Let me take a moment to describe this picture, which was taken roughly one year ago. This is a paintball field and the person in front would be me. The one in the back would be my friend, who was providing cover fire for me at the time while I charged forwards to gain an advantageous position. The one taking this photo is another friend of mine who was dangerously close to the playing field. Though what this image displays is simply two friends playing paintball on a sunny day, what the photo really captures is the teamwork, strategy, and even a bit of courage.
However, the main point I want to focus on is how close my friend was to the playing field. She was practically standing on the field's boundaries, and was definitely in danger of getting hit by a stray paintball shot. Though I exaggerate the seriousness of the situation (the most a hit from a paintball would do would leave a small bruise), this reminds me of the war photographers that do put their lives in true danger for the sake of recording the moments of wartime. It seems stupid doesn't it, to put one's life in constant danger just to take photographs of people shooting each other? But taking a second look at war photographs, I realize how powerful these images can be. War photographs differ from other photographs because they display the true expressions of people who have been pushed to extremes. These photographs do not only capture feelings of bravery, fear, and patriotism, but also the dedication of the photographer to mediate these feelings to the world.
Of course, the paintball picture is not nearly as epic as war photographs. Even so, I'm glad that my friend did her best to capture our paintball games as closely as possible despite the risk of getting hit. This photograph has clearly captured the spirit of that day, preserving the variety of feelings I had when running through the barrage of paintballs. Even though the mask hides our facial expressions, the intensity of the photo is still there thanks to the proximity of a dedicated photographer.
4 comments:
Truman: I want more on the media and what secrets the image holds.
What are those barricades that you are hiding behind and darting between? They seem to be shipping containers or something; this is interesting to me in the sense that the paintball "playing field" is both 'cultural' and 'natural'—using those terms oppositional meanings if only to critique them through the image.
How is the angle of the photographer's perspective important to the drama (or sterilization) of the subject? What is the frame cutting off? How might one misunderstand this photo as "epic"?
Check out this photographer's work:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://photos2.flickr.com/3000892_53cc24a835.jpg&imgrefurl=http://blog.flickr.net/en/2005/02/18/the-unseen-war/&h=375&w=500&sz=21&hl=en&start=6&um=1&tbnid=k18A6I8kGFcFxM:&tbnh=98&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dtoy%2Bsoldiers%2Bwar%2Bphotography%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DG
Replying to Mr. Schaberg's post, barricades that are shipping containers is to create a more realistic playing scenario. Other scenarios where you could play at is in the forest to give one a more realistic playing experience. In official paint ball tournaments, people play on a grass field with air filled barricades with different shapes and sizes.
Truman, I really like how you take a step back with this photo and explain the photographer's situation. I have played paintball a couple times and I understand what this image could potentially display. Just hearing the paintballs wizzing past me put me in a mentality of almost being in a war.
To kind of answer Chris's question, we don't see the opposing team so we can't get a more intimate sense of the situation. But, I think because of that this photo portrays the teamwork, strategy, and courage much stronger. Since we don't see the opposing side, who knows what you were up against?
Great picture!
Regarding Calvin's comment: If shipping containers are supposed to be more "realistic," then paintball has a very apocalyptic aura: imagining the battlefield as an everyday shipping yard, where the materials of global transit have been dumped for all our war! Though, come to think of it, The Sopranos certainly uses ports and shipping yards as pre-apocalyptic backdrops. When I played paintball once I think there were lots of old cars and some plywood forts. It was inside, and pretty gloomy. Are paintballs biodegradable? Or can you buy special paintballs that are biodegradable? Is there such a thing as a green paintball? Maybe paintball is an inherently ‘green’ activity, because it performs warfare for fun in a (mostly) non-violent way.
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