Words, often more than not, leave the reader wondering, “Why this or Why that?”.  Images help the reader or viewer to better understand and to be able to answer those questions.  There is an old saying in the English language, that “A picture is worth a thousand words,” and I believe the photographer of this photo of Ken Griffey and his son Ken Griffey Jr. captured those thousand words.  Words in this photograph are scarce but if one views and interprets this, the amount of imagery is countless.

As one views this image of the father and son, the first thing that is noticed is the smiles on both of their faces.  On the right side of the image is Ken Griffey Jr. and his smile is “a mile wide” grinning from ear to ear.  On the opposite side of the image is Ken Griffey Sr. and he is smiling just like his son but it is a calmer smile.  The calmness that the father displays shows the viewer of the image that he has been in this pregame interview situation before, so in that sense, nothing is new.  All though the father has a calming smile, he still shows the excitement he has inside because he gets to play baseball with his son.  Ken Griffey Jr. has a much larger smile occurring in the image and it is because this is all new for him.  He is a first-year player at the Major-League Baseball level and is getting the opportunity to play the game he loves with his father.  The young smiling face and the mature smiling exemplifies how Ken Griffey and Ken Griffey Jr. are responding to the situation they are in.  

A less obvious but clear piece of imagery in this photo are the accessories of the two baseball players.  Ken Griffey lacks the newer, stylish, look that his son portrays.  Ken Griffey Jr. has a shining necklace around his neck, which exactly describes the way he plays the game, a true star player.  He also wears batting gloves and wears a wristband, showing that he is younger and wants to follow the new trends.  Ken Griffey Sr. is wearing a Seattle Mariners pullover that has faded from the original blue color.  He began playing baseball before batting gloves were invented, and wristband was not worn to be a flashy accessory rather it was worn to keep the sweat from running down your arms.  These differences in accessories are an example of the asymmetricity between the experienced father and his son, the rookie ballplayer. 

During this pregame interview the camera is focused in on the faces of the two ball players but one could view the blurred background as imagery.  One could say that the blurred-out background is a display of how the father and son view the past.  They are wanting to focus on what they can do in the present and during their Major-League Baseball season.  The blurred background could also be the visual for the viewer to understand that once the two step on to the diamond, nothing else matters and they are in “the zone.” The father and the son combination that they possess allows them to block everything out but the game that is at hand and allows them to play well together. 

A more in depth thought of imagery in this photo is that the team they are playing for is in the rainy, gloomy, city of Seattle, Washington.  The imagery is ironic because when one thinks of the said weather conditions, these types of smiles are generally not present.  The bright smiles that are shown from the two are opposites of what one would think of when the thought of the rain and gloominess of Seattle comes to mind.  The smiles are bright and the smiles are happy because they have gotten to where no father son combination has ever gotten to in all of baseball history.  

The colors of the Seattle Mariners are blue and yellow and both of those colors represents feelings and emotions displayed by Ken Griffey and Ken Griffey Jr., his son.  Blue represents wisdom and knowledge which Ken Griffey has after playing years in the league.  The wisdom and knowledge that Ken Griffey Sr. shows to Ken Griffey Jr. comes as a veteran baseball player in the MLB and as his father.  He has been coaching him his whole life and explaining to him all the things he must do to get to the Major-League Baseball level.  Now that Ken Griffey Jr. has made it to the level his father plays at, he will be able to continue learning from his father as they play alongside one another.  Yellow represents joy, happiness and energy.  When one views this image, many would describe the emotions that are shown with those exact words.  You see the joy and the happiness in the smiles of the two baseball players.  When the image is viewed, you can feel the energetic atmosphere that takes place during the interview leading up to Ken Griffey Jr.’s first game with his dad.

Ken Griffey Sr. started playing baseball about 18 years before this picture was taken which was taken in the early 1990’s.  During the time the Ken Griffey began playing baseball in the early 1970’s, there was still a lot of discrimination against African Americans.  Although the laws say otherwise there were still many people in the 1970’s who thought that African Americans should not be playing baseball with the white men.  All of that said, Ken Griffey Sr. is grateful that his son does not have to experience any of that hatred that he had to experience in his first years as a Major-League Baseball player.  Ken Griffey Jr. can play in the early 1990’s and into the 2000’s without having to worry about racial discrimination like his father had to worry about.  

In closing, an image is much more than an image because when one interprets the image in depth and sees the image from different perspectives it can become a story.  Do not allow your mind to see an image for just one thing.  Interpret and analyze the image to see it for all that it incorporates.  This picture of Ken Griffey and Ken Griffey Jr. tells a story and gives information about their lives without saying a word.  That is powerful.  That is imagery.
