Andre Kertesz
The Tender Touch, Bilinski
1915
I chose this photo because the topic matter is up for interpretation and leaves me wanting to know more about what exactly is happening. The viewer cannot tell why the man’s hand is where it is. Is it because he is encouraging the woman to work (similar to a pat on the back), to follow him, or is he trying to engage her in a sexual manner (since his hand is where it is — and if so, is she willingly allowing him to do so)? It seems like there is a personal connection between the two of them since the look on the man’s face is clearly joyful, but since we cannot see the woman’s face, we cannot know for sure.
Although the photograph is titled The Tender Touch, we don’t entirely know what tender means in this context, as I explained above. It’s also interesting to note that Kertesz, the photographer, was a white photographer taking pictures of black people during times of segregation. It doesn’t seem like this photo was staged. It looks like he has a genuine smile on his face and it seems like his feet are in the middle of moving. This adds excitement and reality to the image.
Despite this photo being so lively, I don’t think it follows the golden ratio or the rule of thirds. These definitions suggest breaking up the picture and off-centering the subject matter. They claim that pictures that do not do this (such as this one) are amateurish. The subjects in this photograph (the man and the woman) are directly positioned in the middle of the image. Nothing is off center.
Instead, the photographer left “space in the picture frame ‘open.'” The man and woman are clearly not stationary. They are moving figures, so the photographer, Kertesz, made sure that there was “space” in front of them. “The view imagines that the subject continues to move, and visualizes it moving through the picture space.” This makes it compositionally strong. You can imagine them continuing to walk through the field. Providing the vast background adds depth and wonder to the image. I want to know where they are heading, what is over the hill, and where they are coming from.
It is also compositionally strong since they are the main focal point. Kertesz didn’t have to use a special ratio or rule of thirds, and yet still is able to create a vivid photograph that leaves the viewer wanting to know more about what type of event is taking place.
I also plan on framing my image having only a single focal point. I have always felt that having the subject in the middle was more powerful than having it off centered, as some of the readings propose make for a better photograph. I love capturing vivid landscapes with one object directly in the center. I find this to be more aesthetic and more powerful than a picture with the subject matter being off centered. I love playing around with colors. Of course in 1915, there weren’t colors to choose from, but I plan on utilizing natural saturation as part of my photograph.
Kyle Leighton – Blog B
