Walter Astrada photo analysis-Sam W, Shari B, and Brianna S

http://www.walterastrada.com/#a=0&at=0&mi=2&pt=1&pi=10000&s=11&p=1


this picture was taken in Guatemala, no definite city can be determined. What we assume is a woman is lying on the ground(possibly a street) mostly off camera after some attack, her shoes and her shawl/head-wrap removed. she has bruises on her legs that could be the result of a beating. the picture is mostly solid colors with muted tones, we believe that the picture was taken sometime in the afternoon possibly on a cloudy day. the texture of the concrete is a vivid backdrop for the harsh black of her slippers/shoes. you can tell her shawl is dirty and hasn't been washed because the fabric is dingy and the only real color is from the pattern on her dress and the sharp color of the rocks/dirt next to her.

the position of her body suggests that that she has been beaten, maybe raped, and is unconscious. the first thing that caught our attention was her feet because they they were the lightest color in the photograph. we were also drawn to the what looks like blood on her shawl because the red is the only other color in a photo of muted palate. from what we can see of the girl we think that she is between the teens and twenties because of the skin on her legs. the overall mood of the picture brings mixed emotions; angry, devastating, fearful. we can't see beyond her knees so we can't make any judgement on her face and there is not other ground in the picture but the concrete so we can't make any judgement about her where abouts.

we gathered from the photo that this is a young lady that has been the victim of an assault, we can not determine if she is unconscious or dead, and is seriously hurt. she either tried to fight back and run away because she was missing her shoes and shawl or she was taken by surprise in the attack and lost her shoes and shawl in the struggle. the way that the photo is taken it removes the victims emotions from the photo so the viewer is not influenced by their emotions. that angle at which it was taken we feel because it showed her bruised legs in contrast to the concrete and the blood on the shawl is in view as well, so the picture is not muddled with unneeded static. by removing the face and any other view other than the ground we as viewers are focused more on what may have happened and are not influenced by other factor. we are forced to draw our own conclusions about what happened based on the facts we are presented.

we believe this picture is very strong photo because it lacks a face to the victim and invokes a feeling of sorrow. we also get the feeling that this picture is a warning to womankind  about the threats against them as well as a symbol of violence that these women face in these countries.  so its very powerful.