Analysis of a Photograph

David and Goliath 

Photo taken by Octavio Aburto while diving with his friend David Castro at Cabo Pulmo National Park, Mexico

Line, alignment, repetition

The picture follows the rule of thirds, with the fish being the dominant object as they are on the right side. It flows very well as the man is centered, so your eye is caught immediately by the wall of fish, and it then moves to the scuba-diver in the center and along the line of fish into the background. Additionally the photo also has a lot of motion, which adds to the flow. With almost all the fish in the foreground facing diagonally downward towards the man, and those in the background continuing to lie diagonally either tilted downward or upward, it gives the observer a sense of a wave-like motion or gliding movement. The uniformity of the fish also adds a stark contrast to the diver, who looks very solitary in the face of the thousands of silver fish who seems to make up a singular entity in front of him. That appears to be what the photographer, Octavio Aburto, meant by titling the photo David and Golith, a story from the old testament of the Bible. His friend, David Castro, being David from the story and the mass of fish being Goliath, the giant. He may have been making a statement on the might of man, for in the story David, though he is smaller, bests the giant using wits and a something as unassuming as a sling. Here he could be saying that although nature may appear mightier and strong, mankind ultimately has the power to destroy it all, making an allusion to the destruction of the oceans and environment. Or he might have just been using clever word play as his friend's name was also David, either way, it is a good title for the image.