gelatin-silver-print, photography, gelatin-silver-print
portrait
gelatin-silver-print
black and white photography
portrait image
photography
black and white
gelatin-silver-print
ashcan-school
realism
Dimensions 7 9/16 x 9 9/16 in. (19.21 x 24.29 cm) (image)7 3/4 x 9 11/16 in. (19.69 x 24.61 cm) (sheet)
Lewis Hine made this photograph, "Engineer in Power Plant," with gelatin silver. Look at the engineer's hands—the way they grip that wheel, the delicate balance of control and force. I can almost feel the vibrations of the machine through them. He's a figure study in concentration, a personification of labor. I wonder what he thought about as he worked here. Hine’s eye isn't just documenting; it's empathizing. He captures the dignity of work, transforming the mundane into something monumental. It is a reminder that photography can be both a mirror and a window, reflecting our world while offering a glimpse into the lives of others, much like a painting. It’s about human exchange, inspiring and resonating with our own experiences.
Comments
Lewis Hine was a documentary photographer, educator, and social reformer. Trained in sociology, Hine taught at the progressive Ethical Culture School in New York City before turning his attention to photography. As a photographer for the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC), Hine traveled the United States to document children in unsafe working conditions in factories, mines, fields, and city streets. Over ten years, he created an indelible record of the human cost of an exploitative labor market, documenting the tired faces of children at the end of their shifts, or even children mutilated by industrial machinery. These disturbing photographs were used in publications and presentations created by Hine and the NCLC, and ultimately promoted sweeping policy changes designed to protect children.
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