Heartbreaking Photo

Photographer’s Note

Took leaving the Tiananmen Square. This was one of 3 or 4 children who were begging for money and follwing anyone who looked like they had money. My first day in China was a pretty emotional experience.

rafid76, zips has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

savask (1745) 2006-08-20 3:43

i like the B&W approach gives more drama. very emotional

battousai (801) 2006-08-20 16:11

Hi Mike,

I really like your photo. It's very strong, very emotional. You've showed us a piece of Chinese reality which is not very pleasant, but true. I've spent more than 2 years in Beijing and I've experienced all those situations myself. I like your usage of B&W here but I think this photo should have more contrast and be a little bit sharper because those people in the background interfere a little bit with the main focus point - the girl. I've posted your photo to the workshop - please see if you like it.

Best regards and thanks for sharing

Pawel

[2] [workshop] [compare]

kajspice (4524) 2006-08-24 8:51

Very nice workshop by Pawel...

I think there are a few too many pictures of "desperate" children on this site - most of them just look like pictures of poor children without any feelings behind them, as far as the relationship between the child/person and photographer is concerned. Many of the pictures look like they have just been taken for the sake of having a picture of a "poor desperate kid" in their travel albums...(just my opinion)... However, there is something about this picture, which goes beyond and forces me to really look at her face. Her pleading hands and desperate expression speak volumes. The most powerful thing here is your point of view...apt as she is towered by all the people around her...all look like they are on a tour, with their clean clothing and trainers...

There is something very poignant about the lady on the right clutching her handbag too... I think the absence of any other faces except hers is effective as it really forces me to empathise with her...

duder (319) 2006-08-24 12:15

Hi Mike, I like the framing of this photo, tightly cropping out the heads of the crowd in the background, and also the point of view, as in a way the rest of the people's backs are turned on this child. It's a very powerful photo. I like the results of the workshop but even without further processing it works very well. Congrats.

rafid76 (2607) 2006-09-07 14:36 [Comment]

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zips (1941) 2007-02-09 21:25

A good documentary photograph, especially since if it werr part of a documentary photo series it would be even stronger....which it may be.

It's understandable that you took this photo on your first day in China and you were a bit shocked at what you saw.

As far as the critic who wrote " I think there are a few too many pictures of "desperate" children on this site"...

........the reason is because there are too many desperate children in the world. In Cambodia, where I am presently, there are about 3 million children engaged in labor daily out of a population of around 13 million.

The problems of children are a big problem, and each photograph depicting these people that we see on TE, whether good photographically or not, reminds us of that each time we see one.

Great Job.
Aloha, JB

happypoppeye (4025) 2007-07-10 21:58

A very sad photo. You can really see the emotion on the girls face. Good catch. Nice and sharp.

I hope you helped, somehow.
John