​

People are immediately drawn to this picture because of their love of kids.  The instant one looks at this picture they get a feeling of happiness due to the portrayal of the innocence of the child.  One may not know what was actually happening in the picture, but the expression on the little boys face intrigues the viewer.  The boy seems so happy in the midst of chaos surrounding him.  The way the policeman is bent over almost forms the shape of an upside-down “U,” or an arch, which adds a visual element to this photograph.  The structure of the body of the policeman, the “U” shape, guides the viewer to look down at the boy; since the policeman is bent over facing the boy, the viewer’s eyes are also drawn to the little boy.  The expression on this boys face radiates confidence; it is obvious to the viewer that by chance this little boy was in the middle of the street with no supervision.  It was fate that brought the policeman to the child; for all we know, he could be lost or potentially in a dangerous situation being by himself in a crowded area.  Even though this photograph is in black and white, there is a strong contrast between the policeman’s black pants and hat, and the boys light colored outfit.  This contrast helps distinguish the power of authority; the policeman is wearing his black uniform pants and hat, which symbolizes more power.  Black represents power and prestige, characteristics that every policeman should have.  The people lined up in the background offer perspective to the photograph, but don’t distract from the focal point of the picture; they are not in focus, due to the shallow depth of field, which allows them to be in the background, rather than the foreground.  The main focal point is the policeman and little boy; all the people around them add elements to the picture, but because they are blurred, it does not take away from the attention of the main focal point.

“Faith and Confidence” taken by William C. Beall for the Washington Daily News.  It was September 10, 1957, when Beall was photographing the Chinese Merchants Association parade, right here in D.C.-the nation’s capitol.  This parade was chaotic with dancing Chinese dragons, people lined up down the street watching the festivities, sounds of firecrackers popping, and as you can imagine, the energy level: excitement.  In the midst of this chaos, a little boy stepped out in the middle of the parade surrounded by the dancing dragons, almost getting trampled by them.  However, a policeman stopped the boy from getting run-over by the careless, dancing dragons.  William C. Beall then captured the little boy’s innocence; this picture forever freezes the innocence of children.  This little boy just wanted to cross the street, and thought nothing wrong of it, while there was a big parade occurring in the street he was trying to cross.  This little boy did not understand why he could not cross the street, so the officer is shown “patiently reasoning with the two-year-old trying to cross a street” (1958 Winners, The Pulitzer prizes-pulitzer.org).  Thanks to the officer, the little boy was not harmed, and while the policeman is talking to the boy, the pure and unsullied characteristic’s of the child was captured.  Perhaps it was fate that the boy was not harmed, but the boys confidence ultimately put him into this encounter with the policeman; hence the name “Faith and Confidence.”  The boy had the confidence to cross this busy street alone and it was fate that this policeman stopped this boy from getting harmed.  Beall had no intentions of getting this photograph, but this photograph ended up being the “most applauded picture ever to appear in the Washington Daily News” (Pulitzer Prize Photographs).



Sources

“1958 Winners.”  The Pulitzer Prizes.  Columbia University.  Web.  26 Sept. 2012.

Beal, William C.  Faith and Confidence.  1958.  Capture the Moment: The Pulitzer Prize Photographs Catalogue.  Web.  26 Sept. 2012.

The Pulitzer Prize Photographs.  NCSU Libraries, 2003.  Web.  26 Sept. 2012.