Pessimism will engulf the environment in one moment if the world allows it to do so. The media is so quick to flood the minds of every individual with images of poverty, despair, and injustice; but when it comes to good news of achievements and success it has to be searched for. Unfortunately,  many photographers have given up their careers of capturing inspirational images for a collection of images evoking fear and turmoil to a world of lost people. In Andrew Biraj's photograph, featured  in the Len's Blog he uses camera position, contrast, warm colors and a powerful focal point to illustrate the powerful theme of optimism amidst oppression.

In Biraj's photograph, the proportion of the piles of waste in comparison to the rest of the photo is massive. As the photographer, he uses the perspective position of the camera to display the massive size of waste piles the child is playing in. The waste piles massive size is crucial in reading this text because it allows the viewer to empathize with the child who is playing in such a dirty environment. The perception at which the photo was captured magnifies the garbage in the environment and minimizes the size of the perishing sunset.  The perception also allows the viewer to read the emotions on the child's face, which is optimistic and hopeful. This element is vital in leaving the viewer with a hopeful empathetic feel toads the child, rather than a sorrowful and overwhelmingly sad emotion for the child's circumstances.

The photographer also evokes empathy to the viewer through his exposure of contrasting colors in the sky. The contrasting colors in the sunset among the clouds of  pollution serves to illuminate beauty amidst the polluted dirty environment surrounding the child. The pollution in the sky directly illustrates the negative impact of humans on the natural environment. The array of colors in the sunset serve as an appealing background for the other elements of the photo and it is intentionally portrayed as the background. The power of the sunset lies in its' ability to evoke a hopeful empathy in the viewer rather than a very dark and sorrowful interpretation. The piles of waste, brings a dirty and dark reality to the child's environment, but the sunset as a background, serves to portray a hopeful empathetic emotion towards the child in the image, rather than wanting to grieve for the child.

Biraj also uses a display of combination of the colors in the sunset with the colors in town to give an overarching warm aura to the photo. Warm colors are used to provoke emotions in the viewers, and ultimately to encourage a loving empathy for the child. Warm colors in a photograph tend to advance towards the viewer whereas cool colors recede away toward the background (Handout 1). The warm colors in the photograph are present through the child in colors of brown and red; while the cool colors are apparent through the piles of waste and an un-developed city. The warm colors illustrated through the child potentially make the viewer draw close to the child and almost develop a connection with the focal point of the photo that connects the viewer in a way that develops empathy for the child. The aura of colors on display highlights the importance and the benefit of having an optimistic perspective in the middle of various circumstances.

The focal point of this illustration spotlights the optimism the child has chosen despite his atmosphere. The focal point is the small child wearing red pants. In this photo the child is freely jumping with his arms wide open, from one pile of waste to the next. The child itself is a representation of optimism over oppression, demonstrated through his red pants. The color of the child's pants is paramount when considering the message the photograph is conveying. Red, the color of the pants, is a color not only associated with danger and war, but also with desire, love, and passion (Web 1). His pants serve as a representation of his surrounding environment of war and danger, but his arms wide open symbolize the freedom and happiness in his life. This focal point of the photograph conveys empathy for the child through the red pants, evoking love, although the child's surrounding environment may give an individual all the reasons to be sorrowful.

Andrew Biraj's photograph is beautiful display of the surrounding world and the decision individuals have to control their perception. He intentionally positions the camera to illustrate the size of the garbage in the photo. He provides contrast through the sky to demonstrate the entirety of the photo and add a blissful color combination which adds a lighter emotion to the heart of the viewer, and he includes an intentional focal point to convey love for the child and empathy for his circumstances. It is through these elements that it answers the question, "Why is the child so happy?" Despite the waste and pollution of the environment, this photograph illustrates the beauty of choosing a perception of optimism amidst oppression.
