Still Running

This is the first photographic analysis that we were asked to do. I picked this photograph because the raw determination in the face of the leading soldier drew me in.

The photograph depicts three soldiers running, guns in hand, towards an unknown destination that they are all facing. The photograph is able to capture the motion in a still frame, giving the photograph more depth than it might typically have. It allows the viewer to enter the narrative of the photograph, evoking a larger emotional response than if the photograph had merely captured the men standing and waiting to run. The angle from which the photograph is taken exaggerates the height of the soldiers in the photograph and the distance between each of the three soldiers in the photograph. The photographer frames it so that the frontmost soldier takes up the entire length of the photograph and is the central focus, while the other two are relative to the position of this one. Each soldier is facing his destination as he runs towards it – this is the only goal in mind. The photographer further conveys this mindset through the contrast he creates between the soldiers and the background of the photograph. The dark uniform of the soldiers against the white of the clouds allows the reader to focus only on the soldiers, as they focus only on their destination. The photographer’s intention is to take an expressive photograph, one that takes this scene from war and brings it to society. He does so in a more subtle manner than other wartime photographers; there is no bloodshed or death in the frame. Instead, he focuses on the persistence with which soldiers do their duty and hopes that the viewers can appreciate this through the photograph.