China. 1948.Beijing.Final days of the Kuomintang
By Henri Cartier-Bresson
French, b.1908, d.2004(Estate)
I choose this image because I am surprised when I saw this image. I do not usually check old-time images of china, When I see these images, I totally shocked. It is hard to say the feeling. Not only because I am Chinese, but also I know most of Chinese history. This image, it does make me feel a lot of things other than interesting.
In this image, the shadow reflects on the wood. I think Henri Cartier-Bresson took this image on a bright day. Two of them are not looking at the photographer, instead, they were doing their own business. Let's talk about the man which stands behind the wood. He is the boss of this shop. According to the how fancy is the cloth, and the color of skin. It is hard to see him because he is standing in the dark area. However the sunshine makes his face brighter. The man who is sitting on the long chair and eating food. The cloth compare to another men is a big difference. Henri Cartier-Bresson did a really good job to have a contract in his photo. The image looks clean and easy to tell. The texture of the door, the building, the table and the chair, even the shape of shadow are leading my eyes to go around. The focal point would be the man who was eating food, and then I saw the black hat. Those shadow leads my eye from light part to the dark part. Then I saw the another man who stand inside of the house. The motion on their face looks calm. No surprise, no shock or anything else. The front table which I think is the important element in this image. Therefore, we can know the lawyer of this image. The foreground is the table, the middle ground would be the man who is eating, and the background should be the houses and the man who is standing inside of the house. Super clear, and straightforward. The little hat I think it is also an important elements. It is the darkest point in this image because it is under the sunshine (like a black dot in the white space).
INDIA.1966
Gujarat.Ahmedabad.
Women spreading out their saris before the sun
The reason I picked this image because I think it is interesting and a unique point of view to see this image. Especially in the black and white photo. The positive and negative space are very obvious in this image. the fishing net and people are black or green. The beach and sand are white. The focal point I would say is fishing net which is left side. The reason why it is the focal point would be the background (sand) are white, and the black dot became obvious to see. And then my eye goes to the down part. A person is drugging the big fishing net. I should say it is a frozen moment because the person is pulling the fishing net. All the texture and pattern are leading my eyes to go around.
