Sumatra Earthquake Rescue

Weekly Image Review, #1


Rescue Sumatra

In class this was considered the lead image of the Sumatra Earthquake story as it suggests danger and urgency. Light is at a premium, it is dark and eerie looking. The perspective of looking down with one hand appearing from the left suggests a larger audience. Does the hand in the photo also suggest a plea for helping hands? We see the militia and other workers carrying someone of influence out on a stretcher. The heads are cast downward as if in concern and the action in the shot suggests they are rushed. It’s difficult to determine where this might have been taken, perhaps the bowels of the earth. The attendants are all dressed well and appear clean, but the setting is in stark contrast and suggests grit and rawness.


Girl on Bike (extra credit)

The perspective of this photo is slightly removed from the disaster. We see a rural panoramic shot focused on one building. The sole cyclist is passing through our field of vision with eyes cast straight ahead. What was once pristine is now scattered with rubble. It appears to be a rural setting which implies the damage was widespread. It suggests the person is so numbed by the disaster that she isn’t even looking at it; is it just another destroyed building to her, or is she in shock and just trying to survive? In our class discussion, this was regarded as a supportive image. I actually prefer this one, because it reveals an otherwise beautiful setting, and a person getting on with life; just another day in paradise. It’s a place I might want to visit. I wonder if the ocean is just beyond those trees.