Ailynda Ho Writting Assignment

This photo is named “California” by Elliott Erwitt taken in 1955. What can be seen in the photo is a background landscape of a waterfront that includes the sky and a large figure of what could be mountains or a forest in the distance. In the foreground there is part of a car and its side mirror where there is a reflection of a man and a smiling woman together. Because the mirror is in focus it can be evident that the main subject is the couple.

Throughout the photo Erwitt explicitly uses line to emphasize a focal point of the mirror. The reflection of light on the side of the car creates lines that lead to the mirror. From the other side of the photo there are more lines being created by the waves of the water that also leads the viewer to directly to the mirror. He also utilizes space to establish distance. In contrast to the broad landscape there is a contained space created in the reflection of the mirror which shows a couple.

In combination with the small size, focus, and distance of the mirror there is a sense of a detachment from the physical setting to draw attention to the intimate moment that the couple is sharing. This can be interpreted that the couple’s focus is solely on each other and undistracted by the setting. Erwitt composed the exposure of the couple indirectly through the mirror which makes the viewer feel intrusive or spying on a private moment which establishes a feeling that the couple’s moment is not something that was meant to be shared with others. Altogether Erwitt crates an overall hierarchy of importance in the photo; the beauty in the human connection is greater than the beauty of a picturesque waterfront.

Through the composition of the photo and the use of formal elements it can be seen that effort was put into the process which complements the intention of the artist’s decisions.  The photo itself is interesting initially through the formal elements of the focusing, line, and distance. When the viewer spends more time studying the photo and contemplating how the reflation of the couple interacts with the whole there is an emotional element of the photo that starts to reveal itself. This two-step effect of the Erwitt’s photo plays a major role in the overall success of it. For the viewer the photo is aesthetically pleasing and emotional.