Comments on: You Gotta Know When to Hold Them… http://enticingthelight.com/2009/03/31/you-gotta-know-when-to-hold-them/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=you-gotta-know-when-to-hold-them A Quest for Photographic Enlightenment Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:47:04 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= By: Miserere http://enticingthelight.com/2009/03/31/you-gotta-know-when-to-hold-them/comment-page-1/#comment-752 Miserere Sun, 25 Oct 2009 16:43:52 +0000 http://enticingthelight.wordpress.com/?p=2241#comment-752 Thanks for this information, Ken. We cannot forget that Dorothea Lange was commissioned to take these photos by the FSA (Farm Security Administration) with the objective of helping the struggling farmers during the Great Depression. Thanks for this information, Ken. We cannot forget that Dorothea Lange was commissioned to take these photos by the FSA (Farm Security Administration) with the objective of helping the struggling farmers during the Great Depression.

]]> By: Ken Cowan http://enticingthelight.com/2009/03/31/you-gotta-know-when-to-hold-them/comment-page-1/#comment-751 Ken Cowan Sun, 25 Oct 2009 11:47:27 +0000 http://enticingthelight.wordpress.com/?p=2241#comment-751 The latest news about this photo is that in fact there were 11 children, and Lange decided not to show them because the reaction would certainly have been "Oh, the poor! They breed like rabbits!" She also TOLD the children to hide their faces, to make them seem more vulnerable. So although she may not have done other photos that were as famous, we can at least say that this photo, completely posed in the end, was a conscious choice on her part and therefore deserves our admiration. It was NOT an accident that it came to have such force. The latest news about this photo is that in fact there were 11 children, and Lange decided not to show them because the reaction would certainly have been “Oh, the poor! They breed like rabbits!” She also TOLD the children to hide their faces, to make them seem more vulnerable. So although she may not have done other photos that were as famous, we can at least say that this photo, completely posed in the end, was a conscious choice on her part and therefore deserves our admiration. It was NOT an accident that it came to have such force.

]]> By: Charles http://enticingthelight.com/2009/03/31/you-gotta-know-when-to-hold-them/comment-page-1/#comment-750 Charles Fri, 03 Apr 2009 02:17:52 +0000 http://enticingthelight.wordpress.com/?p=2241#comment-750 Can anyone point to any other photo by D. Lange that they can think of? No? What about http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:JapaneseAmericansChildrenPledgingAllegiance1942.jpg ? Or another Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:JapaneseAmericanGrocer1942.jpg Thought not. Dorothea Lange is the ultimate one-hit wonder, seriously. The fact is, she was a pretty-good photographer who lucked-in to an image that became an icon. She was lucky, but she was no genius. She took five photos of Florence Thomas (she didn't even bother to get the name, that was only discovered later, and Thomas bitterly related that she never received anything for her efforts). The only thing that's really interesting about the set is the positioning of the children with their heads turned away, and that the picture of Thomas breast-feeding her youngest was automatically rejected. Can anyone point to any other photo by D. Lange that they can think of?

No?

What about
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:JapaneseAmericansChildrenPledgingAllegiance1942.jpg ?
Or another Wikipedia entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:JapaneseAmericanGrocer1942.jpg

Thought not. Dorothea Lange is the ultimate one-hit wonder, seriously. The fact is, she was a pretty-good photographer who lucked-in to an image that became an icon. She was lucky, but she was no genius.

She took five photos of Florence Thomas (she didn’t even bother to get the name, that was only discovered later, and Thomas bitterly related that she never received anything for her efforts). The only thing that’s really interesting about the set is the positioning of the children with their heads turned away, and that the picture of Thomas breast-feeding her youngest was automatically rejected.

]]> By: roentarre http://enticingthelight.com/2009/03/31/you-gotta-know-when-to-hold-them/comment-page-1/#comment-749 roentarre Tue, 31 Mar 2009 11:31:10 +0000 http://enticingthelight.wordpress.com/?p=2241#comment-749 You have illustrated the essence of photography being the intuition and a unique approach from the photographer. Not only taking an image with a message but a passion for revealing a deeper inspiration You have illustrated the essence of photography being the intuition and a unique approach from the photographer. Not only taking an image with a message but a passion for revealing a deeper inspiration

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