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Wk 2 Lewis Hines - Depth of field

Lewis Hines

    Lewis Hines was a photographer, teacher and sociologist.  As a teacher he encouraged his students to use photography as an educational tool.

    Hines noted body of work is that of over 5,000 photos depicting child labour in America.  When he worked as an investigative photographer for the National Child Labour committee between 1908 and 1924.  As he was often denied access into factories or other places where children were working he would go undercover.  He carefully documented the details of his subjects and the context in which the photo was taken.  Today these details pay tribute to the many subjects which he shot and the stories of their lives.

    Lewis Hines shot in large format and black and white.

    In class we have been looking at Depth of field and the impact it can have on photos.  Lewis Hines used Depth of field to tell a story with his photos.


    Power house mechanic working on steam pump - Lewis Hines 1920
    This is a great photo, i like how the curved lines soften the image and frames the man perfectly.  This is an example of a wide or deep depth of view, every detail of this photo can be seen very clearly.  Lewis Hine would have used a high f stop number to capture this photo.  This would of been chose because he would have wanted the detail of the objects in the mid and background to be in focus
    Icarus, high up on Empire State - Lewis Hines 1931
     This amazing shot, illustrates Lewis Hines commitment as a photojournalist.  I wonder on what ledge is Lewis Hine standing on to take this photo. He would of used a high f stop number for this photo to allow for the worker and his background to be seen.

    Young doffers in Mollahan Mills - Lewis Hines 1908

    Ivey Mill Little one, 3 years old who visits and plays in the mill.  Daughter of the overseer Hickory N.C - Lewis Hines 1908
    These two are examples of narrow depth of field.  The subject(s) are in focus.  The leading lines direct the eye to the subject(s) highlighting what Lewis wanted the viewer to see.  He would of used a small f stop, this accommodates for the main subject to be in focus and the other areas to be out of focus.




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