Robert Capa is considered for his unique perspective of war photographs. He created images of soldiers directly on the front line from the perspective of the observer. As he used to say ‘if your photographs aren’t good enough,you’re not close enough’.
The feeling you get when looking at this wide shot is as if you are literally sitting in that trench looking right up above to the soldiers running across the battlefields. This feeling is only achieved by getting down and dirty up close and personal right where the action is.
There is a lot to say about this picture starting with the sense of direction. As with every other image Robert always manages to take his viewers all the way to where the action is. Direction here is achieved by positioning the line of the trench right in camera centre directing the viewer all the way right to the soldiers up above.
Another important point as regards to this photo is the way he managed to frame his subjects, considering that these photos were all taken during the war right in the middle of the action to capture the viewers’ attention.
When looking at this image your eyes are automatically directed to the soldier in black uniform at the top left of the photo, a very good example how to apply the rule of third to direct the viewer’s eyes creating a pleasant photos.
By shooting from a very low perspective with a wide angle lens he managed to also capture movement ,very interesting aspect is the way the rifles are pointing showing the viewers the direction they were going in relation to where the photographer was.
ROBERT CAPA | AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHER
In-text: (Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d.)
Your Bibliography: Encyclopedia Britannica. (n.d.). Robert Capa | American photographer. [online] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-Capa [Accessed 13 Nov. 2019].