WP1 Pre-Writing 2

As mentioned in WP1 Pre-Writing 1, the children in the photograph are looking out across the lake. Thus, the vectors of attention are focused in that direction, away from the audience. This creates an appeal to pathos because it evokes a sense of curiosity in the audience. What are the children looking at? Where is there attention focused? Why is it so important that they all are looking at the same thing? The audience can't see what the children in the photograph can see so this in effect distances and separates the viewers from the photograph. There isn't as strong of an emotional connection as there would be if the children were looking at the camera.

Also appealing to pathos are the colors visible in the photograph. The sky and the lake are very similar hues, so they blend together and aren't very distinct. The children sitting on the rail serve as a kind of visual separation between the sky and the water to better distinguish them. The top line of the rail is almost exactly where the horizon is in the background, which provides a clear distinction between the sky and the water that otherwise might not have been very noticeable. In addition, the colors in the background are not very saturated. The sky and water are both a pale grayish-blue, and the ground is a light brownish-tan. These hues and the saturation of the hues elicit certain emotions with the viewer. They create a sense of neutrality--there doesn't seem to be much going on in the background of the picture and it may not seem very important. Emotions of indifference and bleakness tend to arise from the hues in the photograph, which may make the audience feel apathetic.

The children contrast with the background of the photo because they are a darker hue that stands out against the pale background. This contrast appeals to logos because it creates a visual hierarchy--the eye is first draw to the children, specifically the child in the yellow shirt sitting on the rail. He is seated higher than the rest of the children, and as a result, stands out more. The rest of the children are aligned, and the child seated on the rail breaks this repetition. He is also positioned near the center of the photograph which further helps draw the eye toward him first and makes him seem like the main subject in the photograph.

The framing of the photograph is interesting. The rail and the lake appear to go on forever on either side; there is no clear end in sight in the photograph. This creates a sense of vastness and makes the children seem smaller and possible less significant compared to everything else. However, since the photo doesn't show how big the lake really is or how far the rail extends, the children take up the bulk of the picture and are still the main focus, which is what the photographer probably intended. By looking at the photograph, the viewer can infer about the photographer and how he took this picture, appealing to ethos. The viewer appears to be where the photographer was standing, so the viewer puts themself in his place--standing behind the other children and observing them.