Jennifer Brown
Barbara Davidson, "Taliban Prisoners of War"
2016, Digital Photography
I selected this image because of my immediate focus on the man's eye. The man is clearly suffering and due to his intense facial expression I almost did not notice that he is surrounded by other men, all of whom are distressed. I found it interesting that a majority of the natural lighting is on the man's eye, possibly contributing to my attention being drawn to the eye to begin with. The photo's negative space (the wall) ironically embodies the freedom that the positive space (men behind bars) does not consist of as they are reaching out past the bars and attempting to advance to the positive space. The positioning and facial expressions of the men represents their misery. Although there is the slight negative space, there is an intense amount of despair that is seen all over the rest of the image. I was personally moved by the the boys face on the bottom right corner. I feel as though the face being in the shadow and covered impartially by the hand reaching out ties the photograph together.
