Photo analysis

Situated in close proximity to the epicentre of the 9.1 magnitude earthquake in 2004, Indonesia was the first country to be impacted by a tsunami.

“We took a boat all the way from the middle of the island up to Banda Aceh, the hardest hit area, and for hundreds of kilometres it was as if somebody had taken an eraser and erased everything underneath the 20-meter line.”

Tsunami researcher and forecaster, Vasily Titov (5)

1. Discuss the resources civilians would require following a tsunami. Arrange these in a list, ordered from the most to least essential.
2. Locate Aceh on a map
3. On which Indonesian island is Aceh located?
4. How far is this island from Australia? How might this distance influence the type of support and aid that Australia could provide?

Extension: Find out what Australians were doing on this island during the Second World War.

Australian photographer Stephen Dupont, travelled to the capital of Aceh, Banda Aceh, in January 2005. He had previously taken photographs in Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Somalia, Rwanda, East Timor, the Solomon Islands, and Afghanistan.  

“I want to capture history. I want people to look, to see, to feel. To not look away from the suffering of others.”

Stephen Dupont, 2017(6)

In Banda Aceh, Dupont captured the immense destruction and suffering caused by the Boxing Day tsunami. Some of his images can be viewed in the slideshow below. Please note this slideshow contains images that some people may find distressing.

1. Individually or in small groups, select a photo that interests you, and answer the following questions.
   1. Record what you see. Consider shapes, colours, angles, the position of people, and perspective.
   2. What questions do you have about the photograph that you need answered before you can interpret it? Some of these questions may be answered by searching for the photograph number at www.awm.gov.au.
   3. How does this photograph make you feel?
   4. Why do you think Dupont has taken this photograph? What does he want the audience to see and understand?
   5. How does this photograph demonstrate the impact of the earthquake and tsunami?  Identify the various consequences of the disasters that are visible in the photographs.
   6. Is the photo in black and white, or in colour? Why do you think Dupont has made this decision?
   7. Share your responses with the class
   8. As a class, summarise the advantages and disadvantages that photographs provide as a source for historical study.

Extension: Can you find images of the effects of the earthquake and tsunami on Aceh taken by Indonesian photographers? How might their experiences, perspectives and images differ to those of Western photographers? An example can be found here:

Sources:

[5] https://www.history.com/news/deadliest-tsunami-2004-indian-ocean

[6] https://www.canon.com.au/about-canon/news-and-press-releases/dont-look-away