This photograph by Jeff Wall, shows four people battling against a ferocious gust of wind. Wall is attempting to highlight the power of nature, and represent humanity as helpless to its force. It is a very dramatic image with papers from one of the men’s briefcase flying everywhere, and and all other men attempting to shield themselves from the wind. This is a tableau photograph however there are clear elements of this image that were not staged  and so affect the composition of the image to some degree. I find the composition to be very effective, and the photograph is very visually striking.

Natural Elements of the Image

Lighting

• The overcast day is out of the photographers control. It helps to make the image very dramatic because it establishes a dark and sinister mood, which is a cold, dramatic theme. The greyness from the sky gives an overall image which is low in saturation. This provides the image with a sense of subtlety as all aspects of the image blend in and compliment each other. Although Wall had no actual control over the weather in this image, I do believe however that Wall deliberately waited for such weather conditions as the achieve the effect it does

Wind

• The wind is an integral part of this image, again outside of the photographer’s control. Likewise to the overcast day, Wall has chosen to photograph at the moment when there is a gust of wind, an important selection because it completely defines the image, as the whole theme and composition is based on  the effect the wind has.