Activity Sheet: Analyzing the “Where We Are” series
- Choose atleast three of the photo essays and scroll through them, reading and viewing. What do these pieces have in common? What elements do they all seem to contain, even though the subjects are different? Make as long a list as you can.
The three photo essays I chose comes from “ In Guatemala, a Collective of Young Artists Finds Family Through Film, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/06/22/style/bikes-motorcycles-martinique.html, and In Seville, Spain, These Young Rappers Come Together to Turn ‘Tears Into Rhymes’” Schulten, Katherine. “Creating Photo Essays about Community: A Guide to Our Where We Are Contest.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 14 Feb. 2024, www.nytimes.com/2024/02/14/learning/creating-photo-essays-about-community-a-guide-to-our-where-we-are-contest.html#link-353e9583. For starters, all three of these pieces are based on young artists. That genuinely says a lot. They all based on the come up of them and the trials and tribulations that was taken in place. While they were on a come up, they started to form a source of friendship which is a great element due to their circumstances. They formed a union. For them to be young is an element that I can salute to because I’m young as well and these photo essays inspired me to keep going. Another great element all three of these photo essays endorsed was that they all made it happen no matter how hard it was. It isn’t always easy making it out at other countries because they all aren’t given the same opportunities or maybe because they’re from the low class, but a way was still made.
- Each off these photo essays contains images that “zoomout” to show a big picture and images that “zoom in” to spotlight details. What examples of each can you find? How do they work together to tell a story
In the photo essay “In Guatemala, a Collective of Young Artists Finds Family Through Film” if you keep scrolling you will come across a photo zoomed in on a person with watery eyes as if they were crying. This speaks a lot of volume because in the essay it states, “The young filmmakers have “been told our whole lives that we’re going to starve for pursuing this,” VANESSA, at left, said.” This can relate so much to the essay because being discouraged about your dream can become very overwhelming because you clearly see the people who aren’t supporting you. There’s a zoom out picture of a person hugging another student which can also relate to the zoom in picture because it’s basically stating that there’s comfort after discouraging moments. That’s how they work together to tell a story.
In the photo essay “https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/06/22/style/bikes-motorcycles-martinique.html” there’s a zoom out picture of a group of bikers that were all men and as you keep scrolling there’s a zoom in picture of a woman. Just one woman. These two pictures work together to tell a story by illustrating that you don’t have to be a man to be a biker. Women should always be given an opportunity to do what they want. No matter who’s opposing the choice.
In the photo essay “In Seville, Spain, These Young Rappers Come Together to Turn ‘Tears Into Rhymes’” You can see a zoom out picture of 3 men running looking optimistic and if you scroll up there’s a man who’s looking up while laying down looking pretty bummed out. I feel like these two pictures come together to tell that some days will be harder than others. There will be days where you feel like you’re not doing good enough or just not feeling successful in life but at the end of the day you still have to push forward because times doesn’t stop for anyone.
- What do you think it is about the connections people make in real-world places– as opposed to online – that make them special? Which of these pieces got that across especially well? How?
I personally believe it is always better to connect with people in real life than online. It just hits different. You’ll be able to see a person true colors in real-world places rather than texting or through a screen in general. On social media people portray themselves to be who they WANT to be not who they truly are. I believe “In Guatemala, a Collective of Young Artists Finds Family Through Film” photo essay got this across well because they worked in person rather than online which for one made it so much easier and more efficient. As they worked, they found many differences and similarities and if they were to have worked online they would have been limited to things to do.
For Black Debutantes in Detroit, Cotillion Is More Than A Ball
Three beautiful Black queens. Dressed to impress. “In a heady swirl of bright white silk and lace, the young ladies of the Cotillion Society of Detroit Educational Foundation are presented as debutantes.” Schulten, Katherine. “Creating Photo Essays about Community: A Guide to Our Where We Are Contest.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 14 Feb. 2024, www.nytimes.com/2024/02/14/learning/creating-photo-essays-about-community-a-guide-to-our-where-we-are-contest.html#link-353e9583.
Escorted by young black men and represented by their fathers. All the struggles their ancestors had to go through for them to be allowed to have this opportunity. Debutante balls aren’t just regular balls.
As you continue to scroll and read you will come across a picture with approximately 24 individuals rehearsing. This proves the point that this isn’t just a ball. With being apart of this, you can seek many opportunities such as winning a scholarship, making long term connections with others, coming together to help the community, and learn more about networking. According to the photo essay it states they rehearsed for months. The theme behind this photo states that there are many young men and women bonding through this experience. Not only are they rehearsing, but they also gather to do charity work for the community allowing them to give back and support their community. The top image makes this theme visual because in the image you see 3 women from the same background in a friendly competition to win.
Now, let’s touch base on what really is this annual ball and the concepts behind it. In the photo essay it states “The Society’s annual ball is the culmination of eight months of etiquette lessons, leadership workshops, community service projects and cultural events. As the girls take to the dance floor, they become part of a legacy of Black debutantes in the city and beyond”. This ball allowed people to uplift black women to a desire of more education and lifetime opportunities to endorse more black fellow women to follow right behind them. A mother from Detroit found this cotillion and participated in it herself. Now, her daughter is also in the same spot she was in! Being in this ball could be a cultural tradition for anyone who participates!
You may be asking; how does the day of the cotillion start off? Let’s get to it. All the ladies gather in two large rooms, where they get ready at. After, their father figures arrive at the entrance of the ballroom where they’ll line up at. As they are making their entrance into the ball room, they’re name, and achievements are being announced. Once they’ve all entered, they proceed to begin with the dances they rehearsed with their escorts (some).
I mentioned with being in this cotillion, you make incredible memories and people. Madison Galloway, a former participates stated, ““We created an environment where we were giving each other pep talks,” said MADISON GALLOWAY, 17, one of this year’s debutantes. “Watching everybody go down, honestly, I was tearing up because we created connections, and everybody looked so beautiful”. After reading this essay, I learned that these beautiful ladies bonded from having the same goal. Receiving recognition and a desire to make a cultural difference in their community. Knowing what their kind have went through in the past and the present it makes me genuinely happy that they’ve finally found their safe place after all.
In conclusion, the artist choice made by the photographer was magnificent. The photographer made sure to capture moments these ladies will always look back to and remember how genuine this opportunity was. I was impressed by how clear and vibrant the top main picture was. The picture spoke so many volumes. It gives us a clear understanding of what this essay was going to be about before reading. What I liked most about the pictures were that they were all in Black and White font. That gave it more of the illusion of how serious it was and more like old school vibes. I could borrow that from the author and adding visuals to my essays. I’ve never thought about that. Having visuals throughout the essay helped me understand better and illustrate the idea in my head how everything plays out.