July 12, 2021
Chatting the Pictures

Chatting the Pictures: Honoring Farm Worker Parents in Proud Graduation Photos

Welcome to Chatting the Pictures. Every two weeks, we present a short, lively video discussion between Michael Shaw, publisher of Reading the Pictures, and writer, professor, and historian, Cara Finnegan, examining a significant picture in the news. Chatting the Pictures is produced by Liliana Michelena.

By Staff
About the Video

This viral photo by Branden Rodriguez shows Jennifer Rocha with her mother and father in Coachella. A recent graduate of the University of California, San Diego, she decided to take her graduation pictures in the fields where she worked alongside her parents planting strawberries while in high school. In the video, we look at the photo through a personal and political lens. We explore its visual roots tracing back to the Great Depression as well as compare it to similar recent graduation photos.

You can find all the Chatting the Pictures replays here.

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Staff
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The Big Picture

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Panelists

Michael Shaw

An analyst of news photos and visual journalism, and a frequent lecturer and writer on visual politics, photojournalism and media literacy, Michael is the founder and publisher of Reading the Pictures.

Cara Finnegan

Cara Finnegan is a writer, photo historian, and professor of Communication at the University of Illinois. She has been affiliated with Reading The Pictures for nearly 15 years, most recently as co-host of Chatting The Pictures. Her most recent book is Photographic Presidents: Making History from Daguerreotype to Digital.

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