Photography In Photography

Lewis Hine and Walker Evans are two of the most known names in photography. They used photography not just as a tool for capturing people and events, but to bring about change. Their camera's served as a lense into the lives of daily people during harsh times - industrialist America and the Great Depression. The two photographers are very alike in their motives, but have different styles and histories.

Lewis Hine was born in Wisconsin in 1874. He got into photography while working at the Ethical Culture School in New York. He encouraged his students to use photography as an tool to learn more about the world - he did the same. The class would take trips to Ellis Island and take photos of immigrants arriving at the harbour. Over

Before becoming involved in photography, he studied literature and after dropping out of college, explored the "edgy literary and art crowd" in New York. He considered photography to be an interesting subject and was first published in a book by Hart Crane. His most prominent works included photographs for the book "The Crime of Cuba" and ventures for the Farm Security Administration during and post the Great Depression Era. Just like Hine, Evans worked with a national organization to expose misfortune and distress of the common people during an economic downturn. Both photographers had people as their subjects and often took portraits of them - in the black and white medium. Facial expressions are extremely important to both photographers and that is the reason the works of art have become so famous. Evans used a large format camera to capture scenes of daily

The main subject is Allie Mae Burroughs who was a sharecropper in midwestern United States. Her facial expression is filled with resentment, sadness, anger - emotions that were prominent during the time; the portrait became a depiction of the average common folk. The repetitive wooden boards in the background and patterned blouse of the woman create rhythm and help contrast the main focus of the photograph - Allie Mae's facial expression. The contrast in the lighting and the dark features and light skin give off a good balance and appeal to the eye. It is quite easy to interpret what the photo is conveying - deep emotional trauma post an economic depression. The powerful look, head tilt and pursed lips tell the story all on their own and the wrinkles between the eyebrows complete the picture. I love this photo because of all the emotion it gives off. It would be impossible not to be captured by the glare of the farmer and to not empathize with her. The face tells a certain part of history and I feel like that is an aspect of photography that should be