Wp 1: Final Draft

Authors Note:  

This essay was a great learning tool for me as a writer.  I learned among other things how to truly analyze a photograph.  I never would have spent this amount of time looking at a photo unless I had to as I did with this project.  It was easy for me to pick out the vectors of attention, framing, coloration, and context of this photograph.  Where I struggled was with trying to figure out what argument the photograph was making.  In my statement of purpose, I eluded to an argument that the emotions of the entire country were changing in the 1940's.  At that point I was basing it on mostly symbolic things that I had made up and even included the photographers motivations. 

I continued to fallow that first thesis through my first rough draft.  I really struggled to create water tight arguments for what I was trying to argue.  That is where the process became tedious and at some times painful.  I continued to analyze the physical photograph and developed some more concrete ideas.  After the first peer edit, I was given feedback that helped me to create a more solid argument.  I also changed the order of my paragraphs to better reflect the strengths of my arguments.  This also helped in the development and persuasiveness of my project.    

In the second rough draft, I kept the same thesis as I felt that the arguments were more solid with the help of a classmate.  At this time, I also received feedback from the professor.  The review from him was great.  It really pushed me into a direction where the argument fit.  

This brought me to the final draft of writing project one.  I now had a completely different thesis and strong arguments to back it up.  My thesis was "Farmland in Catskill Country, New York State, reinforces that idea World War II encouraged urban migration patterns."  Essentially, the arguments did not change, just the context that I created did.  Context really is everything.  With my new thesis, I was able to link my arguments and really bring a persuasive element to the essay.  I felt much more confident in my writing after I completed the final draft.  

This essay came a long way from that very first pre-writing assignment.  I learned a lot about the process of writing and more importantly I now know that each step is very important.  I was not one to ask people to look over something I had written.  After all of the help and comments I was given by the three people that helped develop this project, I will be sure to get those revisions now.  It is very satisfying to see an entire project from pre-writes to the final draft, and have a final product you are proud of.       

Rough Draft 2

Rough Draft 1

Statement of Purpose

America was in a time of continued rebuilding in the early 1940's. World War II was in full swing and the nation was supporting the men on the front lines through manufacturing. The United States had factories that made everything from weapons to munitions and even clothing for our troops over seas. This had created large and populous urban environments that were growing in size and diversity daily. The farming industry had taken a huge blow in the depression.  Many farmers simply could not make make ends meet during the depression.   The country was self-sufficient and well on its way to putting all effects of the Great Depression behind. The people of America regained their optimism and could look forward to a day where there would be peace and happiness in the United States once again.

The photograph, Farmland in Catskill Country, New York State, was taken in 1943 by John Collier Jr., a photographer for the Farm Securities Administration and the Office of War Information. The Farm Securities Administration, or FSA, was put together during the Great Depression to purchase dying farms and provide some sort of support for farmers in need. Much of the time farmers who could not afford their farms any longer were relocated to urban areas of the country.  Once they were relocated, the FSA helped them get a job.  Despite the fact that the farming industry was on the rise, the relocation and reemployment of farmers left farms all over the country abandoned post Depression.  The project that Collier did in the 1940's would have been documenting farms all over the country. The purpose of this photo shoot was to show the American people what was going on in the rural areas of the country in this World War II era.  Farmland in Catskill Country, New York State, reinforces that idea World War II encouraged urban migration patterns.  This can be seen by analyzing the coloration, framing, and vectors of attention of the photo and their appeals to logos and pathos.  

The coloration of this photo works together with the other elements to create logos. All of the hues in the photo are very natural tones. The eye is first drawn to the rustic and weather structures that stand out against the lush green of the landscape and the blue of the sky. The different hues of green create a depth for the photo and add to the vastness of the land all the way back to the Catskill Mountains on the horizon. The natural lighting allows the viewer to see this valley as if the viewer were there.  The abundance of clear blue sky also reinforces that idea of a very "natural" photograph.  The importance of coloration in this photograph is mainly to create and maintain that sense of realism so that the viewers  could relate to it.   

This photo was very specifically and intentionally framed in this manner. The old buildings are clearly the main subject of the photo. However, the fact that so much of the sky and landscape are in the photo means something. This photo captures the beauty and vastness of the Catskill region. The vastness is important.  It shows that there really is nothing there.  Pasture lands that were once filled with grazing livestock were now empty.  It is important that the viewer see the emptiness of the photograph as if it were not, the buildings would have been centered and closer.  Being abandoned, the buildings create that same pathos.  There are no workers in the barn or hay or feed being stored there.  They are simply empty buildings and a reminder of only what used to be on this farm.

Vectors of attention are very important in this picture. The first thing that the viewer's eye is drawn to are the very rustic structures that are prominent in the photo. They are the closest subjects to the camera in the photo. The next subject that demands the viewers attention is the vast amount of blue sky that is in the photo. The eye then shifts down to the abundant pasture land that is below the sky. As the viewer follows the tree lines and hills, eventually he/she is led to the barely visable outline of the Catskill Mountains. The very last thing that is noticed when looking at this photo is the small part of a road that is barely noticable in the lower right hand corner of the photo. 

Farmland in the Catskill Country, New York State creates a feeling of emptiness through different vectors of attention, specific and deliberate framing, and coloration via hue and saturation. The war created opportunity for the once downtrodden people of the country. Urban factories were able to provide the most relief for the farmers who were no longer able to make a living working the land so urbanization and the abandonment of farms continued.  

Works Cited

"Natural Agriculture." 18 Feb 2010. Catskill Mountain Foundation, Web. 18 Feb 2010. .

"Biography of John Collier Jr. ." The American Image. 2000. University of New Mexico, Web. 18 Feb 2010.