Photojournalist Profile
Dorothea Lange
Photo by Larry Colwell and Anthony Barbosa
Image Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/26/dorothea-lange-birthday-migrant-mother-photographer-118_n_3333741.html
Career Path: Dorothea Lange ran her own portrait studio in San Fransisco during her first marriage in the year of 1918. She then began working for the Farm Security Administration (FSA) with her second husband, Paul Taylor, during the time of the Great Depression. Lange and Taylor traveled together often and worked together as a team to document The Great Depression. Lange would photograph the people and situations they encountered while her husband wrote about them. After The Great Depression, Lange was hired to work for the War Relocation Authority where she photographed the Japanese-Americans during World War 2. Lastly after the war, Lange began taking on assignments for Life Magazine. Lange's photographs were seen in various newspapers during the time of The Great Depression and World War 2. Her most popular photograph, "The Migrant Mother", can even be seen hanging in the Liberty of Congress. Her photos could also be seen in Life Magazine. Image Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/26/dorothea-lange-birthday-migrant-mother-photographer-118_n_3333741.html
Era: Dorothea Lange worked as a portrait photographer and owned her own studio in the year of 1918. Her business was very successful until The Great Depression took its toll. She worked for numerous decades as a photojournalist. Throughout her career, the type of photography she captured changed. She was a documentary photographer for a good part of her career. She documented events in history such as the dust bowl, the great depression and the various hardships faced by mothers, fathers, their children and workers.The profession as a photojournalist was still up and coming during the time of Lange's career. There were still many advancements to be made in the world of photography. During the Great Depression, the FSA, which Lange worked for was able to collect 80,000 photographs. They hired various photographers and administration to make this possible.
Motivation: Early on in Lange's life, she contracted polio . Later on in life, Lange noted that she was appreciative of the disease when she said, "[It] was the most important thing that happened to me, and formed me, guided me, instructed me, helped me and humiliated me,” Lange used her talent and partnership with Taylor to bring awareness to struggles and hardships people were facing throughout difficult times. It was said that Lange marshaled her considerable energy and personal commitment from late 1935 to mid 1943 to give voice and color to society’s “cast asides.” She documented the lives and needs of the people whose lives were impacted, both positively and negatively. Lange was so passionate about her career as a photojournalist, she often had to leave her children with friends while she was away on assignments. Once they were a little older, she enrolled them in a boarding school.
Technology: Dorothea Lange used a Gralflex Series D during her time photographing The Great Depression. This camera was great for both high speed photography along with portraits. This camera had a focal plane shutter as well as a front shutter. This camera only allowed for black and white photos which put a limitation on Lange's work. Lange was asked about the equipment she uses in an interview with Suzanne Riess, "I find that my mind runs to about three different types of instrument and if I can go equipped to work—if it’s practical–! would take three basic cameras. I’m not a one-camera person. And those three would be a view camera, a 4×5; if I could manage it, I would make it an 8×10.". Even though her photography was limited, the impact of her photographs were not limited one bit.
Ethics: Dorothea Lange was not known for colorful, happy photography. Lange was known for her photographs of The Great Depression and World War 2. Her photographs were meant to document and make known the struggles faced by people during these times. Although the lack of color was a limitation of her technology, it added a feeling of darkness to her photos. Ethical dilemmas come whenever a photographer captures sensitive times. For example when the subject of Lange's photograph "The Migrant Mother",was indentified she was interviewed and asked about the photo. The woman, Florence Thompson said this, "I wish she hadn’t taken my picture,’ she (said). ‘I can’t get a penny out of it. (Lange) didn’t ask my name. She said she wouldn’t sell the pictures. She said she’d send me a copy. She never did." People may wonder why Lange just photographed these people rather than helping them. The Great Depression and World War 2 made people vulnerable. These events could have also made people desperate and made them do things they would have never thought they would do in order to provide for their family. In these situations, photographers and photojournalists can be thought of as onlookers. Onlookers in the sense they are present, offering no help, just looking for their next shot. Lange could have suffered from an internal ethical dilemma while photographing World War 2. Lange did not agree with the treatment of the people yet she photographed them under those conditions.
Bias: Dorothea Lange thought that photographing human subjects would have more of an impact on the viewers rather than damaged scenery or damaged nature. Therefore, the majority of Lange's photography included human subjects. Lange had the ability and talent to photograph people that had been hit so hard by the recession and war, yet make them look so lovely. Linda Gordon once spoke about that ability of Lange and said, "That she could make pictures of very poor people — people very, very hard hit — and still make them extremely attractive individuals." The always tried to show her subjects as being worthier than their current condition at the time.
