The Last Words of the memorable Dith Pran
Image by: Steve McCurry
Subject
Expression: In this image, the expression on the
faces of the people draws questions. Dith Pran is the man in the front who
appears to be crying. Around one of his shoulders is a woman who looks
emotional as well and I feel as though this image depicts his story.
Quality
of light: The quality of light is this image is great. Its not
overwhelming to the point where it takes away from the image. And with the
quality being so good its very easy to see the expressions that each person
here is showing.
What
feelings does the image create?: This image makes me
feel worried. With knowing his story and all that Dith Pran has lost in reference
to family and friends you wonder who these people are. They may have been close
with him prior to his escaping and happy to see him free. The emotion in this
image is immediately felt and you wonder why they feel the way they do.
Who was Dith Pran?
Dith Pran was a photojournalist
for the New York Times, and he
was a Cambodian journalist who suffered four years of abusive treatment after
the Communist Khmer Rouge forces took over his country in 1975.
Dith images were told in a touching way. The ways that his images were
disseminated were through a movie. His
gruesome ordeal in the killing fields of Cambodia was re-created in a 1984
movie that gave him an eminence he tenaciously used to press for his people’s
rights.
Dith Pran was a photojournalist during one of the
history’s worst genocide. As far as the state of photojournalism at this time
it was very popular. He was not the only one to be taking images of situations
that were of this extent. Photojournalists such as Robert
Capa is a name that many are familiar with that have taken gruesome photos
as well.
As far as Dith Pran’s motivations, he simply sought
to get the message across of the massacre that was taken place. And he wanted
people to be able to have a visual to go along with what was being told. In an
interview shortly before his death: “What
matters is that we remember and we keep talking and maybe someday we will mean
it when we say about a holocaust.. ‘Never again’”. This is deep because
when people think of the holocaust, you know the weight of grief that it holds.
So to have it to that extent says a lot about the situation. Pran suffered
through so much that this was his only way to express himself. He lost
more than fifty relatives to the Khmer Rouge, including his father, three
brothers, one sister, and their families.
Image by: Dith Pran
In
or out of focus: The main subjects of this image are in
focus and the background of the image is in focus. This is a good technique to
use because you allow the background to compliment the main subjects and that
is what this photo does. You also are allowed to see that this woman is holding
a small child and if this photo made the main subjects out of focus you could
possibly miss that.
Contrast
appropriate: The contrast here in this photo is good
as well. It’s not too high or too low, where the viewer will not be able to see
the subject’s expressions.
Abstraction:
The
abstraction in this image to me is the background. Although it is not the main
focus of the image, it plays part in the meaning of the image. It’s hard to
tell what exactly it is in the background but you can tell this is just a
rundown area.
Ethical Dilemmas?
Dith Pran did not come across such mention-able ethical
dilemmas, but he did face dilemmas with becoming the story teller he was.
Through further researching, there were findings of what Pran had to deal with
while being held hostage. Pran and other villagers
ate anything they could find: bark, snakes, snails, and rats. Some even dug up
dead bodies. Even after his escape, it has stuck with him, and it will
never leave him. The trauma is something that cannot be explained as well. “When I’m too busy, I can
try to forget a little bit, but if I have nothing to do, it bothers me so much because
my mind goes back and forth... It’s unbelievable what [the Khmer Rouge] did to
the Cambodian people.”
I don’t believe that Dith Pran was bias in any way
with taking his photos. I feel as though the only way that he could appear to
be biased is in the sense that he wanted to only capture images that would explain his experiences, but that would be clear with seeing what his
motivations were as a photojournalist. To inform every one of his experiences
so that they don’t forget it and not allow it to occur again would mean that he
would have to take these sorts of pictures that speak 1000 words.
Image by: Dith Pran
Rule
of thirds: This image uses the rule of thirds
technique extremely well. In each third of this photo there are different
levels being used. And with doing that it makes the viewer eyes follow each
level.
Depth
of field: The depth of field in this image is maximum depth of
field. The image just keeps going seeing that the whole image is in focus even
going all the way to the back. With a image like this, you notice more and more
as your eyes travel.
Black
& White: With this image being in black and white
it doesn’t allow the viewer to be distracted in any way. You see the simple
meaning of this image which is conflict in a battlefield. With having colors,
it may cause viewers eyes to focus more on one section more than the other.
His Impact, Viewpoints and Connection to my Major
Impact:
His images affected society because it was a way for people to be informed
about what was occurring in Cambodia. “Part
of my life is saving life.” Pran wanted to express himself through his
images and he did just that. Many people look at him as a hero to this day.
Viewpoints: Dith Pran personally to me was viewed as a hero to everyone. With what he had to overcome you have to respect his courage to keep going. With losing all that he did, and remaining strong says a lot about him. And with finding out more about him, he was for the people. He wanted to affect the lives of others in a beneficial way, since it would make him feel better at heart. Leaving a legacy as he did was one that many photojournalists were not able to do.
Connection to my Major at AIC: My major here at American
International College is communications and I see some points of Dith Pran’s
career relating to my major. I see it relating to my major because the way that
he’s getting his message across is through pictures. And with this major, that’s
one of the basic ways of communicating. Today, that is one of the many ways to
get a message across but it’s still used. Now there is video, voice recording,
email, gadgets through smart phones and so on. With his main focus being on
telling his story through his images, it connects to my major because I could
get into digital photography through my major if I wanted to.
Image Source:
Image by: Steve McCurry
Background
compliments or detracts from composition: The background
of this image compliments the composition in every way. The meaning of the
skulls behind Dith Pran is of the death’s that took place due to Khmer Rouge.
This clearly isn't all of them but to see a small visual is different from
reading it.
Obvious
main subject: It is clear what and who the main
subject is. With having the main subject clear, you’re allowed to analyze his
posture and expression. And looking closely, you see the hurt in his face.
Texture:
For the texture aspect of this image, there are many things in this image that
has a lot of texture. The skulls show great texture, the walls, the ground, and
even the wood piece he is sitting on. Texture allows the image to have a sense
of reality to it and this image does exactly that.
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