Shanghai's landmark Oriental Pearl TV Tower is the tallest tower (1,535 feet) in Asia and the third highest in the world. One of its ticket clerks had little to do the afternoon I made this image—it was late in the day, and low visibility had probably reduced the number of visitors. Instead of photographing the tower on this murky afternoon, I found a more expressive subject by turning my camera on its ticket booth. Ornate iron fences, designed for crowd control, surround the booth. Ironically, its rhythmic row of spindles symbolizes the non-existent lines of tourists that would usually line up for tickets here. The young ticket seller seems to be wondering where everyone went.