WP 1: Pre-Writing Assignment 3

The Catskill Mountains are located in the southeast region of New York state. This entire area was once known as America's wilderness and is famous for its natural beauty. This is apparent in any picture you see of this area, including the photo I chose, Farmland in the Catskill country, New York. While the beauty of this region of the United States is undeniable, capturing that beauty was not the primary goal of John Collier Jr., the photographer. In 1943, Collier was employed by the Farm Securities Administration and the Office of War Information as a photographer. His primary assignments were documenting farms and land on the east coast. While this would have influenced what he photographed, Collier would have taken spectacular shots that captured the land and beauty no matter what. He was a very good documental photographer. In a previous post, I was writing under the understanding that the photo I chose was taken in 1933. However, after some investigation and research, I found that the picture was actually taken a decade later in 1943.

In 1943, America was just regaining its footing after the devastating Great Depression and World War II was well under way. Americans were starting to feel better now with the economy on the upswing. Farming would have been a great industry to be a part of in the 1940's. Farmers were making more that double what they were in the 1930's with the peak profit coming in 1944 at just over 20 billion dollars. During this time, The Farm Securities Administration was not doing too much buying of poor farms as the market was good for them. They were completing their mission of "showing Americans, American." The FSA was known for it small but influential photography department that documented farm life from 1935 to 1944.

This information did change how I viewed the photo. I know see it more as a teaching tool. The photographers of the FSA wanted to show the rest of the country what was going on in the eastern United States. They wanted to capture the beauty. The sole purpose of these photos was to inform people. Photos like this would have reinforced that feeling that everything was on the right track and America was on the rise. I still get that feeling of calm when I look at it but I now sense pride in it. This farm most likely went through tough times and could have even been bought by the FSA. However, it was now back in full force, raising livestock and crops. The Great Depression was over and America was back in the saddle.

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.

WP 1: Pre-Writing Assignment 2

John Collier Jr., the photographer of the photo of the farmland in Catskill country in New York State, was a brilliant photographer.  He knew exactly what he wanted in the picture when he was looking through his viewfinder.  At the time this photo was taken, there was not a whole lot Collier could have done in terms of editing his shots after he took them.  This meant he was thinking about the coloration, framing, lighting, focus, and cropping as he was shooting his photos.  Some cropping could be done but there was no such thing as photoshop in the 1930's.

The vectors of attention in my photo start with the buildings in the foreground.  These are the first objects that catch your eye so this would naturally be the starting point.  As I discussed in our first pre-writing assignment, The flow, or vectors draw us through the green pastures, past clusters of trees, with all of this eventually taking us to the mountains on the horizon.  By taking our eyes on this journey, Collier takes us through a beautiful and obviously quite picturesque countryside of the Catskill area in New York.  We can see the beauty and simplicity of a farm in the 1930's.

The fact that this photo is in color also makes a statement.  This was fairly new for the times and there are not a lot of color photographs from this era.  When you think of the Great Depression era photos, images of breath taking countryside do not come to mind.  The norm for photos of this time was that of somber workers working for low wages to try and make ends meet for their families.  These would also be done in black and white film.  These photos would definitely stand out against photos of that nature.  This would have been done on purpose.  Collier's purpose for his photography was to show America America.  These color photos would show the beauty found on the east coast.

As with most landscape photos, the entire photo is in focus.  This allows us to be able to see the entire landscape; from the buildings in the foreground to the mountains in the distance.  The focus also lends itself to the purpose of the photo.  The purpose is to show the landscape of a farm.  If the purpose was to document old farm buildings, the focus and framing would be a little different.  The photo would not track to the landscape.

The lighting is also important here.  Since it is not so easy to control the lighting over such a great area such as in a landscape like this, time of day is important for the photo.  It is clearly sometime in mid-day. There is no evidence of sunrise or sunset.  The focus was to be on the land and the rolling hills leading to the mountains.  The sky does not really draw from the over all effect of the photo.  It does however, add to it.  It adds to the vastness and beauty of the land that Collier wanted to capture when he documented the Catskill country.