International Center of Photography. “Church Gate Is the Terminus Station of the Western Railroad Line, Built by the British; the Railroad System Covers Much of India. The Trains Are Notorious for Being Dangerously …,” February 29, 2016. https://www.icp.org/browse/archive/objects/church-gate-is-the-terminus-station-of-the-western-railroad-line-built-by-the.
Both images I chose involve a blur of motion, achieved with a longer shutter speed. These photos stood out to me because they tell a story and show the passing of time. Sebastião Salgado experiments with this technique in a handful of his shots, but this image of a dangerously crowded train station “Church Gate” is by far the most extreme. This shot was successful in showing the flood of people around the trains with such a chaotic blur. Rather than if the people were still, we get a sense of urgency and chaos emerging from the image. This is a great example of how Salgado takes most of his shots; he shows but doesn’t tell. He does not develop the pity or empathy associated with third-world countries, but instead emphasizes their conditions in a way that resonates with the viewer.
“Magnum Photos Photographer Portfolio.” Accessed October 2, 2023. https://pro.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=CMS3&VF=MAGO31_10_VForm&ERID=24KL535353.
Similarly, Robert Capa, a famous World War II-era photographer, creates excitement and chaos through the use of a longer shutter speed. Above is an image of a soldier in the water off the coast of the beaches of Normandy during “D-Day”. Like Salgado’s train station image, Capa develops a chaotic environment in his image without the ability to see the facial expressions the soldier. This shot is also very characteristic of Capa’s work in general. Scrolling amongst his work on the website above, it is fairly noticeable that the actual enemy or danger in the image is never present. Capa takes images of the surrounding environment and reactions to certain events, and manages to capture the emotion of the event without including the source of it in the image.