Visual Analysis: At 12, By Sally Mann

This image is from Mann’s “At Twelve” portraits of young woman collection. The girl just slightly tilted to the left of the center of the frame is standing on a old bridge with missing boards over a flowing river. There is a small house in the background and trees surrounding the house. The girls is leaning against the bridge very casually and seems to be completely relaxed and unconcerned with the dangers of falling. This trying of fearlessness is common in adolescence. The lighting is what really draws the viewer in to this image. The beams of light appear to be reaching for her saturating her with constant sunlight. The perfect combination of humidity and Sothern Virginia the rays peeking through the clouds gives this image an angelic quality. Almost as though the girl is being
It is a timeless image of a young girl playing dress up in a young woman’s dress. She is standing in the center of the frame on what appears to be a large patio after what appears to have been a thunderstorm or a summer rain. With her right hand she holds the back of the dress in place so it stays around her tiny waist. Looking down at the dress as she spreads the dress out and around to her left with her left hand in a twirling motion. The movement can be seen by the blurred effects created by the perfect choice of shutter speed. Its just enough to slow the movement of the dress but not so much that it comprises the clarity of the rest of the subject. Certain parts of the image appear to be slightly over exposed with an abundance of light reflecting off the background and illuminating the white areas of the dress. This makes the subject really stand out. The contrast of the black lacey material against the white translucent materials also is very appealing to the eye. The image seems to give you a glimpse back in time to the memory or a dream which reminds you of innocence, imagination, and carefree world of a young