Context

 ‘Hello, from the other side’

Although a favorite, this image of mine 

is not among the winners of 2022’s 

World Nature Photography Awards

My friend Ron (the name has been changed to protect the innocent) is an accomplished photographer and sports an impressive collection of high end cameras. He also regularly surfs the web for postings of photographic interest, then sends them to his select list of fellow enthusiasts. Postings include: must see exhibits, write ups about renowned, and some lesser known photographers who are nonetheless masters of the craft, plus images from winners of various major competitions. It’s kinda like a digital clipping service. The most recent ‘clipping’ showcased Winners of the 2022 World Nature Photography Awards. To say the images were beyond stunning is an understatement. In fact many seemed to be CGI (computer-generated imagery) plucked from films like Oscar celebrated Avatar: The Way of Water, and not majestically captured visual micro-snippets of time. 

That said, the winning images didn’t move me, my jaw didn’t drop, nor did they tweak my core! On the other hand, this simple image of a tot’s fire chief pair of boots does reach deep inside me.  

Question: How come?

Answer: Context

My #1 grandson wore these happy yellow boots when he was three. I captured the image over a decade ago from a ‘way down at his level’ position. I remember the time well, while reminiscing the special moments we were about to share working together to clear snow off our deck. But of all the images I’ve ever recorded that really dug deeply inside, regardless of light sensitive media or camera, why did I select this one, and why now? I did so after reading the following words about another pair of kids’ boots wordsmithed by former Boston Globe editor Brain McGrory  (March 10, 2023).

“It’s the image of the boots that’s hardest to shake. There are two adult winter boots, one pink, the other bright yellow and black. They rest haphazardly on a mat just inside a sliding door that leads to the backyard where the kids went to play. To see them now is to know who wore them and to know they’ll never be worn again”. 

The column describes a beyond devastating family tragedy in which two young children are murdered and the fabric of their family is torn asunder. The story rattled the core of every reader. Having that context shined a whole new light on the column’s accompanying ordinary ‘snap shot-genre’ photo. From a photographic perspective, that ‘boots image’ is unremarkable. 

Along my learning curve of artful image capture, mentors constantly stressed guidelines like ‘fill the frame, get clean backgrounds, find interesting shooting angles, and compose by moving your feet’. Do all that before triggering the shutter. The ‘boots image’ Mr. McGrory couldn’t shake doesn’t get checkmarks for any of those criteria. Context, however, changed the perception.   

Consider this photograph of a woman seated in a nondiscrete city room. Perhaps she’s awaiting her appointment, or just sitting and reading in her building’s common area. The image is another example of a just ‘OK’ shot, so you’re forgiven if you don’t sit up and take notice. But what if I provided this context? 

The woman is my wife sitting in a NYC hospital visitor’s room nervously awaiting word on the condition of our grandson, the one who wore the fire chief boots a few years prior. He was in a room nearby on an IV antibiotic drip struggling to tame a raging infection after things went south following a ‘minor’ surgical procedure. 

Has your feeling about the photo changed?

This exercise has origins from an evening course on documentary photography I took back in the 20th C. A question was raised then whether newsy photos were enhanced by captions. During one session the teacher showed the class a newspaper page displaying an ocean liner. Basically it was a big boat mug-shot. Meh! But when context was provided, no one in the class felt the same about it. The ship was the UK registered Lusitania on what turned out to be her final voyage. The Lusitania sunk off the coast of Ireland after being torpedoed by a German U-boat during WWI. Hundreds of passengers drowned, among them US citizens. The tragic incident paved the path for America’s entry into the conflict. 

So, are words essential partners for truly appreciating photographs? There's no right or wrong answer. After all, the next time you visit the Louvre in Paris and view the Mona Lisa, will you wish Leonardo da Vinci had provided a caption? 

all images - David Greenfield

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If you wish to further check your reaction to images after context is provided. I’ve selected a few images to consider. Note your assessment of each. At the end of this post, you’ll find short narratives providing context for each. See if your reaction changes. I welcome your feedback.

    

#1

#2

#3

#4                                                

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1. During the rededication of New England’s Holocaust Memorial on the 25th anniversary of it’s installation, one of Boston’s remaining Holocaust survivors recalls her ordeal during the darkest chapter of human history.

2. On a brilliant Sunday morning in Barcelona’s old square, a robust group of seniors dance the Sardona, a traditional Catalonian dance. From the time General Francisco Franco’s and his Nationalist forces overthrew the country’s democratic republic during the Spanish Civil War (1936–39) until 1973, Spanish Catalonians were forbidden to celebrate their culture or speak their language. Now they regularly celebrate their freedom of expression.

3. The man with hands clasped behind his back is taking in all the names and thoughts recorded on a large placard placed at a memorial site of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. Two Chechen Kyrgyzstani-American brothers, planted homemade bombs near the finish line of the race, killing three people and injuring hundreds of others, including 17 who lost limbs.

4. The body of water in the distance is the English Channel. Its waves lap onto Omaha Beach at Normandy’s northern border. Fifty seven years to the day earlier, the largest armada ever assembled surreptitiously crossed the Channel from England on D-Day. At great cost the WWII Allies clawed their way onshore to establish a beachhead in Europe in their battle to defeat the Nazis. The ‘soldier’ is actually a young Frenchman who was among the many French citizens donning vintage garb then descending on the D-Day beaches to re-enact the invasion and pay respect to the armies that defeated Hitler and liberated France.