Robert Hubbard

Visual Literacy

Monday, February 10, 2010

Close Analysis of an Image

The image that I have chosen is one of great importance to our nation. It is titled Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima and it was taken by Joe Rosenthal after the battle on Iwo Jima. The picture was developed in Guam and the photo's producer exclaimed upon seeing it, "Here's one for all time!" The photo was immediately radiophotoed back to Washington and hit the press within 18 hours of being taken, which is a very speedy turnaround in those days.

This image came to the headlines again when the photo was turned into a statue in Arlington, Virginia outside the walls of the Arlington National Cemetery. This is known as the Marine Corp War Memorial. It honors the all the marines who have died serving their country since 1775.

Again the picture was made famous when Clint Eastwood directed Flags of our Fathers, a movie about the story behind the famous picture of Iwo Jima. The movie goes into the story of how the flag was raised twice because a General wanted the first flag for his shelf at home. The famous photo was of the second flag raising. There was also controversy surrounding the picture when it arrived in the states. Many people believed the picture was staged and there was dispute about one of the six men in the picture. The movie was nominated for a Golden Globe and two Academy Awards.

It is unusual for one picture to get this much attention, but that just speaks to the quality of the photograph. The picture itself is a masterpiece. When the eye takes in the picture the first focal point is the flag. It is the american flag on a white sky background which is exactly what a patriotic photograph is aiming for. The sky is blank and empty drawing no attention away from the action but rather serves as an accent on the flag. The clouds have a white glow surrounding the flag and follow the shape of the flag on the pole. After the eye sees the flag, you move along the diagonal line of the flag pole leading to the action of the image. The men raising the flag. The rest of the image is bleak and uneventful giving more emphasis to the subject of the photo. The background is a white sky and a grey sea creating a slight horizon line. The foreground is black debris looking uniform and not drawing much attention.

The main focal point of the image is the one man planting the base of the flag. Images and film are all about lines. A good picture or frame in a movie will have lines pointing to the subject. These lines serve to move the viewers eyes to the desired focal point. The lines in this picture are exceptional. Every object in the picture points to the base of the flag. The flag pole points directly to the base. The sea runs along the base of the picture and leads directly to the base. The top of the ground leads to the base from both sides. Even the set up of the soldiers creates a line leading to the base of the flag because each soldier is standing slightly taller than the one before.

The photo also exceptionally follows the rule of thirds. The flag is on the left third line and top third line and leads to the men raising the flag on the right third line and bottom third line. The whole rest of the image is below the bottom third line giving the sense that the viewer is gazing up upon the flag.

This picture has all the technical qualities that a good picture must have but there is also something about the picture that makes it great at first glance. The intangibles of the picture are what have carried it though many generations. It is a picture that inspires triumph and patriotism but where does this come from?

It comes from the image itself. This picture was not posed but it has every quality that a studio picture would have. The symbolism is very strong. It is a picture of american soldiers raising a flag over wreckage: triumph out of misery. It is a perpetual action of a flag being raised. The flag pole is frozen in time at a forty-five degree angle. This is the perfect angle to create a sense of action. The mind sees the angle and knows that the flag is being raised. Any less and the troops seem to be struggling; any more and it would seem to be falling.

Another feature that shows the action is the placement of the soldiers. Each one stands in a different position as if the photo were a time-lapse of a single troop raising a flag. The four troops appearing to be in for different frames give the picture movement and the viewer senses the movement on a still image.

This image has all the qualities of a great picture and all the intangible qualities to make it last through time. It is one of the great American symbols of war and patriotism. This image will be around for as long as the American flag is flown.