“Dust Bowl” Homework

• What images were created in your mind as you read the article?

• With a partner, compare the causes and effects you highlighted.

• Select one cause OR one effect that you would like to share with the class if selected.

Visual Analysis

Why are photographs so powerful?

• Helicopter pilots watch as a controlled fire burns on Mount McLean in western Canada. The fire was set in an attempt to reduce the amount of fuel for a wildfire burning on the mountain in Lillooet, British Columbia, on Aug. 4. The wildfire forced 2,500 people in the town of Lillooet to evacuate. Residents were allowed to return a few days later.

• A mighty carrier• Contractors paint the hull of HMS Ark Royal as

she sits in dry dock at Portsmouth Naval Dockyard on July 30 in Portsmouth, England. The flagship of the British Navy, the 20,600-ton Invincible-class light aircraft carrier, with a crew of more than 1,000 service personnel, has been in service since 1985. It is receiving an extensive refit that includes repainting the vast hull with special paints to reduce friction in the water.

• Motherless migrant children. They work in the cotton. -Dorothea Lange

Questions to consider:

Which characteristics of photographs cause a reaction in us?

How can we analyze visuals to find deeper meaning?

• What is your reaction to this piece? Why?

Unknown., 1934-1950 Library of Congress: Prints & Photographs, Lomax Collection

Visual Details

• Colors/shading• Objects/shapes• People/places• Actions• Arrangements• Foregrounds/backgrounds

All of these elements work together, whether intentional on the part of the photographer or not.

• Stephen Thomas Smith (my great-great grandfather) seated in middle, surrounded by 15 of his grandchildren. Some of the kids are my great aunts and uncles (my grandmother’s older siblings) – Letha (11), Hazel (7), and Lee (3). This picture was taken around 1920 in Oklahoma.

• Double Portrait of the Artist in Time Helen Lundeberg 1935

Visual Analysis

1. What is your first reaction to this piece?2. Read on the Lines: Use the grid to identify all

details in the photograph.3. Read Between the Lines: Based on the details

you see, what are the geographical or historical contexts related to this photograph?

4. Read Beyond the Lines: What is a theme or message depicted in this photograph?

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