I chose to analyze this photograph (See Fig. 1) because it stood out to me, as an important symbol of a lesser known disaster. In 1984, a major gas leak occurred in Bhopal. Alex Masi documented the aftermath of the leak. He photographed the children being affected by the toxic chemicals leaking into the water and soil. The photo depicts a young girl walking in the rain, due to a monsoon that also plagued the village. Her surroundings are rugged, and weathered, she is walking away from the camera, barefoot on a rocky path through a poverty stricken village. There are make-shift homes on either side of the trail that she walks, offering almost no coverage from the monsoon. The girl fits in with the setting, her clothes are soaking wet, ripped, and dirty. By looking at Masi’s use of color, line and texture, we see his intent to create a sympathetic reaction.

Firstly, Masi uses texture to actuate the viewers to help the viewers experience sympathy towards the village. The image overall has a lot of different textures involved. The only part of the photograph to have a purely smooth texture is the sky in the background, this alone helps the image by giving it a gritty and unsettling all over feeling. It draws our eyes to many different parts of the photo at once. The textures of the materials used for the village homes, are acutely tousled, giving observers more indications of their impoverished lifestyle. It also gives viewers a stark contrast between what they see in their everyday lives and in their homes, and what these people see in theirs.  The texture in and around the path helps portray natures role in the people’s lives, giving more meaning to unnatural disaster they are facing. 

Secondly, the photographer also used line to guide our reactions. There are many curved lines on both sides of the image, leading our eye towards the background of the photograph. For example, his use of curved line gives the photo a graceful and calming feeling. The most impactful lines used in the image are the implied ones on the path, created by homes and grass on both sides. By using the repetitive pattern of the rocks, the photographer creates an implied line through the center of the photograph. This implied divide, brings a lot of attention to the girl, of whom is meant to be the main subject. The pathway has an innocent connotation, contributing to the sympathetic reaction as well. Showing the girl walking down the implied line, brings her innocence to the forefront of the photo. There are also lines on either side of her, that create a river which she walks through. Masi’s use of the river around the girl, moving through the center of the photograph, and leading directly away from the viewer, helps the viewer feel like they are in the image. By giving observers the feeling that we are in the image, following the girl helps us to feel more sympathetic towards his cause and the people. The last kind of lines used in the image are vertical, in which are created by the trees in the background. Vertical lines often give a feeling of strength and power. The lines are used to represent the strength of nature and its power over society. 

Lastly, the photographer used color to help demonstrate his message. Overall the photo does not have much contrast, and uses mostly analogous colors. Masi’s choice of tones, gives the photo a dusty quality, and makes it difficult for the viewer’s eye to land on just one thing. The background, with the sky and trees, has a noticeable contrast with the foreground, making it seem like she is headed somewhere better than where she was, which is where Masi stands. Brown tones symbolize lack of clarity, poverty, endurance, simplicity, home, and stability. Some of these meanings seem obvious, the people are living in poverty and those are their homes. The other terms dig a bit deeper, simplicity is meant to help the viewer sympathize, giving a contrast between the village’s life and our own. Red tones are used for danger, warning, anger, and passion. The use of red in this photograph is ironic because the danger had already come and a warning would have been useless. Perhaps the use of red is to portray the photographer’s feelings, his passion for the project and possibly his anger about the issues documented in it is placed at the forefront of the photo with his use of a red tone.  He also uses splashes of green. Green tends to mean life, or growth. The use of green is almost ironic; the photo was taken to document a horrible disaster that claimed the lives of the village’s people. He also uses the obvious color choice for a disaster: black. Symbolizing mourning, death, and illness, black fits perfectly with the social issues and overall feel of the photograph. Lastly Masi uses gray and white. Gray symbolizes modesty and sadness. The girl and her village do not show any signs of delicacy or elegance, they are impoverished and learned to live modestly to survive. The sad gray color could be an extension of the disaster motif or another extension of the photographer’s emotions. White, mostly used in the background of the photo symbolizes purity, and innocence. This I believe is directed towards the young girl who not only is innocent by herself but she also symbolizes the village’s people as a whole: innocent, united, and devastated by poverty and loss.  

In conclusion, the photographer used many visual elements to portray a scene that should make the viewer feel sympathetic, inspired, and disturbed. His use of color influences our emotions through the symbolic meanings and overall lack of contrast. His varying use of line helps the viewer know where to look for the intended message. And lastly the images use of texture gives the image an overall feeling of sympathy, and a natural quality. All of these design elements combine to call the viewer to action, to ask us as a society to help those who need it. This photograph and the others used in his book, were a tool to help the people who couldn’t ask for it themselves. Now that this disaster is over, the image acts as a symbol of what can happen, and still makes us ask ourselves what we can do. 
