The black and white photo that sat inside a black frame that was hanging on a white wall.... that created excitment.

I see this picture. It is not a front page headline picture or important historical illustration. It is an old women sitting in the crowd at a wrestling match. The title of the photo, "Elderly Fan at Wrestling Match", is even as simple as my description in the previous sentence. The photography gives some information about the picture. He states, "She was rooting for her grandson who was wrestling at Madison High School." We also know that the photo was created on February 9th, 1983. The photo is a digital silver gelatin print and we know that the wrestling match was at a High School. This black and white picture sat inside a black frame that was hanging on a white wall. But don't let those colors give you an idea of an entirely boring picture.

You can feel it in the picture. The excitement and the crowd's energy. This photo encompassed the enthusiasm of the fans. I found myself staring at an elderly women sitting in the bleachers with her hands clasped in joy. The action in front and the activity in the back are not shown. This is a very interesting usage of frame, because the photographer decided to focus the camera on the reaction to the crowd provoking activity. This photo could be in response to the clique pictures of the cheering, happy fans or the idea of focusing only on the athletes. However, I feel that the artist just wanted to show the joy that every fan from any age has. Although the picture is in black and white, the viewer can almost see the school color shirts. The faces in the crowd radiate happiness more than any color could display.

What I find so fascinating is that for that minute your world stops. You see the athletes. You hear the screaming. But nothing matters for that moment. In the center of the jumping young men and women an animated face said, "If my body would let me, I would be jumping too." I feel that the crowd's bodies express this, but the elderly women's face highlights this idea. This brings me to the theme of age. I feel this photo represents the idea that when excitement takes over, we revolt into a dreamlike state where everyone is young. Age is feeling not a number. This creates the mood of happiness and freedom. I can't help but to think, "We are only as old as we feel". I think that elderly people are thought as fragile, emotionless artifacts. Through this woman's face we can see her vigor and energy. She challenges this preconcieved idea.

1.) When taking pictures, what objects were you looking to capture for the readers?
2.)What was your favorite photo?
3.)What did you want your viewers to feel about certain photos?