          Close reading a visual text can be difficult. It is something that the reader would have to interpret on their own because there are no words to read, only a picture to look at. In the picture, Love in 1969, the reader would see a couple hugging each other while standing up in a crowd of people that are lying down at Woodstock. Woodstock was a wildly popular music festival held in 1969 and this picture happened to be taken of just a young couple enjoying it. This picture was taken during the festival and became famous when it ended up being the original album cover for Woodstock; therefore, the picture must have a message to tell. With such importance, it seemed necessary to attempt to unveil the meaning behind the image. After close reading Love in 1969, it can be interpreted from the color, shape, and space that there is a sense of protection and love within the young couple.

          Looking at the different colors in an image can display a message, for different colors can mean different things. When looking at Love in 1969, one would mainly see brown and gray in the background, but there is a distinct color drawing the viewer's eyes to the standing couple in the center: pink. Pink represents unconditional love and nurturing, so the fact that in the image the blanket is pink and wrapped around the couple shows that there is a sense of protection and love. There is this sense of protection and love because the way the guy is holding the girl with his pink blanket wrapped around the both of them shows that he will take care of her and that he has her back. In the background, there is also some sort of butterfly flag that is orange and yellow. Orange and yellow are bright and hopeful colors, so in the picture the colors can somewhat give the couple a sense of hope for their future. Ironically, the sense of hope within the coloration of the flags showed to be truly hopeful since the couple ended marrying one another and have been together for over forty years (Farber). 

          Shapes in a picture can help with interpreting and telling a story. There are a bunch of people and blurry figures in the background of the picture, Love in 1969, but one distinct shape is the butterfly. The butterfly adds a sense of symbolism to the entire image. Butterflies symbolize transformation and joy. Woodstock was a huge cultural movement in the late 1960s that looked to change the world peacefully (Johnson), and so the butterfly could be a sign of the transformation of that time. Because the butterfly represents joy as well, it could also be a sign of what the couple in the center is feeling together. They were out at a festival enjoying the music and one another. The two lovers are so close together that they seem to be together as one, which creates a shape in itself. Them being together as one represents a unity, which is filled with love. The way the guy is holding the girl and how the girl is embracing him shows their love for one another and their care for each other.

          Spacing in an image is important because it is used to help draw the viewer toward one or more specific area. The spacing in Love in 1969 is very simple, yet could help the viewer know what the whole picture is about. In this picture, it is all about the couple. The viewer would easily figure that out because the couple is placed right in the center. The way that the image is spaced is to draw all attention to the center where the couple is standing. They stand out so much not only because they are just about the only two people standing up in the center of the picture, but they are also the closest to the camera. The way everyone else is in the background makes the couple bigger; therefore, making the picture all about them. Within this couple, it could be seen that there is no space between them. This would show the viewer how close the couple is to each other, physically and emotionally. Physically, the couple barely leaves any room for air, as one would be able to see how the girl has her face nestled into the guy's shoulder. Emotionally, the couple shows their love with a sense of protection, as one would be able to see how the guy is looking straight ahead instead of down at the girl, almost as if he is watching her back for her.

          Close reading a visual text can be a difficult task at times, but when looking at Love in 1969, the message is clear: a young couple in love protecting each other. There are several factors in the picture to help support this statement. When looking at the colors in the image, the reader could see pink, yellow, and orange popping out in the gray and brown background. Yellow and orange are happy, hopeful colors, while pink is a light, loving color. These colors come together to bring out the love and care in the couple. When looking at the shapes in the image, the viewer could see the couple coming together as one creating their own shape and the guy was looking out at another distinct shape, which was the butterfly symbolizing joy and its colors representing hope. These were important shapes in the image because the couple standing up is their own shape, which represents their love, and the guy looking out at the butterfly flag a little way behind them is the only other distinct shape, which represents the couple's joy and hope. When looking at spacing in the image, one could see the couple standing in the center. The fact that the couple is right in middle and the closest to the camera helped portray that the picture is about them. After close reading Love in 1969, one could interpret from the colors, shapes, and spacing that the whole picture is about a hopeful, young couple in love and protecting one another.

