The Dark Art of Photography
A picture speaks a thousand words
Once upon a time I dabbled in a hobby called photography. For someone that has a problem solving mind like myself it was an interesting art form. Each picture is a balancing act of lighting, depth of field, framing, etc. Very rarely does on just take a perfect photo on a moment’s notice. Much more often these photographs are thought out well in advance. If you have a location that you know you are going to be shooting, you will take the time to determine the proper framing, shutter speeds, aperture, sensitivity, prior to taking the shot.
For instance, let’s examine for a moment this photograph I took during a project I was taking part in a few years ago. Every day I would attempt to take a single photo and post online. But I wanted to make sure that the photographs I took were interesting to look at. So some time and effort would be put into thinking about where the photo was taken, the angle, the time of day, etc. For this particular photo I awoke prior to sunrise on a crisp November morning and drove to a location where a singular tree sat in a field. I framed the shot to ensure that the sunrise was occurring at the left of the frame with the tree 2/3rds of the way to the right of the frame. This is known as the rule of thirds and having an off-center subject is much more visually appealing than having the primary object in the center of the frame. The aperture was very small for this photo (to ensure that objects beyond the tree were in focus) and the photograph was taken with a tripod as having such a small aperture required a longer shutter speed than could be achieved by holding the camera. I also used a technique called High Dynamic Range Photography where multiple images would be taken at different shutter speeds. This created 3 photos where different portions of the image were either over exposed or under exposed (meaning too bright or too dark) and could be combined for better dynamic range in post processing.
You don’t need to understand all of these concepts. The takeaway is that there are many elements that need to be considered to create a striking image. Rarely are they taken on a whim.
As my friends know, one of the only things I think more about than politics is Formula 1 racing. I love it!!! I have attended a couple of Formula 1 races in person. I would love nothing more than to get a really good (or great) photograph at a Formula 1 race. I have the equipment to do so. I have the technical know how to get such an image. What I don’t have is the time and energy to do the proper leg work to get such an image. Find the perfect place to setup. Determine proper shutter speed, aperture, ISO combination. And so I end up with images such as the one below. It is perfectly fine for the memories of being at the track that day, but we won’t be winning any awards with it. Without taking the time and effort to plan the shot, this is usually the result.
Political photography is absolutely no different. Photographers are situated in an area that best conveys the mood of the event they are reporting on. The photographers are there to tell a story that frames an event in a manner that represents what actually happened. For a presidential prime-time speech the photographer would know that a single still image of that speech will have much further reach than the speech itself. People are much more likely to come across a photo that is easily consumable in under a second than they are to listen to a political speech.
The image that came to represent Biden’s speech on Thursday September 1, 2022 in front of Independence Hall was particularly striking and I do not believe that it was in any way accidental. One could argue it was a miscalculation, but it matched so closely the tone and message of the speech that it was taken at that this doesn’t ring true.
Let’s examine.
To get a better understanding of what I will refer to as the Dark Brandon speech photograph, it is enlightening to understand the environment in which it took place. This will allow us to see the elements that were included in the frame and the elements that were excluded from the frame. And I am arguing that this is intentional. The White House was fully aware that these elements would not be visible given the location of the pool photographers.
and if you are wondering what I am referring to with regards to “Dark Brandon” we’ll address it shortly
I wouldn’t recommend watching the entire clip above, but I want to focus on a couple minutes of the video. From around 5:00 to 6:00 into this video you can see the introduction and staging of the event. Independence Hall is lit in all white prior to the announcement of President Biden and Dr. Jill Biden (of breakfast taco fame). Once announced the building is lit up on Red, White, Blue. Appropriate, they’re the national colors. The center of the building is red, flanked by blue, and then the outside third of the building is in white. Behind the arch from which Joe and Jill appear is a large American Flag. Flanked on both sides of the archway are an American Flag and a Flag with the Presidential Seal. And to the outside of these flags are Marines in Blue White Dress Uniform. Once the speech begins, you will notice that the shade of red behind the President becomes significantly darker.
