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Tim May | all galleries >> :Asian Journeys:: A Collection of Galleries :: >> A COLLECTION OF GALLERIES::China -September 2007 >> GALLERY:: Impressions of Beijing, China - September, 2007 > Child of Mao
Beijing, China September 2007
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16-SEP-2007

Child of Mao
Beijing, China September 2007

Olympus Evolt E-510
1/320s f/8.0 at 55.0mm iso200 full exif

other sizes: small medium original auto
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Tim May21-Mar-2008 05:32
I'm glad that you responded to what was one of the themes I thought of as I made this image.
sunlightpix20-Mar-2008 22:14
I see a father and son metaphor.
Tim May13-Mar-2008 21:03
Carol, you've added a new dimension to my viewing of this image. Mao did and to some degree still does hold a powerful place in China.
Carol E Sandgren13-Mar-2008 18:59
Aside from the dynamic composition, I see this as a real statement, with the very enlarged Mao image contrasting the small stature of the lowly guard.
Phil Douglis09-Mar-2008 23:45
I see the point of comparing the similarities here in terms of the facial expressions. Both take the moment seriously. The guard is grim, but I see Mao as being determined. Some may see grimness and determination as similar, but I see the grimly sour scowl of this guard as a warning, while Mao's determined image was originally meant to impress the masses with his ability to lead. Today, his portrait has become as much a historical artifact as it is a propagandistic image.
Tim May09-Mar-2008 21:42
This image was dramatically cropped to emphasize the relationship between the guard and Mao. What I really worked on in the processing was to allow the viewer to see the expression on the guard's face. He so echos the grim expression on Mao's face.
Phil Douglis09-Mar-2008 20:04
The guard and the Chairman -- a favorite pairing. Your Mao is huge, your guard grimly subordinate. I chose to make my own guard large and Mao small when I shot this pair of subjects on my first visit to Beijing in 2004.
http://www.pbase.com/image/31310839 We tell different stories by switching subject and context.