An Analysis of

Fear in El Salvador: Gang Violence

A Photo Essay by Jan Sochor
Written by Becky Kelly

Description

Fear in El Salvador:Gang Violence is a photo essay by Jan Sochor done from 2011 to 2014. It
features sixteen black and white photographs which depict the lives of gang members of the Mara
Salyatrucha and the 18th Street Gang, the two largest gangs in the country of El Salvador. The two
gangs are constantly fighting over turf, which results in much violence and bloodshed.
Sochor's photos show the gang members in jail, on the operating table of the emergency room,
and in their daily lives along with photos of graffiti, the tattoos associated with the gangs, and the
police who deal with the members of the gangs.

Analysis
Black and White
All of Sochor's photos are black and white, which makes them seem very gritty and real. The
lack of color shows the events in the photos as being somber and presents them as factual
representations of life as an El Salvadoran gang member. Most of the images are of solemn and serious
situations, such as injury and jail time, so having a lot of color present throughout the series would be
detrimental in conveying the gravity of these situations.

Word/Picture Relationship
The photos stand on their own as far as captions are concerned. That is to say, that each
individual photo does not have a unique entry of words that corresponds to it. There are a few
paragraphs that are presented below the slide show of the photo essay which describe the overall
content of the pictures. This artist's statement provides context for the photos by providing information
such as the the names of the two gangs, their histories, and their activities.
There is an additive relationship between the words and pictures in this photo essay. As
McCloud describes it in his book, this relationship is one wherein the words and photos work together
to elaborate on what the other is saying. 1 The photos could stand by themselves and still be about gang
violence, but the words provide a context for them; the words also convey a complete message, but the
photos enhance that message by providing a visual to aid in understanding the culture of gang violence
in El Salvador.

Composition

Sochor's photos use a wide variety of compositional techniques mentioned in Complete

Photography such as framing, leading lines, rule of thirds, and positive and negative space. Framing is
used to emphasize an element in a photo. Leading lines are lines in a photo that are used to guide the
eye throughout the piece. The rule of thirds breaks a photo into sections that are balanced without

1 McCloud, page 154

being symmetrical. Positive and negative space uses the subject and the empty area around it to isolate
the subject in the image.2 Sochor uses the bars of jail cells to frame the tattoos on the gang members
and the lines of buildings to lead the eye through the graffiti tags on walls. The repetition of kneeling.

While Sochor does use the above composition techniques, he also makes a point to break rules,
too.

Centering the subject in a shot and skewing the horizontal lines are both recognized as a

photographer breaking rules.3 However, Sochor places his subjects in the middle in several of his
photos, such as the shot of a beat up boy in a hospital, which gives the subject more impact by not
trying to make it appear nice. It becomes a gritty truth exposed for the viewer to see. Rarely does
Sochor include a photo in this essay that isn't skewed at an angle, so even if the horizon line is not
visible, it is still evident that it is not level. This sense of instability in the composition adds to the
tumultuous and violent content of the photos.

Evaluation
Black and White
I think that black and white images were the right choice for this photo essay. Color would
have been too distracting from the seriousness of the subject matter. Spot coloring 4 might have been
effective in some of the images, but had it been done with the blood in the photo of the boy in the
hospital, it would have looked a little cheesy and tasteless. Since it wouldn't have worked in all the
2 Complete Photography, pages 84-88 and 92
3 Complete Photography, page 109
4 Black and white images with select areas or items of color, such as the girl in the red coat in the film Schindler's List

photos, I think it was a wise decision on Sochor's part to stick to just black and white.
Word/Picture Relationship
The words and photos as they are work well together. They get across the general information
needed to support showing the presence of gang violence El Salvador. However, I think that with the
addition of captions for each photo that explain the circumstances in the shot would be beneficial to
elucidate on what the gang violence shown is so that the viewer can have a better understanding of the
photo's relevance and inclusion in the series.
Composition
Overall, Sochor's compositional skills are very good. He possesses a command of the ability to
frame a shot to draw attention to specific areas. And the use of compositional techniques such as
leading lines and rule of thirds suggest that her understands the rules of photography, making the
skewed horizontals and centered images more effective as they are clearly conscious decisions he has
made instead of amateur mistakes. He takes engaging photos that present the dark nature of his subject
matter without trying to pretty it up. I'd equate it to being blunt instead of using euphemisms to make
the edge off. That bluntness is appropriate for the subject of the photo essay.

Sources
Jan Sochor, Fear in El Salvador. http://www.jansochor.com/photo-essay/fear-in-el-salvador-gangviolence.html
National Geographic Complete Photography. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic, 2011.
Scott McCloud, Understanding Comics. New York : HarperPerennial, 1994.