International Center of Photography

At the Photography Center, I tried to get through all the photos in the museum in the hour that we had before it would close. I found it really difficult though to get through everything because it was hard for my eyes to veer away from almost every single photo. It’s like ever since the night at the museum, my eyes have the urge to find EVERYTHING–every detail– in the art piece.

However, I was still able to find a photo that was mind blowing. The photo I chose is called Happy Street Boy in Pennsylvania Mill Town by Lewis Hine, 1910. The reason I chose this one because this picture stuck out of all the other pictures in the exhibit. In the “Child Labor” section of the exhibit, all the photos had children all tattered and torn, all looking sad and some of them with major injuries. The picture I chose, though, had one kid who was SMILING!!!! As most of us already know, it’s not custom to smile when taking a picture back then. It just didn’t feel natural to smile for a photo. But the kid in the picture was smiling, which really means that he was happy!

Moreover, the kid was happy even though he was a low class child who, just like the kids in the other photos, worked at the factories. He had a lost tooth, lost buttons on his dirty shirt and soot all over his face. He could have lost a limb in the factory that day!! But he just keeps on smiling.

This child can teach all of us a lesson: Keep calm and smile at whatever life throws at you!!!     🙂