Ann Rosener
November 25th 1914-May 19th 2012
Photo of Ann Rosener
Photo By: anonymous
Photo of Ann Rosener
Photo By: unknown
Ann Rosener was born on November 25
1914 in San Francisco California. An American
photojournalist mostly remembered for her photographs of home front activities
for the Farm Security Administration in 1942-1943
(local gov). Ann came from a well off
family from mother Beatrice Scheelin from Bavaria and Businessman Leland
Stanford Rosener. They were fortunate enough to be able to send her to Smith College
in Northampton Massachusetts where she grew and developed to become an
independent thinking, later graduating in 1935
(wiki).
Along with her love for
photojournalism she had a passion for poetry, photography, and graphic design(
obituary). One
of the first ways that she became an independent thinker was going against her
parents republican views and voting as a democrat
(local gov). This courageous thinking
lead her to photograph the Farm Security Administration from June 1941- June
1943, eventually with the name changing to the Office of War Information to
show the entrance to world war 2
(local gov).
Ann went around for 31 assignments
traveling everywhere from Washington DC to Maryland, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan,
Illinois, and California. She mostly photographed woman taking over the jobs
that needed to get done while the men were away at war. This included
everything from farming to factory working. In the 1940’s pre-war it was
unheard of for woman to use heavy equipment to do physical labor, but when all
the husbands and fathers got drafted it left the women with no choice but to
get the work done themselves. And with
no men to document Ann stepped up as one of the head photojournalists of the
time and took control of the field and contributed with all of the “man’s work”.
(local gov)
On May 19 2012 Ann passed away in
her home after fighting a short illness. She was always quite proud of herself
for breaking through a male dominant career. She never let men get in the way
of her dreams and aspirations. Not even her four different husbands could get
her in her way
(obituary).
Photo By: Ann Rosener
Year Taken: 1942
Principle 1: Keep it simple:
in this photo by Ann it shows the simple subject of the woman on the tractor
tending to the farm. It has a simple backdrop of the farm land and crops with
trees and a road in the distance.
Principle 2: Use of Shadows: in this photo there is one large shadow under
the tractor. This shows me that the lady is out working in the sun most likely
around 1 or 2 in the afternoon, the hottest time of day.
Principle 3: Texture: This
photograph shows many different forms of texture. You can see the dusty ground
and all most feel the giant rubber tires. There is also texture with all the
different plants and the woman’s hair blowing in the breeze.
I chose this image because it
really shows the effort that women put towards helping during World War 2. If they
did not step up and tend to the farms there would have been no source of food
for their families. It takes strength to have your husband or son go to war,
let alone having to manage to survive without them.
Photo By: Ann Rosener
Year Taken: 1942
Principle 1: Rule of Thirds:
In this photograph Ann used the rule of thirds but in a cleverly different way.
She used it diagonally where the main subjects are in the center and the
backgrounds are off to the sides.
Principle 2: Subjects
Expression: This Photo shows women hard at work sewing. All of them have a
blank look on their faces as they are trying to concentrate to get the job done.
It also shows that many of them may have other things on their minds like their
loved ones who are off to war.
Principle 3: Quality of Light: In
this photo the quality of light is somewhat poor. This dim-lit factory gave off
an eerie glow of light from up above.
I chose this photo because it is
another example of the hard effort that woman put towards the war in factories.
These women seem grim as they work to get the job done and over with, but I am
sure that they have their husbands, sons, brothers, and nephews on their immediate
minds.
Photo By: Ann Rosener
Year Taken: 1942
Principle 1: In or Out of Focus: This photo is in
great focus. It is sharp and crisp with no blurs of any kind.
Principle 2: What
feeling dose the image create?: this image gives feelings of female empowerment.
It shows that jobs such as welding car parts is not just for men.
Principle 3: dose the image remind you of a work of art
or photograph: this photo reminds me
of the famous propaganda of Rosie the Riveter.
I originally chose this photo
because it reminded me of Rosie the Riveter and how propaganda was used to
encourage woman to get through the war. It also reminded me of my grandfather
who worked as a welder all of his life. It is a hard and physically demanding
job that you do not see women doing that frequently.
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