Jim Goldberg

Jim Goldberg photographed refugees in Greece who had fled their homelands due to war, disease and/or poverty. Goldberg later travelled to the refugees' countries of origin for the Open See project. He collected the stories of refugees seeking shelter and hoping for a better life.

Jim Goldberg and Framing

Watching Oprah is the title of a photo of immigrants that Goldberg took in Greece. By intentionally choosing how to frame the photo, Goldberg provides a great deal of information about the immigrants' environment. If he had chosen to take a close-up instead (see right-hand photo), the viewer would have had far less information. Goldberg chose a wide-angle image which allows you to include the immigrants' surroundings in the story you imagine about the photo. Would you have guessed that this photo was taken in Greece? The title Watching Oprah refers to a TV that the men are watching an Oprah Winfrey show on. The TV is outside the picture, so the title is necessary to know what the men are doing. The framing allows us to see certain things in the photo but keeps us from seeing other things. Goldberg lets us see how the men live, for instance, but not specifically what they are doing. In taking your own photo, first think about what you want to show and what you want to leave up to the viewer's imagination. This way you can tell a very special story without giving everything away.