The Power to a Photograph

The legendary bat flip.

It was everywhere. The cover of every sports headline, all the corners of social media, every meme shared online, and now you can get it on a t-shirt.

This photograph defined Canada and its interests in the MLB World Series. But it wasn't just limited to Canada; the entire world saw this photograph. The emotion, the joy, and the utter captivation that drew everyone towards it. The focus of the photograph on player Jose Bautista was not the focus of the subjects of the image, as they were all too busy watching that ball leave the stadium.

From a director's point of view this could be either a medium shot or a wide shot, as the background for the subject of focus stays so broad. There is no face in this photo without an expression of tremendous excitement as a nation watched the ball while that bat flew a dozen feet in the air.

What makes a powerful image? Not necesarily the content, but the power behind it. The power does not necessarily exist within what the camera views, but the moment that it captures.

I'll admit that I was emotional when I watched this moment the first time, and this photograph captures all of those feelings for me to relive again and again.