Blog Post 7

The story I read this week was about Amish communities integrating technology into their lifestyle. The story was published by the New York Times and included a series of photos and supporting text that told the story. The story can be found here: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/15/business/amish-technology.html

Most people probably have a preconceived notion of what Amish life looks like. The first photo in the series captures that. In it, an empty buggy is sitting in front of stalks of corn. I think having that image first satisfies the impression that readers already have about Amish culture.

The next photo shows an Amish family of three walking towards a group of large, steam-powered equipment. This is a nice transition that starts to display a use of technology while still creating a sense of place, as it is taken on land that looks like it’s used for farming.

The third photo is more personable, finally showing the face of an Amish person. This photo really addresses the purpose of the story, as the young man is pictured looking at his cell phone while behind the counter at his family’s farmers market. This photo supports the text which explains how the use of phones and technology helps Amish businesses thrive. This portrait photo puts a face to the story and appropriately follows the “scene setting” images.

The following fourth image continues the transition to using modern technology. A young boy in the foreground frames an older woman using a machine to cut grass in the background. I like this photo because it is set on a farm and the people are dressed in tradition Amish clothing, but it continues the story’s purpose of showing the mild integration of technology into their livelihood.

The fifth and sixth photos don’t involve technology. The fifth shows a young boy harvesting tobacco with other members of the Amish community. The following photo is of a horse and buggy being driven by an Amish resident. These photos present an idea of the Amish lifestyle without technology and provides the same balance to the photos that text does. The text in the story includes perspectives of Amish people explaining why technology is detrimental to their society when not used in moderation. I think the photos mirror that same idea; the following photos include a nice balance of people using cell phones and other machinery with photos that represent a more traditional lifestyle. While the photos present both types of lifestyles, I think they are balanced well, and show the subjects in their natural environment.

Finally, the last photo shows two young Amish boys collecting butterflies in a family vegetable patch. Ending this photo was an excellent decision because it shows the essence of life that the Amish are trying to preserve amongst a growing technological presence. In this story, technology makes an appearance, but doesn’t dominate the photos. The same goes for the lives of the Amish. Therefore, I think the story successfully used photography to tell a balanced story that accurately represents its subjects.