The Prisoner

Any suggestions or observations are most welcome.

Regards,

Duncan

Great job capturing both eyes through the bars.  Stunning sharpness and detail not to mention masterful toning!!  Another thought provoking image that makes one stop and consider a possibly larger concept of life.  Congrats yet again.

Thanks Craig. I personally prefer this image over 'Another Inmate'. Most likely because of the time that I spent just observing the scene before taking the photograph, where as with 'Another Inmate' where it was very much a photo of opportunity before he or she scampered away again.

This particular Chimpanzee is quite elderly as opposed to the young monkey in 'Another Inmate'. I watched her for some time, the way that she ignored the antics of the younger chimps and the displays of dominance from the alpha male over an adolescent male. She just sat there as if all of it meant nothing.

Masterful capture of a sad situation....heartbreaking. Most powerful composition with saturation and tonal range. Not only is the expression very telling, but the detail of the portion of the hand makes it even more compelling. Captivating. Thanks for sharing such a unique piece of evidence of the dark aspects of humanity.

DG

My wife, daughter and I decided to visit the nearby Utsunomiya Zoo (Japan) as a little day trip from where we live in Tochigi. Shortly after arriving I was quite overcome with sadness at the conditions a large portion of the animals live in. I must stress that none of them are treated badly by the staff, quite the opposite; the staff deeply care for the well being of these creatures, it's just that there just isn't enough money to build newer and less aesthetically confining habitats.

This particular image is of an elderly Chimpanzee as opposed to the young monkey in 'Another Inmate'. She had a particular sadness about her and as observed her for some time I started to feel great empathy towards her. As I waited to get the shot I wanted, I couldn't help but note the way that she ignored the antics of the younger chimps and the displays of dominance from the alpha male over an adolescent male.

She just sat there staring out of her cage as if all of what was occurring inside her prison meant nothing.

Although I think the image is overprocessed, I am impressed by how it captures the ape's expression. I suspect this creature still has the fire of an animal newly housed in a cage, as shown by its eyes and mouth. It doesn't have the look of an animal depressed by long-term imprisonment.

I like the detail and catchlight in the eyes and the expression. I like the post work as well, the composition not so much. I would like to see more of the hand or none at all. But I don't know what was out of frame there might have been no other choice available. But to me the comp is the weakness of the photo.
As far as the subject, it makes me sad to see animals as prisoners.

This is a good picture for a documentary series on the maltreatment of primates by humans. As a picture in and of itself, however, it somehow leaves me a bit cold - it's a rather forbidding subject shot very "straight". I suspect that many may feel the same as me which might be why the comments are rather few for this one. It's a difficult picture to like as it gives little artistic pleasure although as I say there is nothing really wrong with it. If pressed, I would try and reduce the glare from the blown highlight bar in the center if it was mine, and I suppose it would be even better if both eyes could be seen totally unobstructed, but that may be asking too much.

It could be a very real drama but the processing turns it somewhat cartoonish, IMO. One thing I do like about the processing is how it flattens out the scene, which makes the ape look and feel even more caged. I think that works for the story being told. Otherwise, though, the processing is unnatural enough that I don't feel a sense of the reality or emotional potential of the situation.

The composition seems appropriate to me, tight, cramped, the one eye just slightly hidden and peering out from behind the bars which hold the ape in captivity. Very well seen, I think. Another noticeable touch here, in terms of story and composition, is the finger barely jutting out from the bottom of the frame and resting on the bar. It has a humanizing and endearing quality, also an "almost" quality which seems to match the idea of being in prison. This, in a more realistic rendering, would provide an empathetic gesture, subtle and effective.

Great picture ,who is in jail ? Great concept and on time .....he see us in cage , excellent shot , cage protects him from us humans...

Krzysztof: Your interpretation is an interesting one. Yet I must disagree. If the cage's function is to protect him from humans, then the cage is much too late.

The cage is the only world animal knows, so the prisoner mood which photo carries is IMO a false interpretation. For me monkey looks mindless

Thank you everyone for your observations, opinions and critiques. I actually had no idea that this photo had been selected for POW until today.

I went back to the RAW of this image as a comparison and in hindsight I completely agree with Michael and Robin that I absolutely blew the highlights on centre bar, something I should have picked up on and addressed accordingly during the post-processing phase. As for seeing either none or all of the hand as suggested by Nicolas, she had just grasped the bars slightly higher in the frame which created a 'v' frame under her face which was the shot I wanted; unfortunately she her hand dropped unexpectedly just before I took the shot. Moments after, and before I could re-compose another shot to include all of the hand again (and not fully obscure one or both eyes by the bars), a pair of fighting males crashed into her and she moved away looking for shelter.

I won't take any sides on the social commentaries regarding who is the real prisoner etc, I watched her for quite some time and to me it was truly depressing. That in itself is something I do not take lightly as I've been a soldier for over half my life and there isn't many situations that gets such an emotional response out of me anymore.

I totally agree with the comments that the photograph has been over processed. I think I may have gone too far in my efforts to present a clear delineation between prisoner and prison. Photography is a constant learning curve for me, your comments and observations help me progress and improve both photography and post-processing.

Once again, a warm thank you to everyone for their input.

Kind regards,

Duncan