Interpratation of a photograph essays

Interpratation of a photograph essays The black and white photographs lack of color provides a sense of connection to a time long since past. It tells a tale of times best forgotten. Three dead bodies lie cold on the beach and a lone American solider covered with mud, stands with his back to the camera with a gun in hand, possibly contemplating his irreversible deed. The bodies lie cold and motionless in the rising tide, slowly being covered by the vast ocean. Images of death can bring forth feelings from deep within, feelings that take hold of the heart and soul, refusing to let go. They burn themselves into the mind, never to be forgotten. This photograph was taken during World War II and was one of the first U.S. war photos of the dead to be cleared by censors. The photographer is not known. It was taken during the January 1943 amphibious landing on the island of New Guinea. At first glance this photo appears like any other wartime photo. Photos that have bombarded you in textbooks and television. Countless movies have been made depicting the same images. But there is something different about this photo. It almost brings you into that terrible moment in history. It captures the mood of what the war was unlike the images that we grow accustomed to in the movies. By looking deeply into the photograph, the mind is set free. It is allowed to wander. Thousands of images begin bombarding the brain, along with questions that need answers. And for as long as the mind allows, its possible to be there, on that beach, feeling all the emotions that the solider in the photo felt. For a moment in time, you can stand in his shoes and look through his eyes. This photo, aside from all the hundreds of photos in the book, was the only one that reached off the paper and grabbed hold of me. Death has a way of affecting all who see it. Unlike anything else in this world, death is able to make people stop and think. Perhaps fear is what ...