Rescue workers are standing in front of a crumbled building from the devastating earthquake in central Italy. They are all looking towards the crumbled remains of the building, perhaps they are looking in despair as they think of why this has happened to Italy, or maybe they are considering how to pick up the remains of the building without collapsing it further and to see if there are people in there who survived. The bright light is focused on the crumbled building with a bulldozer either extracting the remains of the building or is placed there motionless to hold the remains from crumbling. The rescue workers are not picking up any remains in this image and instead some of them are near the crumbles, some are focusing the light, and some are standing a little bit further away from the crumbles and simply look as if they are considering their options. This picture was taken of the rescue workers as they stand together figuring out how to rebuild what was lost in the earthquake meaning that this picture could have been taken to bring hope to the citizens of Italy in a time where they lost so much to a natural disaster, furthermore, this picture’s lighting, organization, balance, what it contrasts, and direction signify that this picture is taking a symbolic approach to convey its meaning.

First of all, the lighting in this picture is very interesting because it is so focused on the collapsed building making almost all the rescue workers look like silhouettes. The shades of the rescue workers are taking a very large part of this picture without showing any of their faces or with any of them looking towards us, instead we just see the features of their uniform and the direction at which they are looking at. This could be because this picture’s purpose was not for personal glory but to emphasize the fact that Italy is standing united in the face of this natural disaster. Furthermore, this image is symbolizing the idea of unity, by not showing any faces but instead focuses on the uniform they are wearing, it becomes easier for the citizens of Italy to not give personal glory to those men as individuals, but think of this picture as people of the country helping it for the sake of helping it. And with the lighting focused on the crumbled building it becomes easy for the people of Italy to see how exactly these men are trying to help their country, by not highlighting the men and instead highlighting the result of the disaster this picture could inspire normal citizens to go out and help the people who lost much of what they own to the earthquake.

In addition to that, the organized positioning of the rescue workers who are all looking at the crumbled building make one man stand out in picture, the man in left corner of the picture. Unlike the Rescue workers it does not look like he is wearing a helmet so he could be a normal citizen standing there as he watches the rescue workers, however, if that was the case then why is he standing there alone a little bit further away from the rest of people in the picture. This could be his home and he is watching the workers as they discuss how they should pick up the remains and salvage what is left inside the house, or maybe a family member is trapped inside the house and he is looking in worry as he waits for the rescue workers to start rescuing the trapped person. It looks as if he is watching this from the outside and hopeless to the situation, the direction his is looking at is the around the rescuers on the left who are slightly visible by the light, perhaps around that part there is something of importance to him and the rescuers are trying to save it. His inclusion in the picture could be for the sake of increasing the feelings of sympathy towards everyone who lost something in the earthquake and invoke a feeling of unity among the citizens and it is effective because he is standing there alone with no family members or anyone around him.

Furthermore, this picture’s balance makes it easy for someone who is looking at it to figure what it is supposed to represent. This picture is divided into three parts, the rescuers, the person who could be the owner of the building, and the collapsed building. The purpose of the rescue workers is to ensure that the building does not collapse on people and to help evacuate anyone inside and then pick up the crumbles of the building in a way that does not collapse any further. The purpose of the man in the left corner is to invoke the feelings of sympathy in the citizens who see the picture. The top side of the picture is the crumbles of the house which represent the result of the earthquake, the collapse of what used to stand and the chaos that was brought with it. The crumbles of the building look as if they are about to fall at any moment and the proof of that is the bulldozer holding a part of the building to prevent the crumbles from falling. In addition to that there is a group of workers on the left who seem to be looking at the same thing, however, it is unclear what they are looking at.

Moreover, this picture was taken to symbolize two things that contrast each other. The first thing this picture symbolize is the calamity caused by the earthquake and the destruction that happened throughout central Italy. The second thing this picture symbolize is the union of Italy in the face of this natural disaster and the determination of rebuilding what was lost in the earthquake. The contrast is highlighted by the lightning by showing the crumbles of the building and giving the shade of the men who are standing together facing those crumbles. The clear contrast between the two things in this picture shows what the photographer felt about the situation Italy was in and how he thinks Italy should feel when they look at this picture, especially since the earthquake brought with it distress, fear, and confusion to the citizens. And with this picture the photographer tries to communicate with the viewer by showing how he feels Italy can overcome this situation in this picture that showcases the result of the earthquake and the citizens of Italy facing it.  

The significance of this picture comes from the fact that natural disasters happen everywhere in the world and take away many lives as well as destroy many homes and in those times people need to find something to rely on. This picture is showing the reality of how the world is sometimes and how to withstand those difficulties that can happen outside of your control. This destroyed building might have been a home and now it is destroyed and left the people who occupied it without a place to go, however, this picture is showing the workers all standing on equal line thinking of a solution towards preventing the building from collapsing any further. The group of workers on the left are standing a little closer to the building than the rest perhaps to investigate a little more details or because they heard someone who survived but is still inside the building. Most of the workers are looking upward a little, however, unlike most of the rest the workers on the left are looking downwards which could signify that they heard someone there or they found something there and they are discussing it. And the light seems to be focused on that area as well as the crumbles of the building so there is a possibility that the place they are in a place that is somehow significant to the operation.

In conclusion, the direction of this picture is to give a visual representation of what has happened to Italy after the earthquake. The features of this picture indicate the intent of invoking emotional response towards the tragedy that has befallen Italy and to support the union of the rescue worker as an organized group rather than showing a picture of individual effort. That was executed in an effective way of showing the silhouette of the rescue workers and identify them by their helmets instead of showing their faces. Furthermore, the existence of an individual who looks to have lost his home is very strong aspect that can be used to have the people who see this picture become more emotional about the issue. The unity is the idea of this picture not only because of the collapsing building but because people usually become depressed in these times and feel abandoned, however, by pushing the idea of uniting as a country to recover from the losses of the earthquake the citizens feel more connected with each other. Therefore, the motivation for this picture is to invoke the feeling of unity among the citizens for the sake of those who lost their loved ones or those who lost their homes and to be there for them.