Week 2, EDUC 6810 activities

Photo Analysis of:

Photo 1: New York Daily News June 14, 2010

Caption: Obama and the Oil Spill

Describe what you see? (Observations)

I see the President in a listening posture.

• Nonverbal gestures (arms, hands, fingers)- These are not present in the picture.
• Facial expression (head, eyes, mouth)- His expression is of listening to someone else.
• Body language (distances, code matching)- The picture is just of his upper body above the middle of his chest.
• People (age, gender, ethnicity)- He is a middle aged mixed ethnicity man.
• Clothing (type, color)- He is wearing business casual clothes of a conservative pattern.
• Background (objects, setting)- The background of the scene is blurry.
• Camera angle- The photographer is slightly above his eye level.

What does it mean? Based on what you have observed above, list three things you might infer from this photograph.

• Is the photograph posed or spontaneous? How do you know? I believe that the photograph is spontaneous because of his "listening to someone else" expression.
• What is your prior knowledge of the historical context of the photos? The president took an active role in the clean-up of the spill. Motives for this include making good press that all politicians strive to do and government "lessons learned" in the poor federal response to Hurricane Katrina.
• What questions does the photograph raise? Write at least 3 questions. Was the president's response sincere? How knowledgeable was he on the crisis? How does he compare to other leaders in similar situations?

Photo Analysis of:

Photo 2: Christian Science Monitor June 14, 2010

Caption: President Obama meets with National Incident Commander US Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen for a briefing on the BP oil spill at Coast Guard Station Gulfport in Gulfport, Mississippi, on Monday.

Describe what you see? (Observations)

I see the President in a sitting beside the Coast Guard Commandent with a picture of covering the region of the oil spill.

• Nonverbal gestures (arms, hands, fingers)- The President's hands are gesturing to raise attention to the point he is discussing. The Commandent's hands are locked together in a listening posture.
• Facial expression (head, eyes, mouth)- The President's expression is of talking to someone else. The Commandent's expression is focused on listening to the President.
• Body language (distances, code matching)- The picture is just of their upper body above
• People (age, gender, ethnicity)- The President is a middle aged mixed ethnicity man. The Commandent is an older white man.
• Clothing (type, color)- The President is wearing business casual clothes of a conservative look. The Commandent is in a "working" or informal uniform.
• Background (objects, setting)- The background of the scene is informative for the viewer.
• Camera angle- The photographer is slightly below his eye level.

What does it mean? Based on what you have observed above, list three things you might infer from this photograph.

• Is the photograph posed or spontaneous? How do you know? I believe that the photograph is spontaneous because of his "speaking to someone else" expression.
• What is your prior knowledge of the historical context of the photos? The president took an active role in the clean-up of the spill. Motives for this include making good press that all politicians strive to do and government "lessons learned" in the poor federal response to Hurricane Katrina.
• What questions does the photograph raise? Write at least 3 questions. Was the president's response sincere? How knowledgeable was he on the crisis? How does he compare to other leaders in similar situations?

I found a form online that interested me at: http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/worksheets/photo_analysis_worksheet.pdf

This form is used by the United States National Archives to judge historic photographs for their use in collections maintained by the Archives.