Blood Soaked Sorrow

This particular photo was taken in Zimbabwe, Africa illustrating the hunting practices that take place, both legal and illegal. This image captures the brutality and violence of hunting elephants. The photo is taken at an angle that hardly shows the elephant but only the tusk. The feet that are shown are significant because they appear to be a child's feet covered in blood. This represent how in Zimbabwe it  is not an uncommon act and even children are exposed to this. There is something very raw about this photo, the dusty ground contrast with the bright red blood in a way that is somewhat alarming. This image screams of violence from first glance. Not only does the blood soaked ground project a sense of gore and brutality but the tusk creates a feeling of sadness. The whole elephant is not shown because it does not need to be shown, the tusk speaks for itself. There is more of an impact made by not uncovering the whole picture, there is more left to the imagination.

 Blood soaked feet are something generally seen from a horror because they project danger and death in our minds. The fact that boy is standing uncaring in a pool of blood has a carnal, barbaric aspect to it that would make someone think this is from prehistoric times. This image was meant to incite a feeling of shock and disgust which uncovers the photographers purpose of sending the message that this is wrong. The very nature of this photo is gritty, dirty and gruesome. The blood dripping down the tusk of the elephant and the way the blood is pooled around on the ground creates a feeling of finality that comes after a violent struggle. This photograph is sad in a way that there is nothing that can be done now to help this animal. But the point of the photograph after all was to strike sadness into the viewers and create action.