Blog 2: Long and Short Depth of Field

Funeral – St Helena, South Carolina, 1955. Robert Frank.

In this photograph, Robert Frank captures three men dressed in black, at the parking lot of a funeral in 1955, in St. Helena, South Carolina. At first, only three men are clearly visible but there’s a fourth one behind the man in the foreground. Their expressions, melancholic and sorrowful, communicate the tone of the situation. Every single detail in the fore, middle, and background is in focus, giving the feeling of sensations being heightened, just like when in mourning or when going through strong emotions. In terms of composition, the three men are in line; the furthest one, closest to the vanishing point. By choosing to have a long depth of field in his photograph, Frank wanted to capture the emotion in their expressions in unison, imitating how a funeral is a collective mourning.

Two Girls in Matching Bathing Suits– Coney Island, New York, 1967. Diane Arbus.

The photograph “Two Girls in Matching Bathing Suits” shows two women standing side by side at the beach, wearing matching bathing suits. The background is completely blurred, leaving the women in complete focus. Nevertheless, we are still able to notice water and more people in the background. By using a short depth of field, Diane Arbus is isolating the two subjects from any activity in the background drawing almost all of the attention to the two women. Using a short depth of field also enhances the depth of the composition by completely separating the background from the subjects in the foreground. This choice could have been made by Arbus to create the sensation of a safe space for two women who are having a day at the beach, separating them from any possible disturbance from a third party.