Richard Misrach's "Flooded House (chair) Salton Sea (1985)"

I really enjoyed Richard Misrach's photography because most of it was socially conscious without necessarily having journalistic intentions. He prefered to compare his photographs to history paintings--capturing the image of a particular moment in time. For instance, this photograph falls in line with his theme of capturing an instance of human interference with a landscape--in this case, a flood that resulted from the "engineering disaster" that was the manmade Salton Sea in California. Besides its social consciousness, though, this picture demonstrates balance through its use of similar colors and its repetition of lines (such as in the windows and the wooden boards. He does use a lack of balance to bring attention to the asbestos hanging down in front of the picture, which adds to the depth. However, because the asbestos is not in focus, the viewer moves from that focal point to the rest of the room which is in focus.