Between 1939 and 1944, the United States government’s Farm Security Administration (FSA) and later the Office of War Information (OWI) hired photographers to document life in the U.S. I found this photo among the collection. The caption reads: A soldier and a woman in a park, with Old Senate Building behind them, Washington, D.C. It was published in 1943. There was no information given regarding who might have taken this photograph.There are two people in this picture. The woman appears to be quite sophisticated and classy. The way she is sitting with her one leg tucked behind the other and her hands in her lap looks very proper. This leads me to believe she is probably from a well-to-do family or possibly has money of her own. Sitting slightly behind her is the soldier. He is dressed in his uniform but at the same time looking casual by the way he is sitting. His left elbow is resting on his left knee making him appear relaxed. I’m not sure what relationship these two have, if any. He is looking back at her with a bit of a smirk and it almost looks like she is trying not to smile. It definitely seems like she knows he is looking at her. I would say that they don’t know each other just because her back is to him. If they were friends or more than friends I think they would be facing one another.
The setting of the picture is a park. It doesn’t appear to be very busy or full of action from other visitors. It is also very clean. There is no litter and the bushes and trees seem to be kept nice and trim. This makes me think that it is a respected area. The building in the background also enhances the feeling of importance. The caption says it is the Old [Russel] Senate Building so official business probably takes place inside.
I think there is one clear vector of attention in this photo, the woman. The soldier’s line of vision points to her and there really isn’t any other main focus of the picture. I’m not sure if it was intended by the photographer or not, but the angle the picture was taken makes the building slant towards her as well. Maybe the picture was composed like this so all the attention would be on the woman. It mirrors how the soldier is directing all his attention to her. The way the photographer has captured this particular moment gives the viewer an impression of lust or flirtation by the way the soldier is looking at her. The look on her face communicates flattery, but her body language gives the feeling of shyness. The picture is focused and I find it to be interesting. It is a scene that can spark the viewer with a story between the two. I think this says something about the photographer’s ethos. He or she knows what they are doing and are also creative by taking a simple scene and making it come to life through the two people in the picture.
