Walter Ioos's “Stickball Players in Havana Cuba” is an excellent example of photography's ability to freeze a moment in time. The wide-angle black and white shot has an asymmetric group of subjects placed in a symmetrical background. The viewer is placed eye-level with the stickball players and is given the sense they are in the scene, possibly the pitcher. The photographer's position in the intersection not only provides a visually interesting, first-person, perspective, but gives the street corner the feel of a stage. The fast shutter speed freezes the motion of the ball as well as the swinging of the batter. All eyes are trained on the ball as it approaches the hitter. The subjects' gaze bring an intense sense of determination and focus to the picture. The deep depth of field allows every face and the entire background to remain in focus. The emphasis is clearly on the ball and the concentration of the player's faces on it. The perspective of the walls coming together at the corner in the center of the photograph draws the viewer's gaze to the center. The fixed stares of the players all drawing to the center lead the eye to the small ball suspended, motionless, in mid air.
This photo is incredibly successful in capturing the moment and excitement of young children playing stickball. This is one of the reasons I was drawn to the photo. I'm not a sports fan and have very little time for them anyway. However, when I saw this photo, I was instantly reminded of the pure simple joy of wadding up a ball of tape and hitting it with a stick. By focusing entirely on a street corner filled with kids a split-second before a swing, the photographer manages to capture something universal. It doesn't matter what the politics or economics of the country are. At that moment, in those kids' lives, nothing is more important than the game being played.
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