A unbelieveable story about a unbelieveable world.
Guest
25-Feb-2006 18:50
Hi, Jen! I miss our chats! My work has me working late hours, yet again (grrrr!). :)
Use of framing is wonderfully demonstrated here. I see the photo slightly different than Phil's take. While I agree they are looking at an alien world, I do not agree it is a world they did not choose for themselves (which implies, a negative). Rather, I see it as a world they wish they can get to. I say this because of their body language. They are at the fence, touching it with arms open and casual stances. If someone is afraid of something or being forced to something, they will try to get distance, not move towards it. What they see is something they want to see, and maybe want to be a part of. I feel the kids have the same feeling of "hope" as the immigrants had in Stieglitz's photo. :)
****Locked in a cage, these children are arriving in an alien world, a world they did not choose for themselves.
They will changed forever by what is about to happen, and we can only wonder how. Pretty much as I saw it as well. Great shot, as usual. You rarely miss these days, my friend.
You have made an image in the sprit of Stieglitz's masterwork, The Steerage, (http://www.masters-of-photography.com/S/stieglitz/stieglitz_steerage_full.html ) which was photographed almost 100 years ago as anxious immigrants from Eastern Europe landed in the US. What would happen to them? Some would flourish. Others would barely survive.
!!! You bring to mind the great journey across the Atlantic Jen, full of hope for new freedoms and wealth, but the reality was their were barriers, and risks for the new comers, the next generation. Shanghai is in the pioneering age...and the barriers here...they are real too. One of your greatest images of Shanghai in my humble opinion. K
