Favorite Photo

http://bop.nppa.org/2006/still_photography/winners/OPS/63917/124894.html

My favorite photo is “Alone Together” by Francine Orr. The photo is of two young Ugandan children sleeping head to toe on small towel on a concrete floor. The photo initially strikes me because the symmetry brings to mind the iconic “Drawing Hands” by M. C. Escher, and the single towel the children sleep on illustrates their plight. I also like how the shadowing in the top-left and bottom-right corners frame the children. I think the fact that you can’t see the complete face of either child reflects their struggle – they are just two of the thousands of orphaned, hungry children. (Their ankle tags add to this sense of being merely a number.) Additionally, without a face to study, the viewer cannot really analyze either child. While the photo is a close shot, we are still kept at a distance, representative of the distance that many outside of Africa relish when neglecting to pay attention such problems.

Zak