Depth of Field

In the first picture, Robert Frank chose to take it in a shorter depth of field. The picture is of two people who are in the working class, living in an apartment. I think that the choice of Frank to shoot this photo closer really helps the viewer see the struggle that the working class was going through during this time period. You can clearly see one of the people’s faces through the window and are able to notice how tired and run down she looks. I also love how the American Flag is kind of the center point for the photo and how it covers the other woman’s face. It is also interesting to notice how the other woman looks like she is dressed nicer than the one that is in full view, but we can not see her face because it is being covered by the flag. To me, this alludes to the notion of that time period that the working class was real America, and the upper class was not.

The second photo by Robert Frank was taken with a longer depth of field. The viewer is able to not only see the people that are in the photo, but also a lot of detail as to where they are. Since this photo does have a longer depth of field I can see that a white man is getting his shoes cleaned in the bathroom by a black man. When I first looked at this photo, what really caught my eye was the facial expression on the white man. He has his head in his hands as if he is getting impatient and has to be somewhere. For him with was a small pit stop in his day, but for the black man, the bathroom with urinals lined up against the entire wall is most likely where he has spent most of his life. Frank again was able to capture America during this time period from his use of depth of field.