Lunch atop a Skyscraper.

The very famous photograph above is of New York 'Construction Workers' having their lunch on a crossbeam, and was taken by Charles C.Ebbets during the construction of the GE Building at Rockefeller Center on September 29, 1932.  The photograph is of 11 men eating lunch whilst sat on a girder with their feet dangling above New York City.

This photograph personally makes me feel uneasy just looking at it as there are no safety nets in sight or belts around these men. As a viewer I became instantly emotionally involved in this photograph: it provokes fear and at the same time excitement - associated with the bravery of these men. I almost feel as if I am on the girder myself. As the photograph has been taken from a lower angle than where the men are positioned, it almost empowers them - although they were all working class men, from the position that they are in it is almost as if you are admiring them from below - this once again can be associated with their bravery.

What mainly keeps my attention on this photograph is the actions of the men within it. They all look so calm and collected (talking, eating, and smoking) - except for the man who is positioned on the very right hand side of the girder. My eyes always focus back to this character within the photograph, as I feel that he is connecting more with me as a viewer - and perhaps his gaze has some sort of hidden meaning. He's looking directly at the camera and has some-sort of liquor flask in his hand. He looks somewhat lost compared to the other men, perhaps he doesn't want to be there - maybe he's only up there risking his life in such a job because he has no other option due to the depression era. Also, if he is carrying alcohol it seems a very dangerous place to be drinking it - these men appear pretty much fearless.

He also does not appear to be engaged with the other men, perhaps representative of the fact that he is a loner, or being rebellious. This all relates back to how the narrative of an image can change when the picture itself is broken up into separate parts - in this case the photograph appears to now be of a man sort-of posing for the camera - as opposed to a more casual photograph of a  group of men and their working lives. The view also appears completely different - from this angle the girder could be above perhaps any city in the world.

In terms of lighting, the men and girder also appear to be darker and more in focus than the background of New York City, this makes them the clear subject of the photograph.