One of the most captivating photograph for me in the Howard Greenberg Gallery was Yahna Ganga, taken by Craig Tuffin in 2014. This photograph caught my attention because it was so different than most of the photographs on display. Most of the photographs had a theme or some form of context that is identifiable. In this image, the only object that we see is a hand, presumably outstretched. But, this hand could represent anything because it has no context around it. The lighting also plays a significant role. The black background brings the viewer’s attention directly to the hand. Even the hand is partially shrouded in darkness and loses focus as it gets farther away.

All these elements made me wonder whose hand this was and why it was so important. The hand pleads with the viewer to come to the owner of that hand. This ties in with the title of the photograph “Yahna” means to sit down and “Ganga” means to understand, as provided by the photographer. The title of the photograph essentially means to sit down and understand. The photographer is trying to convey the message that the viewer should not focus on the outside elements of a situation, but rather that an outstretched hand is a plea to stop and hear and understand. That is why all the context of that hand is covered in darkness, the viewer’s attention is immediately drawn to the owner of that hand and try to figure out why that hand is outstretched.