Pulitzer Prize Photography

Matt Rainey’s work with The Star Ledger after the tragic fire at Boland Hall in Seton Hall, NJ is outstanding. His use of black and white as well as close-ups on faces does a great job in helping to convey great emotion through his photographs.

The first photograph I included because I think it does a great job of letting you put together a whole story from a singular moment. The ominous “Third Floor” label over the door as well as the complete darkness of the window except for the handprints that show a struggle to get out combine to create a beautifully composed image. From the image you can see that there was a fire on the third floor of this dorm hall and that there was a struggle to get out by students, and from the handprints you can almost see the way that students were struggling to get out.

The next photograph I selected because of it’s incredible lighting. The doctors light shining on the subjects horribly scarred face as well as the lack of light on the doctor in the background creates a very ominous silhouette on the picture. It also does a very good job at drawing attention to the horrible injuries suffered by the student with the lighting on the face.

I chose the next photograph because of the raw emotion that it captures. You see the subject seeing for the first time his burn injuries. Rainey excellently captures this very vulnerable and raw moment that the subject is going through, and it really reflects in the picture.

The last photograph also does a great job of showing raw emotion. Rainey shows the subject looking at himself in the mirror as he wears a mask to help the burns on his face to heal. You because of his angle on the subject, you see a very clear look at his eyes of pain as he struggles with the new reality that is his life. Rainey also does an excellent job with the composition of this photo, with a foreground that is the back of the subject’s head, making it very clear that this is a mirror photo. This picture, like the others does a great job in capturing emotion in the subjects Rainey is shooting, after this truly emotional event.

In conclusion, Rainey’s photographs are so effective to me because of the way that he can capture pure emotion and stories in every photo that he takes, even if it’s just a photo of something inconspicuous like a door. That is what makes these photographs worthy of a Pulitzer prize.