American Soldier

1) I think the most powerful picture is the photo of Ian, and other men in his troop, laying down while under fire. It gives some in sight to how close they are to the explosions, considering smoke is coming up right behind them. It also shows a portion of the conditions that these men have to fight in, dirt filled and smoke everywhere. All the men, including Ian, have a very serious facial expression, showing that they are all focused and prepared for whatever is to come.

2) I think the images work to tell a story through their progression of time and how things changed. At the beginning, the very first photo was of Ian enrolling into the Army. Throughout the rest of the pictures, they showed all the places they had been. All the places that they had to go fight, and the people in those places, and their conditions.

3) The captions enhance the photographs by further explaining what's taking place in the photo. They also give you background information that we would not have known just by looking at the picture. Some even include the exact dates of when the photo was taken.

4) Ian Fisher enlisted into the Army in June 200. Ian already had an idea of what going to war would be like. He packed up, left his family and friends, and set our for where he was stationed. Not long was it until Ian realized that war was nothing like he had ever imagined it would be like. He regretted his decision and tried to get his way out of the Army. However, Ian never did find his way to get out of his enlistment. After two years, Ian overcame his regret, injuries, and the obstacles he faced with the Army and himself.

5) For the photographs in which Ian is the main focus, the captions are in present tense.

6) Break Down the Captions:
a) On average the captions are about four sentences long.
b) The sentences provide background information that you wouldn't have known by just looking.
c) The third sentence usually provides further background information.
d) Yes, some of the captions use a quote to inform the reader further.
e) Yes, there are some captions that include four sentences.

6) I think that it is possible to create a story through images and captions because I think that sometimes photos can tell stories better than trying to explain something. Actually being able to have a visual of what is, or was, happening gives a lot of insight. Captions give the ability to explain further about what is happening in the photograph.

7) Some stories don't have the photographs to even create a story with captions. Also, if the story isn't a very important story, maybe it doesn't need photographs to easily describe what's going on in the story being told. However, I think photos are always interesting to add when telling stories, and they can put an image with the description.