Born in Ribe, Denmark on May 3, 1849 Jacob Riis is still today recognized by his photo journalism work. When Riis came to America (more specifically New York) when he was 21 in 1870 he searched endlessly for a job and soon found himself employed as a carpenter. Eventually Riis was later employed as a police reporter for the newspaper "The New York Tribune." This was the time that Riis started to photograph the poverty around him in New York. Riis was one of the first to use flash powder allowing him to photograph at night. His published work "How the Other Half Lives," is what put his dark images in the light.
Photojournalism is probably my favorite category of photography because they are based off of a true story. As you can see, the young boys above do not look like young boys at all, rather cold and troubled men. (Except for the little one in the left hand corner.) You can only image the harsh realities they face being a young child yet made to work to support your family. Their faces are smudged with coal and I think that the most breath taking faces would be the child in the middle in the first row and the two behind him on his left and right. All forms of joy and childish carelessness is gone. It really makes you grateful that we live in this time where we don't need to work in cruel conditions to survive.
This photo, like the last, shows children in harsh conditions. You can imagine the cold temperatures as the helpless children huddle to gain warmth from each others bodies. It's quite chilling to know that America at one point was like this. Riis' images allow us to take a glimpse at the past which is mostly covered up today.
The blank expression is what really caught my attention for this image. The man sitting down has blank eyes but his face is in awe, what could be happening behind the camera? Is there even anything going on or is this man just traumatized by the living conditions?
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