American Solder

1. I think photo 34 is the most powerful image because it shows how being a soldier can make a boy turn into a man. I believe this because Ian looks as if he is just playing around but on his side there is a real soldier and it shows that he has no fear, nor does he look like he's playing around.

Set 1 - 9: In Denver
Set 10 - 30: In Basic Training
Set 50 - 71: In Iraq
Set 72 - 83: Back in Denver

The "In Basic Training" set is the most powerful because it shows the change in Ian's maturity. At first, he acts silly, like a child but as we go more photo numbers up, you can see the change in his maturity level.

These photos work together to tell a story because they go from one event to another to show what has happened but they do leave some information out.

The captions are in present tense.

The captions enhance the photo because they tell you exactly what's going on.

Photo 4: In this photo, Ian took a ride on the ferris wheel with friends and girlfriend. He and his girlfriend share a kiss in the middle of the ride as they glide across the sky above hundreds of buildings.

Photo 5: Ian and his father shared one last family bond, both of them speechless by the fact that they won't see each other in a long while.

Photo 7: Shane and Buddah cried on the back of a truck when their close friend, Ian, drives off to where he will be training at for a few months.

These videos enhance the photos by showing another side of the photos, they show the emotion hidden in the photo.

In many ways videos are better than photos because they have more of a description. For example, in photo 7, the video told how the father felt instead of just a guessing that his feelings.

But there are some ways that photos are better than videos. For one, there aren't as many flaws. An example of a flaw is someone messing up in the video or if someone isn't acting in the right way. Another way is that the photo can actually fit a scene because it is just one shot. A perfect capture is all it takes to get someone's attention. A video however, can show a lot of perfect captures but can also bore the audience. For example, back to photo 7, the photographer captured the photo at a perfect time because it shows a dull mood in the photo and gives the viewer to visualize how the subjects feel.