Famine in Somalia by James Nachtwey 1992
The photograph that I
chose to analyze was “Famine in Somalia” by James Nachtwey. In 1992 the price
for food increased in Somalia and Somalia no longer was getting food from their
food sources. Nachtwey, wasn’t one to get assigned to capture pictures for the Famine
in Somalia. He decided to go on his own receiving support from the International
Committee of the Red Cross. Nachtwey captured the image above of the two
starving people along with many other images. The image was posted on the
cover of the magazine, “New York Times” and then became a big hit. After the
photograph was posted in the cover of that magazine many people started taking
action. This was considered a huge operation next to the one from WWII.
This image is very sad.
There is a starving lady in a wheelbarrow and another person sitting next to
her. Both of them look semi-dead and unhealthy. The image is in black and white,
but it is obvious that he main focus is the lady in the wheelbarrow. The
photograph did have a huge impact on me when I first saw it. It affected me because
both of the people in the image look dead. They almost look as if they’ve been
dead for a while. At the same time the lady in the wheelbarrow looks as if she
is waiting for someone because her arm is out in a form of, “help me”. This
image is really hard to look at and it is very sad to think that millions of
people suffered and died because of starvation. I think that Nachtwey was
trying to make the viewer realize that this is a real photograph about
something that happened in the world and he wanted to make people sad. Nachtwey
did reach his intention with me because it broke my heart and made me feel sad
for all of the people who had to live through that. He also reached his
intentions with people who read the magazine because they immediately made
their move to help the Somalia crisis. The photographer captured the shot
perfectly because he translated the pain that those poor people were feeling to
the viewer. The black and white also helped interpret what these people were
feeling through this time because it seems as there is no hope at the end. The
black and white also helps the view focus on the main subject, which is the lady in the wheelbarrow.
Hello Alondra!
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting picture that you chose. I think that the story behind what was happening in Somalia as well as the information of the photographer that you added in the beginning, allows viewers to kind of get a sense of what was going on and allows them to connect with the feelings being displayed in the photograph. I do agree with you in saying that the image is very depressing to look at. When I looked at it, I did feel heartbroken just seeing how starved they were. They were so starved and malnourished that you can see their ribs and spine as if they didn't have any skin or muscle on them. This was an excellent photograph that you've chosen.
This photograph was one that I spent a great amount of time on just observing everything in it. The fact that humans can really get that tiny from lack of everything is super crazy. And even crazier is the fact that they are still alive in this picture. It honestly just made me think a lot of how we take things for granted out here because we know there will be more and it'll never run out. It is one of those pictures that is hard to look at, but at the same time it's hard to look away. Something as emotional and seeing humans be that weak and vulnerable sends a million thoughts through my head.
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