A close reading of all those images of brokers with their hands on their faces.

When a style of photography can be parodied, it is nearly certain that there are essential components shared throughout its canon. And because the BWHHOHF is an image most-often displayed next to economic news, its photographic characteristics are especially instructive. The types of BWHHOHFs that make it into the news can tell us something about the way we perceive—and grieve—a sputtering economy. An overly earnest semiotic analysis is due before there are no more BWHHOHFs to analyze.

The Concentrator

A hallmark of BWHHOHF photos is a small depth of field. The only thing in focus is the broker—a model of lucidity in a sea of chaos. In this image type, the broker is the closest we have to a protector. He is our line of defense from a blurred economic fade-out and our only hope of restoring clarity to the markets. Yes, he looks concerned, but he is gathering himself before the battle. Before our battle.

The Awed