“To find and catch the storytelling moment” was Alfred Eisenstaedt’s goal when taking photographs. Alfred Eisenstaedt was born on December 6, 1898 and died August 23, 1995. He was a German-American photojournalist for Life magazine. All the work he published in this magazine made him one of the most important photographers and journalists. During his early life he served in World War I, and later moved to the United States. He covered the rise of Adolf Hitler and other tyrants. Although he focused on tyrants and royalty, he also covered ordinary people in their daily life. When Eisenstaedt took “V-J Day in Times Square”, he was an experienced photographer and worked for Life Magazine. The day this picture was taken, was the same day Japan
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“I was walking through the crowds on V-J Day, looking for pictures. I noticed a sailor coming my way. Then I noticed the nurse, standing in that enormous crowd. I focused on her, and just as I’d hoped, the sailor came along, grabbed the nurse, and bent down to kiss her”(Eisenstaedt,From Eisenstaedt on Eisenstaedt). Eisenstaedt right before taking the picture, was looking for a moment that captured the feelings of people after hearing the news of the war ending in New York City. He focused on a sailor, and watched how he expressed his emotions towards the war coming to an end. The sailor would grab any young woman and kiss her. The amount of happiness the sailor felt with the news of Japan’s surrender, caused him to kiss strangers all over Times Square. “Now if this girl hadn’t been a nurse, if she’d been dressed dark clothes, I wouldn’t have had a picture. The contrast between her white dress and the sailor’s dark uniform gives the photograph its extra impact”(Eisenstaedt,The Eye of Eisenstaedt). The combination of black and white in their clothes, captured the perfect contrast for a picture that shows the feelings towards V-J Day. The black represents the time of war and all the darkness in the world. On the other hand, the white dress represents a time of hope and peace beginning. Both of them together neutralize the
“I was walking through the crowds on V-J Day, looking for pictures. I noticed a sailor coming my way. Then I noticed the nurse, standing in that enormous crowd. I focused on her, and just as I’d hoped, the sailor came along, grabbed the nurse, and bent down to kiss her”(Eisenstaedt,From Eisenstaedt on Eisenstaedt). Eisenstaedt right before taking the picture, was looking for a moment that captured the feelings of people after hearing the news of the war ending in New York City. He focused on a sailor, and watched how he expressed his emotions towards the war coming to an end. The sailor would grab any young woman and kiss her. The amount of happiness the sailor felt with the news of Japan’s surrender, caused him to kiss strangers all over Times Square. “Now if this girl hadn’t been a nurse, if she’d been dressed dark clothes, I wouldn’t have had a picture. The contrast between her white dress and the sailor’s dark uniform gives the photograph its extra impact”(Eisenstaedt,The Eye of Eisenstaedt). The combination of black and white in their clothes, captured the perfect contrast for a picture that shows the feelings towards V-J Day. The black represents the time of war and all the darkness in the world. On the other hand, the white dress represents a time of hope and peace beginning. Both of them together neutralize the