo but instead they entered it in a contest. The photo then won the World Press Photo Award. Wells didn 't like the idea of winning an award with a photograph about a starving people.
Wells utilize four elements in this photograph, imagination, mood, contrast, and impact. First off, what is imagination and how does it apply in photography? Well according to Lou Jacobs Jr: “Its takes imagination to see the commonplace in an artistic way”(Stubbs 133). This photograph is just a picture of two hands, at first glance it may seem like the photograph has no imagination because its so simple. However due to the fact that its so simple and yet it leaves such a huge impact on people such as myself, makes it very imaginative. Imagination isn 't the only element in the photograph that leaves an impact.
Other than imagination this photograph also invokes mood. Mood could be considered a sub category under impact: “The picture 's impact evolves from many qualities such as the drama of the light, the mood invoked, and the magic sense of realism.”(Stubbs 130). When I look at this photograph the first thing I felt was depression and sympathy which makes it more memorable. In photography it is important for the photograph to invoke the
Cited: Stubbs, Marcia, and Sylvan Barnet. "What Qualities Does a Good Photograph Have?" The Little, Brown Reader. 12th ed. Illinois: Pearson, 2012. 129-33. Print. "Iconic Photos." Iconic Photos. N.p., 19 Nov. 2009. Web. 06 Mar. 2013. <http://iconicphotos.wordpress.com/tag/mike-wells/>. http://iconicphotos.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/50176475.jpg?w=700&h=473