Photographic Style:
Photo by Dorothea Lange
Dorothea Lange had an obvious subject in mind when capturing this photograph. She placed the main subject, the mother, right in the middle of the photo while two of her children on either side of her. Although the mother is the main subject, the children I would say are considered subjects as well. Lange had them take up the majority of this frame. There is nothing else to focus on in this photo besides the mother and her children. Both the mother and her children are in focus while the brief area pf background is out of focus. The expression upon the mothers face says it all. Her children have their heads looking downward which can bring a sense of sadness but the mother's face lets the viewer know there is much more going on in this photo that cannot be seen. The mother's appears to be looking into the distance almost wondering when things will get better for them or when the recession will finally come to an end. The expression on her face allows the viewer to understand the mood that was being felt during this time.
Photo by Dorothea Lange
Image Source: http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/lange/
The background of this photo includes the dry looking terrain along with what I assume is the family of the man in the front. The background of this photo allows viewers to understand the reality of what is going on. Dorothea Lange typically photographed human subjects because she thought it brought another level or emotion to the table. The background of the photo makes it clear how long this family has already traveled and makes me wonder how much longer they have to go. The composition of this photo is very simple. I think if anything else had been captured within this frame, the reality would have been lost from the image. More within the photo would loose the viewers focus on what Lange really wanted people to see.
Photo by Dorothea Lange
The depth of this photo makes me wonder how long this train really was and how many Japanese Americans were on that train. One train car in is focus and the rest seems to be a blur, but it is just right. The brief section that is in focus allows the viewer to understand what is going on in this photo. If the viewer understands what is going on here then they will likely understand what is going on within the rest of the train. The lines that the buttons create on the outside of train make the photo feel very uniform and strict. It gives the photo a level or harshness that I am sure the people in the train felt as well. The train does not look very comfortable from the outside so I am sure it was not very comfortable on the inside.
Photo by Dorothea Lange
Image Source: http://americansremember.com/?attachment_id=1259
The texture of the blocks used to make up the wall of the building are very rough looking and appear as though they are not uniform throughout. It appears as though some blocks are sticking out more than others. I feel as though those blocks resemble the lives of these people standing in line. Nothing was uniform from them. They never knew where their next meal was coming from, whether or not they had job security and where their next paycheck was coming from. We clearly know from history that The Great Depression was a terrible time for the people that lived through it. Lastly, the black and white coloring of this photo adds a level of emotion and darkness. Like mentioned before, The Great Depression was not a happy time for anyone and the black and white of the photo portrays that to the viewer.
Impact: Dorothea Lange's career resulted in a multitude of historic photos. Lange's photos impacted many different people. The Great Depression was known about and talked about. Lange's photos put a face to the horror stories people heard about the conditions, poverty and hunger these people faced. Her photos led to emotional reactions from people. It is easy to read an article about something going on within the world but once readers are able to put a face to the subject they are reading about it creates different feelings. The same goes for the photos Lange took of World War 2. People heard about the treatment of the Japanese-Americans but some thought the stories were too gruesome to believe. Lange's photographs allowed people to realize the harsh reality these people faced.
My Major at AIC: My major at AIC is nursing. Dorothea Lange primarily focused on individuals in need. That is how my major relates to Lange's photography. In nursing, we are constantly helping people recover from an acute illness or cope with a chronic illness. We don't just focus on patients that are ill, we have plenty of patients that are healthy and just need encouragement to stay on the right track. One thing all of our patients do have in common though is that they all somehow in need of something and that is our primary focus. That is similar to Lange way of working. She photographed those that were in needs of jobs, money, food and better living conditions. Although she was not able to help them directly, she helped these people by bringing awareness to their situations. Slowly but surely, eventually The Great Depression and World War 2 ceased to exist.
Viewpoints: Some people thought highly of Dorothea Lange while others did not think much of her. She was a highly respected photographer in the world of photojournalism. Lange was the first woman to be awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship in 1940. The Guggenheim Fellowship is awarded to men and women who have already demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts. On the other hand there were people that did not agree with Lange's subjects. They did not understand why she photographed those she did without helping them. Even the subject's of her photographs, Florence Thompson specifically, spoke out and said they wished she had never photographed them.
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