WP1: Pre-Writing 2

In the “Beecher Street School” photograph, the photographer Fenno Jacobs’ choice to take the picture without posing the individuals or requiring them to look at the camera has several effects. For the most part, the vectors of attention are all in the direction of the side of the photograph. The one exception is the boy in the blue striped shirt who seems to be looking either at the camera or a bit to the side; it is difficult to tell just where his eyes are looking exactly. The children in the back row who are looking off to the side are also aligned in a row which draws the eye to look at each individual in an ordered, linear fashion, starting from the little boy. This is an appeal to pathos because it creates a feeling of curiosity and interest in what is going on that is not seen. The eye wants to continue on to look at the side of the photograph that is not really there in order to find out what has the attention of all these people. This is brought about even more so because the girl sitting in the chair, separated from the others, is also looking in this direction.

What Jacobs decided to allow the audience to be able to view also creates an appeal to the pathos of curiosity and interest. The framing of the photograph is specific as to how many people are seen and it is interesting that the picture skims the tops of the children’s heads when there is so much space at the bottom of just showing the gravel road or street. Jacobs may have done this to display the setting of the photo so the audience is not left guessing where the children are standing watching the crowning. Also, the picture is framed in a way that both signs advertising "Breakfast and Lunch" and "Victory Gardens" are displayed in their entirety. This is conducive to showing a part of the lives of the students and their place in their community at their elementary school. However, the boy is partially cut off and one can only infer that there are more children standing next to him because of the crowd that is behind him.

The vectors of attention and the fact that the line of children continues beyond the framing of the photograph contribute to the feeling of curiosity of what is going on that someone looking at the photograph would feel. This also contributes to the mood of the photograph that the children are waiting restlessly and excitedly for something to happen in this celebration of the crowning that they are witness to. The coloration of the photograph also adds to this mood. The hues that are the most noticeable are the reds, blues, whites, and yellows because they are the brightest and mostly saturated. All of these are colors that naturally induce an excited and happy feeling. The bright blues and yellows on the signs make them stand out particularly even though they are behind the girl who is wearing an outfit of three of the aforementioned colors all located in one area. This brings special attention to this girl and her purpose as the singled out child sitting in the chair.