Red, White, and Blue motif. Multiple flags for the country and the office. Military flanking the president. Somewhat standard stuff for a political speech. Although you could make a very strong argument that the military is an apolitical arm of the government and is not to be used for political purposes. Otherwise, a little on the dark side color wise, but nothing that jumps out as being way outside of the political norms.
Until you see Dark Brandon.
Yikes!
This image was NOT an accident. As I mentioned above, there is MUCH thought that goes into the framing of these images. The President has an official photographer on his staff, Adam Schultz, and it is doubtful that he, at the very least, would not have had some input regrading how this event was staged. He would have at least had input as to the positioning of the pool photographers. I suspect for such a high profile event he had some input as far as lighting, etc. So with that in mind let’s examine the photograph through that lens. (see what I did there?)
From a pure photography point of view, this photograph is a beauty. The framing is excellent. You have a symmetric image (visually pleasing) which also follows the rule of thirds, with Biden (the primary subject of the photo) in the lower third of the frame. Also circular window at the top of the frame is a good anchor point balancing the photo (if this wasn’t there, it would appear that the image was framed way too high for no purpose). The Marines in the background are just outside of the depth of field such that they are recognizable as Marines, but since they are out of focus, they do not take away from the main point of focus (Dark Brandon). And the lighting of Biden is perfect to really pull your attention towards him. Again, from an objective point of view, this is an excellent photograph. Incredibly effective storytelling. A+++.
What I find to be more interesting is what is NOT in the image. Remember those three flags (the two just inside the marines and the one large one behind the archway)? They have been framed completely out of the image. The “unifying” symbol of America is hidden. The Marines are still visible as a show of military force behind the President. The red lighting excludes the blue and white, which removes the “national colors” use of red as a backdrop color. President Biden is visibly angry in this photograph. And this photograph was published by Reuters, a news outlet friendly to this White House. This is the image of the speech that the White House wanted propagated by the media.
These exclusions and inclusions are purposeful. They were done so to send a message to the majority of American’s that did not watch the speech. I suspect that the White House was gleeful when they first saw this image. It projects a powerful leader that is completely in charge. The opposite of what the general consensus around Biden is at the moment. Republicans think they can make fun of the Commander in Chief when he falls off his bicycle, we’ll show you how powerful he is!
And in a WILD overcorrection, the White House decided to go full “Dark Brandon.” I’ve mentioned this several times in this post but for those who are not in the know…. “Dark Brandon” was something that arose a few weeks ago after the signing of the “Inflation Reduction Act.” The bill that is the Green New Deal in sheep’s clothing that, according to most economists, will exacerbate inflation. People on the political left came across some images of an animated President Biden that was menacing and now about to get revenge and get things done. It projected strength and coolness in their minds. They thought it counteracted the image of Biden as a doddering old man, so they pushed it. And then, it appears, they tried to bring that imagery to life during this address. They were seemingly unaware that this would look as bad as it did outside of the context of the “Dark Brandon” memes those in political circles are so familiar with. Their attempt looks to give Biden a powerful image appear to have failed miserably. So miserably that this speech is pretty much being memory holed by the left leaning media and appears to be getting shadow-banned on Social Media sites. And the funnies piece of this whole fiasco, is that the meme that got them to go down this “Dark Brandon” image rebrand was… started by the Chinese!
I suspect, this will be forgotten like all other things in our current political landscape. The Biden Administration will take some ribbing for this for a week and we’ll all move on with our lives. It was an insanely DUMB misstep for the administration which is illuminating for how inside their own bubble they are, but it does send out an ominous tone to those that disagree with this administration on policy. Dark Brandon is what they want. Dark Brandon is what their far-left base wants. Hopefully the public takes away the proper message from the one image that personified his incredibly polarizing speech on that September night in Philadelphia.
Dark Brandon should expose the utter stupidity of this White House. They thought that bringing a meme to life was a good idea to demonstrate his authority. All it did was kinda freak out a lot of moderate people and probably made for some great dystopian commercial fodder for his political opponents. C’mon Man, Dark Brandon is not the path to a better future.