Shanghai, Lunch Break

A Shanghai workman taking his lunch break in the back of a truck. His tea sits on the box. Shanghai is a 24/7 kind of town when it comes to construction. The Dunkin' Donuts sign in the background visible through the truck window amused me.

The ruggedly contrasting tones are the story here. They drew my eye right from the thumbnail. They are so perfectly rendered that you could crop this picture just below the window line and you would have an equally intriguing semi-still life. In fact, I might even prefer it because I really like the arrangement of objects in the lower half of the picture and the strength of their textures and tones. In a way this reminds me of 19th Century photography with its strong emphasis on the interplay of light and dark. People then were fascinated just to see their world photographed and the moment frozen forever in time. Even the simplest pictures must have seemed magical. There is something of that wonder with this picture. It's a feast for the eyes.

very good

A very nicely composed beautiful result, Mark!

 

A really strong image. There is a wax like texture on the man's face that brings up the toil and judging from the reflection it must have been a really hard to take image from within a car in a split of a second.

Keep shooting!!!

Thank you Mehmet and Ruud, I always appreciate your eyes.

 

Jack,

 

Thanks for your words. I considered a number of different crops. I too loved the lower half of this image. It seems like something I might see in a museum. In the end, I took a more expansive crop, because this photograph is telling a story, maybe of the clash of time. When I travel through China, I'm struck by this maelstrom of modern and old side by side. In Shanghai, there is scaffolding up on so many of the buildings. Some are very modern iron frameworks and other buildings the scaffolding is entirely of bamboo. 

 

And Michael, 

 

I very much appreciate your comments. I almost removed the reflection from the shot. I'm not loathe to modify an image here and there when a light socket or bric-a-brac gets in the way, but this shot, I almost saw the reflection as part of the story. The man is exhausted, taking his break, tea on the box in front of him. But it's a modern scene, you can tell from Dunkin Donuts in the background, the tennis shoes, the reflection from the taxi window. I just saw it all as part of the photograph's story. Of course, it helps for me that I can reach into my memory and add in so many other little details. It's as if by taking this photograph, I've made my memory of the surrounding period so much more intense. But then that's a large part of why I take photographs, the mere act of recording my surroundings helps me to focus on the world around me in a more intense, defined way.

 

Sorry, I rambled. But I have very much appreciated everyone's comments here and in other photographs even if I don't always expound on that appreciation.

I've had 3 visits to Shanghai in the last 13 years and never cease to be amazed by the place. You certainly got to its essence with this image. 

Shanghai, Back of the Workman's Truck

Outstanding Photograph,( The style reminds me of the photographer  Eugene Smith ) you can feel the human emotion here, great tones, well balanced, and keeps the mind curious. And the Dunkin Donut box makes me smile. Nice Job, Kelson.

It is a superb still of life. I can't quite work out the light coming off the wall and across his hands and trousers. It is as if you have photographed a photograph and there has been a stray reflection. This photo could almost have been taken at any time. I guess the Dunkin' Donuts does give it a way a little. 

 

I am always fascinated by street photos taken in China. It is one of the few countries where people have portrait rights. That said, I wonder how many of the local citizens know that.

 

Jim,

 

Thanks. Shanghai is a city that always amazes me and one of my favorite cities in the world. I took this shot from my taxi on my way back to my hotel from the American Consulate. I used to get out to China once or twice a year, but it's been several years now. This is one of those images that I initially didn't "print," because of the reflection. Later, I thought about photoshopping it out. It wouldn't be hard, but for this particular image, I preferred to leave it as straight as I could other than the sort of traditional dark room development I did using Nik's Silver Efex. 

 

Kelson,

What wonderful words to hear. I appreciate them. 

 

David,

 

You've actually identified the light as a stray reflection. It's from the car window of the taxi I was riding in. I probably should simply photoshop it out, it wouldn't be hard. But as I said above, I just didn't want to manipulate this particular image in the way I so often do when I remove wires and stray bits of trash from many of my other images.

 

And yes, China does have portrait rights. And while I'm not an expert by any means, I believe that under China's General Civil Code (Article 100), the law provides that the use of a citizen's portrait for profit without his consent is prohibited. The case law has taken a fairly expansive view of profit when it comes to areas such as advertising (e.g., using a person's image on a magazine cover that also contains advertising). In this case, I think I'm within my rights as there is no profit motive. If I decided to sell prints (which isn't going to happen) I'm not sure what Chinese courts would do in that situation. My very limited knowledge of Chinese law tends to be confined to contracts and joint ventures. 

A very striking image that shown as though it's from the old film day ?. He's having lunch but has something like a string of chain that goes around his neck .. - TFS!

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