Erin Trieb is an American photojournalist who's career has been focused on war, social issues, and culture. According to her website, erintrieb.com, Erin was born in 1982 and grew up in Dallas Texas. She attended Texas A&M University-Commerce were, in 2004, she earned her Bachelor's of Science degree in Photography. Shortly after graduating college, Erin "began her career photographing in Israel and the Palestinian territories" After her time in Israel Erin began working at the Dallas Morning News and The Houston Chronicle. Her website states "Since 2007 she has worked professionally as a freelance photojournalist, editorial and documentary photographer.".
Is the image black & white or color?
Use of Light
Most of Erin's work has been in subject matter that society may see taboo for a female photojournalist to cover. She has seen first hand the tragedies of war and disheveled countries. For her work, she has received multiple awards and recognition from entities including World Press Photo, Pictures of the Year International, the Fotovisura Foundation, and The Art Director'c Club. Her website states "In 2011 she founded The Homecoming Project, an awareness campaign highlighting the effects of the trauma of war on US military returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan; The Homecoming Project is consistently featured in the media and has exhibited in over 50 exhibition platforms worldwide.".
As stated earlier, Erin has earned much recognition for the work she has done and the things she has accomplished. Unfortunately, in some workplaces, people are discriminated for their race, sexuality, gender, and much more. This discrimination can make it very difficult for these people to be recognized. As Professor Nordell discusses in his video Woman Photojournalists, a female photojournalist, named Marion Post Wolcott, could not find a job and had to rely on dinner dates with men for just a simple meal. He goes on to talk about how she was finally hired at The Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, but was harassed and bullies by her male coworkers.
According to the US Department of Labor, 57% of women participate in the US workforce. Of that total workforce, females account for 47%. Also, of all the women with children under the age of 18, 70% of them are in the workforce. That looks like a high number to me, but only 26% of the people in the tech and math industries are female.
So how much do women make compared to their male counterpart?
According to the US Department of Labor:
1. Natural Resources | Construction | Maintenance
2. Production & Transportation
3. Professional & Related
4. Management | Business | Financial
So what is the answer? Paul Melcher wrote an article in 2001 titled Why is a Photojournalists Gender Relevant to Their Work?. Throughout his article he makes a passionate argument that gender has no place in photojournalism. He states "It seems that political correctness has now started to reach the shores of the previously sexless island of photography. It appears that some people, with a highly developed social conscience, want you to know the gender of the photographer whose picture you admire. As if it made any difference.". I agree completely with his argument and point of view. If society can stop judging people by their gender and start judging them by the quality and context of their work as a professional, we may have a much more fair playing field. I think we, as Americans, forget where we are growing up, working, raising our families, and existing. In a video with Lynsey Addario, she said it best by saying "We are born in to lives of privilege compared to most other people in the world. And so for me, you know, I feel really lucky".
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| Photo By: Erin Trieb |
This image is in black and white. Because this is a self-portrait, the photographer had a choice whether she wanted it to be in color or not. I think she chose black and white because it makes the viewer focus on the character of the subject rather than the elements of the composition.
Keep it Simple
The photographer did a great job keeping the elements of this photo simplistic. The white background keeps the focus on the subject of the image. I also think the clothing helps the image's simplicity by having it blend together with everything but the face itself.
Use of Shadows
The use of shadows in this image is obvious right at first glance. Because of the positioning of the light to the subject, shadows have been casted over their entire bodies as they participate in training drills. I think the use of shadows gives this image a mysterious and serious emotion.
Subject's Expression
The expression on the subjects face is the context of the image. Although it is a self-portrait i almost see it as a self-character study. I think you can learn a lot about the subject just be looking at the expression on her face.
I chose this image because...
I enjoyed how it was a self-portrait. I think having total control over something, including the subject matter, in photography is rare. I think she does a great job technically and emotionally to express herself and how she feels.
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| Photo By: Erin Trieb |
The use of shadows in this image is obvious right at first glance. Because of the positioning of the light to the subject, shadows have been casted over their entire bodies as they participate in training drills. I think the use of shadows gives this image a mysterious and serious emotion.
Use of lines
I think the photographer composed this image very well. The juxtaposition of the soldiers in the distance to the soldier in the foreground creates an intriguing eye-line. My eye was first drawn to the dark cloud and small soldiers in the background, but the line created by the juxtaposition forces my eye to the main subject.
Contrast Appropriate
Because the image is black and white i think the contrast is very obvious in this image. The contrast of the dark people to the light sky makes the subjects pop. I think this helps show how important the subject is.
I chose this image because...
My eye was immediately caught by the juxtaposition in the composition. The subject matter is also important to me. There is nothing anyone should be more proud of than the men and women who fight for our country. Their lives deserve to be documented.
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| Photo By: Erin Trieb |
The use of light in this image may be my favorite part of it. The lens flare almost gives the image a playful feeling. I think this is important because it depicts two girls on a basketball team in Iraq where they can escape from the daily tragedies their country and people face. The light also forces your eye to the basketball, which is what this entire project was based around.
Depth of Field
I think the depth of field in this image is perfect. The focal point of the composition is is ficus while the remaining background it out of focus. This directs your eye straight to the girls and the basketball.
Exposure Time
The shutter speed used to take this photograph was fast. This is because the subjects are in motion and it was needed to capture the scene with no blur. Although movement is not shows with a blur you can still see it by the positions the subjects were in while the photograph was being taken.
I chose this image because...
The lens flare drew my attention to the photograph right away. I love the saturation of the colors and the contrast of the warm and cool tones against one another. I also enjoy sports photography and I think this was a fun and interesting take on it.
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