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August 1939. Migratory boy in squatter camp. Has come to Yakima Valley, Washington, for the third year to pick hops. Mother: "You'd be surprised what that boy can pick." View full size. Photograph by Dorothea Lange.
Having grown up in Yakima, I can tell you this picture could have been taken 2 years ago ... you couldn't tell the difference!
DL bores right into her subjects and trips the shutter at the perfect moment to capture the despair and grinding hopelessness found among many who endured the Depression. But at the same time, amazingly, she also manages to capture the set of the subject's jaw or the look in their eye that says "just you wait, we're a great nation, we'll be back" attitude they seemed to possess.
Amazing and astonishing, indeed. Thank you.
Denny Gill
Chugiak, Alaska
Dorothea Lange = stupefying
This image strikes like few others. It's right up there with the other touchstone images from Depression.
The innocence of youth tinged with the questioning of why life has to be so hard.
I would LOVE to know what this child was thnking when the picture was taken and what kind of life he ended up living.
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