By: Kati Spillman

Sudan Famine

Background Information  The picture shows a famine stricken child being watched by a vulture.  It was taken in 1994 during the Sudan Famine.  The small girl in the picture was crawling towards a United Nations camp located a kilometer away.

Audience  The audience of this picture is anyone.  Many people who viewed this picture believed it was too disturbing to view because of the state of the child, and that the photographer was too concerned about taking the picture and not focused on helping the child.

Focus  The focus of the picture is the small child, because she is so frail you are wondering how she is still alive.  She also has very dark skin, contrasting the light colored ground around her and the white beads on her neck.

Layout  Foreground – The famine stricken child is closest to the camera, to evoke emotion from the viewer.  Background – The hungry vulture is in the background, to show he is waiting for the right moment to claim his meal.  Omission – the picture is not showing if anyone is around that will help the child, nor how far she is from others just like her.

Irony  The irony is that the vulture is watching the child, even though she is not dead yet.  Also, that the vulture is just watching and not attempting to harm the small frail child.

Symbolism  The picture show that food is something we should not take for granted.  Some people do not have the privileges we have, and this picture shows that not everyone get things handed to them, some have to struggle to survive.

Technique  The dark colors of the child and vulture draw you eye to them. The lighter colors of the ground create contrast and a sense of heat. The ground seems dry and bare.  The child and vulture are proportional in size and color, both are about the same.

Appeal  The image appeals to your emotions. You feel pity and sorrow for the famine stricken child.  Also a feeling of anger and hatred towards the vulture for stalking a poor frail child.

Photographer Information  3 years after taking the photograph, Sudan Famine, and just 3 months after receiving the Pulitzer Prize for it, he committed suicide.  He died at the age of 33, of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning. His death note stated he was very depressed and without money, and that he just wanted to see Ken, a deceased colleague. Kevin Carter

Bibliography  Image:  Image Information: famine-to-five.html  Photographer Information: