Casey Templeton
The Breeze
Junior
James Madison University
Where’s David Leeson? We want David Leeson! Sorry, if you came here this week expecting another insightful critique by the incomparable Mr. Leeson, you’re out of luck. For the next month or so, I’ll be filling in. So, I’ve put on 4 or 5 extra pairs of socks and will now attempt to fill David’s shoes.
This week’s image up for review is Casey Templeton’s photo of a child playing with his fellow students at a Hispanic after-school program.
First off, this image tells me some very good things about Mr. Templeton. It shows that he has no problem going the extra yard. By crouching down and squeezing himself into this space, he transported us into the world of the children and captured an angle from their point of view. Secondly, the picture demonstrates that Casey resisted the temptation to use a strobe and instead chose to make this frame by using the beautiful available light to illuminate his subjects. Finally, Casey used a wide angle lens very effectively and obviously isn’t afraid to get close to his subjects.
As a photograph, this image, like Casey, works on several levels. Compositionally, the image is successful by using light and dark to guide the viewer through the photo, The viewer’s eye starts at the face of the boy on the left and is then led across to the right to the wonderful repetition of the four children in the corner. The geometric lines and the octagon of light on the right add interesting shapes and frames to the image. The window behind the boy defines the back of his head separating him from the background. The warm color palette of this photo enhances it’s appeal.
That being said, there are two things in this photo that bug me. One is the line of light protruding from the boy’s mouth. At first I thought it was a popsicle stick but then I realized it was light coming through the space between the boards. It looks like if Casey could have moved just inches to the left, he might have created some space between the boy and the light. The other problem is the direction that the four girls are looking. It appears to me that they are reacting to the presence of the photographer and not at what the boy is looking at. I’m guessing that this image was made shortly after Casey came into the fort.
In a perfect world, Casey would have spent a good chunk of time working this situation and would have captured a timeless image of the innocence of youth. But not having been there, I can’t make any assumptions about the time he had or the moments that followed this one.
In conclusion, I believe this a successful image and applaud Casey Templeton for his effort, but in the end, all I see when I look at this photo is what might have been and not what was.
