That is what Baldwin Lee, assistant to Walker Evans, told us was what he had to do to get picture to show up in the dark room. It’s a funny thought because of the technology that was used to take these photos. Evans wasn’t using the latest and greatest digital camera, at this time digital cameras didn’t even exist. The photos that were made were taken with an 8 by 10 inch camera. Thought it isn’t the easiest camera to take with on road trips, it was an excellent camera to take pictures with that were very detailed.
While walking through the gallery I noticed a greater deal of detail than I ever noticed in any of my digital camera photographs. Don’t get me wrong I have a nice digital camera but what is being shown in these pictures is not just detail but a story. The picture of the Burroughs’s bed is the best picture to show detail. When looking at the picture closely you see black dots on the bed. According to Baldwin Lee, “those are flies on the bed.” As you continue to look at the bed you see that it is stained and there is no privacy around it. These details are what Evans is trying to get at, we all live similar lives, it’s just the details that separate us from one another.Thinking about the human condition and what everyone wants out of life I have come to the conclusion that we all want happiness. The happiness found in these pictures is not in what the physically own but what they live in: a family, a roof over their heads, food on the table, and a steady cash flow. Although it is difficult to tell in these pictures they have to be thankful for these few things that are keeping them alive and happy.
Works Cited
Reed, Justin James. “Nostalgia.” From This Moment. N.p., 20 Feb. 2008. Web. 12 Nov. 2010. <http://justinjamesreed.blogspot.com/2008_02_01_archive.html>.
Ross Austin
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