Seeing pg. 42, #'s 1 & 2

     1.   To describe Peter Menzel’s photographic portraits of ordinary people’s food in different parts of the world in one word, it would be emblematic. Though the photos are so simplistic they hold such an informal message, without showing any over exaggerated expressions. Each photograph consists of a family displaying their week’s worth food supply. Every photo is extremely diversified, but they all maintain the same substance. They all seem to draw your eyes in with the various amounts of different foods that are being displayed.  Other little details can draw you in as well like the different food brands logos, vibrant colors, and families’ wardrobe.

The one thing that stands out the most to me in each photo is how you can tell so much about all the families represented, is their livelihoods.  For example, the Fernandez of Texas displayed on pages 32 and 33. You can tell so much about them by just viewing the photograph. You can tell the couple presented in the photo work very hard to sustain the lifestyle in which they’re living. The elderly woman in the photo holding her grandchildren represents a very powerful piece of imagery. She probably came to America at early part of her lifetime hoping she could obtain this kind of life shown. All the food that is displayed in the photo shows this family most likely is stable financially.

The work done by Peter Menzel and Faith D’Aluisio in all was phenomenal. They had messages they wanted to communicate with people in these photos, and they delivered. I really do appreciate when artist get their concepts expressed in a coherent fashion. They wanted to show how we can make assumptions of other people around the world by just observing a photo. 

2.  The Aboubakar family and the Mendoza family are the two photos I want to compare. Off the bat you can already tell both families aren't apart of a capitalistic society. They also obliviously have stuck with old traditions by the way they’re dressed. You can also tell this by the settings in which they’re surrounded by. Almost all their food is organic; expect the Mendoza’s have a small amount of conventional food.

      Now I will differentiate both families in the two photos. You can tell the Mendoza family most likely has some amount of financial stability by being surrounded with richer soil. Richer soil can mean most of their food is homegrown, and possibly they sell their vegetables for profit. Unlike the Mendoza family, the Aboubakars are surrounded by bad soil. It is also obvious that the Aboubakars aren’t that wealthy due to their lack of food and surroundings as well. The Mendoza family seems to have the "full plate" in comparison of the two.

                Faith D’Alusio’s work shines a light on everything dealing with these photos. She shows all the families expenses when buying the food. What other materials they have to make food and how it’s preserved. She goes into very specific detail of how much food each family acquires. She also includes other trivia about the families that can be somewhat insightful.