It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Sometimes, a thousand words is simply too small, too miniscule, to completely convey the message meant to be received. This photograph, which portrays a person writing their condolences or prayers onto a memorial spot for the victims of 9/11 in New York City. Though the picture itself is composed of many hundreds of words of grief and pain, the photo expresses far more emotions than the words in it can portray. This photograph extracts emotions of suffering and distress through the dull colors, the despairing words written on the pavement, and the simple knowledge of what happened and how the photograph captures the feelings of the traumatic event. 

Photographs capture a still moment in time. They produce an image that is meant to capture an observer’s attention. A photographer knows how to take a photo and capture the right elements that will hold an observer’s attention and make them wonder about the story behind the photograph. In this photo, there are many aspects being looked at. There are two main contrasting colors between dark and light that portray two different moods. There are written words captured, some bigger than others, that send a strong message out to any observer. There is a person seen in the top left corner of the photo, presumably writing more words of assurance to the audience of observers of this photograph. There are many aspects of this photo that draws the attention of observers. The main focal point of this photograph is that of the large words near the middle right, and the person writing more words in the top left corner. Those two parts of the photograph are what observer’s eyes will wander to when looking at the photo. By seeing these two parts, an observer just glancing will be drawn into the photo to look at the big words, followed by the smaller words, to determine what exactly this photo is about and what the words are saying. This makes the observer want to look deeper into the photograph and take more than just a glance. It makes the observer want to understand the words in the photo and what exactly it is about. There are many aspects within this photo, and when the observer is drawn into it, they will unconsciously want to analyze the picture and the emotions they feel when looking at it. 

As humans, we don’t usually think about colors too much. We know that bright colors make us happy and excited, dark colors make us sad and gloomy, and neutral colors make us feel calm and relaxed. Colors are used in photographs to create a certain mood that the photographer wants to capture. In this particular photograph, the mood is solemn and downcast. The photographer aimed to capture the moment as one of wretched despair, and yet the bright words written on the dark pavement convey messages of hope and faith. The contrasting colors can create a contrasting mood. Since the overall photo is darker, the overall mood is one of despair and sadness. The way that the picture creates a contrasted mood is that the words written on the pavement are ones of hope and promise. When the observer looks at the photo, at first they’ll feel overwhelmingly sad and gloomy, but after reading the words, which are painted brightly against the dark background pavement, they will begin to feel emotions of assurance. The photographer creates a contrasted mood in that way, but overall, the main emotions captured by the colors in the picture are ones of disheartenment and anguish. Even though the overall photo portrays emotions that represent a struggle and distress, the brighter words written on the pavement signify a deeper meaning.

Words carry many emotions within them. In this photograph, hundreds of words are captured, and they create a whole new atmosphere that contradicts the mood that the colors portray. Any person simply glancing at this photo will see only a few words of the hundred that are written, but even those few words contain messages that spread warmth and assurance during a time of pain and suffering. The first words seen that draws attention from the observer would be, “AMERICA + GOD = LOVE,” “THANK YOU NY FOR COMING TOGETHER,” and “KEEP FAITH.” All of these messages are more than just words to some people. They are assurances and promises of hope. They pull at the emotions of the observers. These specific words are more than just words to some people who experienced this tragedy. After seeing those bigger words written, the observer will think about what they mean in relation to the tragedy, as well as themselves. Those words pull together emotions of hope and faith that were needed by many people. The photographer was able to create these emotions by capturing the photograph at just the right place and angle to see these powerful messages. Pictures often times aren’t of words, but photographs of words convey more direct and powerful emotions associated with the message being sent across. This photograph encases overpowering emotions of hope, belief, and optimism, despite the overwhelming darkness of the overall photo. These words were captured by the photographer in order to spread out messages of love and hope to all the people who needed it during one of the most well-known and traumatic tragedies of United States history. 

September 11, 2001, tragedy struck the United States when two airplanes full of innocent passengers were hijacked and crashed into the World Trade Center towers in New York City. When the planes crashed, the entire country broke out into panic and hopelessness as they awaited what would happen next. Thousands were killed in these attacks, which led many people and their families to grief and sorrow as they mourned their lost loved ones. In times like those, it was extremely important for the country to come together as one and help each other through the horror. This photograph taken of words written at a memorial of the 9/11 attacks portrays strong emotions from anyone looking at it. The remembrance of the panic and outbreak across the country along with the realization of many lives lost creates a solemn feeling in the observer. The photograph shows an overall darkness because the country experienced its own darkness during that time. It was a time of anguish and despair, which is accurately portrayed by the colors in the photo. The words written on the pavement in the picture, however, show the hopeful side of the horrific events. The words portray the country coming together as one to console one another in those dark times. The picture portrays the overall darkness that the country suffered, but also the kind words spoken by everyone to maintain a sense of optimism and faith that contradicted the feeling of darkness that surrounded the country. The photograph perfectly portrays the array of emotions felt by each American during that tragic time. When observers look at the photograph, even now, they will experience the same emotions as they did years ago when the photograph was taken. 

A photograph is taken to tell a story. The story of this photograph is one of darkness and horror, but also one of hope for a better time. The tragic event of 9/11 caused panic among the nation. People were scared and didn’t know what to do. Some people took to the streets at a memorial to write out messages of love and hope to the scared people, to let them know that they were not alone and things would get better. The photographer of this photo perfectly captured the aftermath of the tragic event. The photograph displays the overwhelming darkness that surrounded the entire country, but it also showcases the caring messages sent out to the country. A picture is worth far more than a thousand words. In this photograph, more than a thousand words are written. They contain a message of strength and hope within a nation. This photograph captures the feelings experienced by millions of people in a nation during a frightening time. Each and every aspect of the photo reaches out to any observer in an emotional sense and allows them to feel the emotions experienced by the many who were personally affected by this tragedy. This photograph perfectly explains the emotions felt by many different people from many different perspectives during a time of struggle, and yet still portrays the message of hope that helped millions of people through the tragedy. 
