IN this photograph I can see a group of people holding sparklers huddling together , with a blurry red-tint that blends from the bottom of the screen, the red slowly losing intensity further up the photo. Furthermore , the group of people are wearing bright and colourful clothes , with a general colour scheme of red, white ,and blue .The picture has a very blurry focus , to the point where I can bearly determine the people from their surroundings , intrestingly although the people appear smudged the bright slash of the sparkler is perfectly clear. The primal source of light comes from the sparkler in close to the centre of the photo ( only slightly towards the bottom left hand corner of the photograph), this along with the red hugh of the photograph produces a fire like effect ; people huddled around it , the intensity slowly fading in rings .The frame of the camera seems balanced straight to the ground despite the cameras shake, tome , it appears that Ming Smith shook the camera up and down as there is a stripe of light from a street lamp as opposed to a glowing still point. Additionally the atmosphere of the photograph is very clear from the warm red and the jazzy colours that the people are wearing which is to me expected considering when the photo was taken it was the fourth of july.
It is clear to me that the photographer Ming Smith has created a blurry effect on purpose , the horizontal lines of light suggest that Ming Smith moved the camera up and down as opposed to just shaking it side to side.If i were to replicate an image like this i would focus on setting a similar cheery and joyous atmosphere , i would start with gathering a group on people, i would create a dark background with a warm central light as the subject, i would next mimmic the shaking of the camera and later i would use photoshop to enhance the warm and slightly red colour theme. I think that using a slightly old and grainy camera would really add similar features to my photograph. In my opinion this photograph conveys feelings of joy and celebration as well as deep feelings of nostalgia and replicates deep feelings of memory , like recalling a pleasant memory or thinking back to a time in the past such as in ur childhood ; how memory’s are often remembered as sweeter and more pleasant than they actually were. As if the imagination you had as a child has left a hazy watermark on ur mind. What i enjoy about this photo is that although this is the first time that i am seeing it , the photo feels familiar , i think the ambiguity of the figures i it cause this for me , its like the photographer wants us to be able to imagine that the figures are whoever we want them to be: a family member, friend or a stranger. Additionally the photographs figures are blurred to such a point that they are almost unrecognisable as humans and more resemble blobs of vibrant colour, for me this reminds me of trying to take a photograph during the fun and exhilaration of a event or for instance a celebration such as the fourth of July, and when later that night you go through to pictures that you have taken, you find that they are distorted and fuzzy.In turn when i look at this photograph the same feelings make themselves known . If i could talk to the artist i would ask her : what were you feeling when you took this photograph? What kind of camera did you use? At the time , why did you want to photograph that particular moment? I would also want to find out what memories do you have attached to the images? While researching more of Ming Smiths work i found that strangely most of her photos contain elements of black and white and often contain a singular still subject i harmony to their surroundings. She often focusses on black femininity, racial inequality and the life of the working class ; strangely, the photograph the i'm analysing contains none. Ming Smith is a NewYork based photographer , who's success made her the first ever Black woman with work shown in the Modern Museum of Art. Although she is a successful photographer , her career started as modelling , but she later quit after asking herself : Am i doing this for me? With this knowledge , i can now see the meaning behind the picture with more clarity ;