Contextual
The Purpose of the collection 'The Americans' is to document American society - higher and lower strata.
The selection of photographs are a combination of street photography, portraits and documentary. The time of this photograph was a time when higher social classes over-ruled lower classes - African-Americans fell into the lower classes and because of their race, were segregated from white people.
Robert Frank - Swiss-American photographer and documentary filmmaker:'Trolley, New Orleans', 1955.
Visual
In this photograph a selection of people sit, and are naturally framed by the white bars of the trolley - this could be viewed as a series of separate portraits. The rule of thirds brings the focus to the middle third of the photograph. The windows of the bus are directly on the center lines which naturally draws the attention to the people in the bus. This photograph clearly demonstrates the divide/segregation between the social classes.
Technical
The photograph was most likely to have been a very quick snapshot with little thinking time about the image. With these assumptions the photograph would have been shot with a fast shutter speed due to the clarity of what would have been a fast moving object.
There is a high contrast in tonal range which creates a deep image with many layers - the darker foreground and the lighter background behind the bus. The reflections in the top windows suggest that the light was shining towards/on the object which is why there is a lot of tones and depth.
Conceptual
I believe Robert Frank selected this photograph because of how much it represented the social hierarchy at the time. The photograph clearly documents the segregation between races - white people at the front of the bus and black people at the back. The white bars that frame each portrait of the individuals also symbolizes this. The white bars in the photograph are very bold and stand out a lot, due to the high tonal range and contrast of the dark bus. The white makes a bold statement of the authority and power white people had over black people and reinforces segregation between the two races.
Robert Frank - Swiss-American photographer and documentary filmmaker:'Trolley, New Orleans', 1955. Visual In this photograph a selection of people sit, and are naturally framed by the white bars of the trolley - this could be viewed as a series of separate portraits. The rule of thirds brings the focus to the middle third of the photograph. The windows of the bus are directly on the center lines which naturally draws the attention to the people in the bus. This photograph clearly demonstrates the divide/segregation between the social classes. Technical The photograph was most likely to have been a very quick snapshot with little thinking time about the image. With these assumptions the photograph would have been shot with a fast shutter speed due to the clarity of what would have been a fast moving object. There is a high contrast in tonal range which creates a deep image with many layers - the darker foreground and the lighter background behind the bus. The reflections in the top windows suggest that the light was shining towards/on the object which is why there is a lot of tones and depth. Conceptual I believe Robert Frank selected this photograph because of how much it represented the social hierarchy at the time. The photograph clearly documents the segregation between races - white people at the front of the bus and black people at the back. The white bars that frame each portrait of the individuals also symbolizes this. The white bars in the photograph are very bold and stand out a lot, due to the high tonal range and contrast of the dark bus. The white makes a bold statement of the authority and power white people had over black people and reinforces segregation between the two races.
