Kaveh Golestan "Iranian Revolution"

I came across this picture while looking up Iranian photographers and found the photographer Kaveh Golestan. When I saw pictures up of the Iranian Revolution in 1979-1980, my attention was immediately caught. My heritage is of Iranian descent and the revolution is something I hold very close to my heart so not only is this photograph emotionally evoking because of its composition and subject, but because this is my home.

With regards to the composition of the photo, the smoke and car, background, and child are positioned very intelligently. The audience gets a small snapshot of the what the whole battlefield is like and it captures it all in detail without information overload.

Additionally, the lighting is superb. The figure of the child is simply a silhouette. There is no face and this child can be anyone. It can be your next-door neighbor, it can be your son, your brother, your friend. The plain black silhouette gives the photograph an universal emotion. Lastly, you can still see all the torment in the background with the appropriate lighting.