07
B+WT
he momentum of this picture takes us from left
to right, our eyes travel from the male figure
that is slightly cropped at the far left of the
picture, through the line of shadows and small
boy to the boy at the far right, who is again slightly
cropped. But there is no doubt about what the main
subject of the picture is because inevitably our eyes
come to rest on the small figure of the boy running.
Sturdily built, he is a small man in the making, intent
on his forward journey, unperturbed by the line of
shadows overhanging him. And yet, as onlookers, we
might feel disturbed by these faceless, seemingly male
figures who appear to be watching our hero as he runs.
Our curiosity is piqued. There are so many questions
to ask, so many feelings to explore. We begin to
identify with the young boy – is he being menaced by
the onlookers, or is he the winner in a race, and what
is the significance of that letter ‘A’ on the wall?
We will never know the answers to these questions.
Maybe the photographer could enlighten us or it is
possible that he was as intrigued by the scene as we are.
Apart from the many possible stories we could make
out of this picture (bearing in mind we bring much of
our own history to imagined situations such as this, and
each will be different) the composition of the picture
is vitally important. The two boys at either extreme of
the image are both slightly cropped, as we have already
established, and therefore we subconsciously dismiss
them, whereas the boy is fractionally left of centre but
because he is running we draw him on in our minds to
be central to our attention. The line of shadow figures
are like those paper dolls we cut out with scissors as
children, linked together to form a waving line, giving
the background intense interest focused again on the
boy. The road itself falls down in the direction he is
running and the blank window is directly above him.
Good composition is so important because it is
this that holds our interest by pleasing our sense of
equilibrium and harmony, making us want to stay with
the picture and explore it. It allows us the pleasure
of working with the picture to find meaning and
association with ourselves and our self-knowledge.
Black+White Photography has
been invited by Magnum Photos
to choose one picture each month
from their archive to discuss, dissect,
examine and consider. This month
Elizabeth Roberts explores an image
by Ferdinando Scianna.
Capizzi, Sicily, Italy, 1982 by Ferdinando Scianna
© Ferdinando Scianna / Magnum PhotosMAGNUM OPUS