At first glance, this black and white image, Felix, Gladys and Rover, by Elliot Erwitt, looks like two people walking A small dog. On closer inspection, we slowly realise the gentle comedy of the image, a comedy which is characteristic through much of Erwitt’s work.
Erwitt, who was known for his humorous images of dogs, demonstrates here, arguably his most famous photograph of our four legged friends. We see that the first set of legs belongs to a huge dog (Felix), the middle set to a human (Gladys) and then the tiny Chihuahua in a woolly hat and coat (Rover).
Once we delve into the image, we can start to appreciate the subtle genius. Apart from the adorable subject matter, the image is well lit, almost perfectly composed and with just the right amount of depth of field that separates the main elements from the background. The photographer is literally getting down to street level to capture the characteristically expressive, crossed eyed Chihuahua. The skill it takes to capture a fleetingly perfect composition, should not be overlooked.
re-visit
Having read on in the exercise, returning to this image you can easily see how you can read more into it. You can go into minute details, you can look at the metaphorical, Big Dogs being in charge of Big Business, assuming this is Central Park only people of a certain social standing would be walking their dogs during the day in New York. Even down to the quality of the boots of the dog walker gives off an air of the upper classes, it is widely assumed that the small dogs are a status symbol of the rich, especially ones in wooly hats!
Ben's Blog 