The image was taken by Dannah Gottlieb, who achieved the aesthetic quality in photography and his picture capturing the climate strike of children in New York City on September 20 was listed in Time Magazine top 100 photos of 2019. The image of children standing out to raise their voice against the environmental problems left me a huge impression the moment when I first saw it. It led me to bend my mind to the composition of elements that contribute to the success of the photo and some kind of thoughts immediately sprung up to my mind.
Firstly, the presence of children makes the photo much more emotional and catchier than usual. In retrospect, over the past decades, we always shifted the responsibility of tackling global concerns onto adults and blamed them for what they did to the environment. However, as the people have changed the way they address the problems, children – the new generation – decide to jump in and give a hand to thoroughly alleviate the environmental problems and raise awareness of the community. They make every endeavor to amplify their voice and to show adults their willpower and hope as the way the children in this picture did. Through the lens of Dannah Gottlieb, I could see how brave and enthusiastic the children were when being in the climate strike – it was a clear proof of the children’s powers and that everyone can make a change to the society. From things mentioned above, the impact exerts an enormous impact on me and pursues me to contribute something to the community.
Secondly, I can see Dannah Gottlieb’s talent of utilizing black-and-white photography, which allows the photo to look more formal and serious. In addition, the absence of color could act as a catalyst for the viewer’s concentration on the main subjects without being distracted by unnecessary colors. In technical terms, the photographer was expert at optimizing the use of camera, which allowed him to capture the special moment of the climate strike. By picturing children at the strike with noir setting filter, high speed, aperture and medium ISO makes the photo accurate and perfect.
To conclude, I can see the photographer’s attempts at not only capturing the moments but also spreading the children’s voice out. After all, I concur with the idea that the image can somehow affect others' emotions like the way it affected me.
