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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Fifteen: Making travel portraits that define personality and character. > Student, Hutong primary school, Beijing, China, 2006
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15-MAR-2006

Student, Hutong primary school, Beijing, China, 2006

This child attends school in one of Beijing's old Hutongs -- a labyrinth of alleyways lined with four sided courtyard homes. All of his classmates had just ended a play session and had been moved to another part of the school. He is just emerging from the bathroom, wondering why all his friends have vanished. He stood there in the door for a few moments, bewildered and confused. One of his teachers came back for him, and was just about to take him back to his classmates when I made this environmental portrait. His tiny figure contrasts to the large door and flight of steps below. His body language expresses caution and uncertainty. This portrait expresses the feelings of a child who is, for the moment anyway, confused and perhaps a bit afraid.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30
1/40s f/2.8 at 7.4mm iso100 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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Phil Douglis30-Jul-2006 18:53
I felt that sense of isolation when I took this photo, Emi. He was so confused when he saw that all of his classmates had vanished while he was in the bathroom. That is why I backed away and used a wideangle focal length here -- to make him seem more distant from us, and thus more distant from his comfort zone as well.
Guest 30-Jul-2006 09:04
There are only sweepers and the little boy himself, no other human being else in this image. And the steps maintain him a distant from your camera, makes him more alone and isolated.

Emi
Phil Douglis23-Apr-2006 04:16
I think red and green are common everywhere in the world. Red is a lucky color in China. It is also a national color. It calls attention to itself, and thus to anything it adorns. It's also the national color of Canada, right?
I don't think one ever gets so used to seeing red that it goes unnoticed, do you?
Guest 23-Apr-2006 03:54
The floor sweepers bring this picture close to home. What strikes me here and in many of your pictures from China are the colours red and green. It makes me wonder if we do have dominant colours that we don’t notice because we are so used to them.
Christine
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