News Photos

Going through last week's SF Chronicle newspapers (prior to the arrival of the recycling service), I came across this photo from Sunday's paper (3/26/06). Taken in 1998 by Frederic Larson/The Chronicle, it's used to illustrate a news article called "Railway Renegades" - I'll try to post a link here. What struck me, more than the article itself, is the photo - it is a fantastic shot! It's got so much power packed into it, no wonder this 1998 photo is used to illustrate an article in 2006 - it is still relevant!


Why is it a great photo? There's a lot of empty space on the upper left; there's a lot of weight on the lower right - it's unbalanced! And nothing's happenening!! Yet that's just the point. A LOT is happening in this photo, and it's certainly worth the viewing.

One guy is trying to sleep, perhaps. He's got his bed roll and a blanket - must be cold. Another guy's taking a drag on a cigarette; baseball hat turned backwards, hooded sweatshirt, gloved hand with fingers free - he's Mr. Cool. The third guy looks up - what does he see? His brow is furrowed, his hair upright in the air. The perspective is a longshot of the railcar - the siding, rods in the train bed, the bedroll - all take the eye upwards. To what? Emptiness. An electrical wire; an outdoor lighting fixture; a blocky white building that contrasts with the gray surroundings. The youths all look in different directions: the sleeper's gaze is down to the lower left; the smoker's is down and inward; the bigger boy's gaze in the back is up, right, and to the outside. What a shot!

Adrift in the world, precariously-perched on a heap of metal rods, these boys are indeed riding the rails. The tagline says "Homeless young adults ride a freight train in Oakland heading for Phoenix in the late 1990s. Once the fading province of hoboes, riding free in a freight car has undergone a revival for everyone from immigrants to middle-class thrill-seekers." Is that what they are? What IS their story? Where's the interview eight years later? What are these guys doing now?

As photographers, it's so easy to capture a quick one, and so hard to make a great one. But do we really "get the story"? The story, for these guys, was certainly not over in the space of the second it took to snap their photo. And it will not be over even if we know their whereabouts today. In fact, this story is not even about them. Too bad - I'd like to know more. And what about the phtographer? What became of him? What's HIS life story? An image that opens doors - that's what this is. It raises questions, and interests the eye. What more can one ask?

One final note: why is it that the corporation owns the individual's artwork? It just doesn't make sense to me. No matter who's employ we're in, the work is still ours. At least they give Frederic Larson credit. Still, I object to the way our legal system is letting the corporations conspire to take over individual effort and community creativity. We are turning into a state of serfs once more.