“What I like about photographs is that they capture a moment that’s gone forever, impossible to reproduce.”
― Karl Lagerfeld
A picture can be powerful, it can tell us a lot or a little, it can evoke emotion, it can open our eyes or change our lives. One picture, one moment. A photograph can create associations of an event or change them. Sometimes a picture speaks loudly about a situation and other times it only shows half the story. Most times photographers want their pictures to inform the viewer of a feeling, a problem, a celebration, but they don't always photograph a moment that represents an entire story. Is it a bad thing if the moment captured only shows one moment of happiness in a dark time or even a dark moment in a celebration? I think these images are the most eye opening and influential as they often tell us about the details we hadn't thought of.
For example the image of Marlene Dietrich passionately kissing a G.I. as he arrived home from World War II in New York, July 1945, shows a moment of happiness as two people reunite after being separated by the war. This picture, at the time, would have created a sense of hope for people waiting for their loved ones to return home. Looking at the picture with a contemporary view, it reminds us of the celebrations after winning the war, it reminds us of the lighter side without us forgetting the tragedy and maybe even changing the association of the war with an image of mass graves, to a beautiful reunion of loved ones. It shows a celebration of life during a time of death.
Another example of this conflict of feelings in an image, is the father of a bride crying at her wedding. Here the father sheds a tear while looking at his daughter in her wedding dress, this picture reminds us that a wedding is not only a celebration of matrimony but also a father letting go of his daughter. This picture creates a conflict of emotions, it is beautifully sad and happy at the same time and opens our eyes to every part of this milestone in their lives.
The reason I love photography is because a photograph can capture beautifully emotive moments in life that are unlikely to be repeated. They can help us remember or take our minds off a time that we can only look back on, and they can help us understand the effects of moments on the people around us.
By Elizabeth Statham Langley Park School For Girls
