Discussion-Journey

Journey can be interpreted in multiple ways. Upon analyses it becomes apparent that journey is in fact a much more broader topic than may be initially interpreted.
Journey can be explored through a number of subjects including:

• Physical
•  Car
• Walking
• Aeroplane
• Metaphorical
• Emotional journey
• Growth
• Injury

 There are many photographers who utilise journey in diverse ways. Some of these photographers such as William Eggleston use a colourful pallet within their images in order to demonstrate an almost dream like state. The colours appear oversaturated in order to create a heightened reality that seems so distant from our reality. Eggleston also highlights different character traits of people and places in order to demonstrate something that is unique to the place where it was photographed. Different hairstyles and clothing may be highlighted that give connotations to different places and moments in time. Buildings are present with old paint, and a structure reminiscent of another time, almost giving the image a vintage apparel. These interpretations and connotations all combine in order to place an audience on a journey the to a places that is foreign or unusual to their everyday lives.



Other photographers such as Robert Frank explore different contexts within his life that reflect different ideologies and references to life of the time. Within the image on the right, we can see an example of this as Frank has chosen to photograph a bus with its passengers looking outward. If you were unfamiliar to the context of the image the audience may just assume that the image is purely just an image of a bus within an older setting, however upon further investigation we can see a contrast of races between one side of the image compared to the other as the white passengers sit on the front of the bus while the black passengers sit on the back of the bus. This is an unnerving commentary of racial prejudice within civil rights era america within the late 1900s. African Americans were treated as an underclass within society and were treated as inferior to the white classes which explains why they were sat in the front of the bus while black passengers were forced to sit at the back. This type of photography can shock audiences and expose them to different aspects of culture, showing journey in how far we have come since.

This image shows how journey can actually be represented on a more metaphorical level. The person within the image is clearly suffering from emotional instability as it has been captured using black and white tones which offer connotations to sadness. The environment is blurred while the face is in focus, this implies that what is occurring in this person's mind has completely consumed their world. Dried makeup on her face implies that she has been crying, proving to the audience that she has previously been on an emotional journey through simple visual cues.