American Soldier

A. What is the most powerful image from the slideshow? Why?
I think the 23rd image is the most powerful because of the bright light behind the subjects. I like how the photo has a lot of contrast and you can easily depict what is happening without seeing faces.


B. Through the photos, Ian is in different locations, each set of photos from the same location comprise a short series or set. Can you tell where the sets are located? You should be able to pinpoint the change, please count each image and indicate where the change occurs, please use the little chart below to share with me on your blog where you think the breaks are:

Set 1 - at home  - Image #1 to Image #3
Set 2 - basic training - Image #4 to Image #13
Set 3 - in Iraq - Image #14 to Image #27?
In Image #28 he is back at home in Denver

C. Which set of images was the most powerful? Why?
I think the third set of images was most powerful because he was away from his family in a dangerous country.

D. How do the images work together to tell a story?
The images move in order to tell a story. He starts out at home, then goes to basic training, then moves on the Iraq.

Once you have looked at the slideshow, please scroll down a little on the page and notice that there are three Parts to this entire multimedia presentation. Part One corresponds to when he was at home, deciding to join the military through Basic Training called "Earning 'Blood Rifles', Part Two is Ian's story once he is assigned to a US base called "From here to Iraq" and Part Three is his story once he is deployed until his return home called "Aiming for a future."

Start with Part One - there are clickable links to three pages of text for each page of the story. You will need to click on each page of the story and look at the images that are spaced along the story. Please make sure to read the captions as this next part requires you to have information from those captions.

E. For the photos in which Ian is the main subject of the photos, in what tense are the verbs usually written?
Present tense.

F. How do the captions enhance the photographs?
The captions help tell the story as it moves along. Although it is easy to depict what is happening, the caption enhance the photography.


G. Summarize the story of Ian Fisher, based just on the captions. 
Ian had a tough time in school. He was very close with his friends but got in a lot of fights. He lost his dad when he was young. Ian and his brother have been working on their own. At 17 he decided to join the army as soon as he graduated. He followed through and enlisted. He went to training for 14 weeks. Then went on to Iraq. He returned, married his girlfriend and lives a happy life.