Bit's Photography
What's It All About?
Posted by Luis A. De Jesus R. (Mexico City, Mexico) on 22 September 2008 in People & Portrait and Portfolio.
A man looking on the Mexican military parade last week commemorating Mexico's Independence Day.
For higher resolution views --and more-- of my images, please visit here Flickr stream.
dj.tigersprout from San Bruno, CA, United States
a powerful shot -- and a wonderful perspective!
22 Sep 2008 6:09am
Hikari from Kumamoto, Japan
Esta es de las que me gustan a mi ! , bien cerquita !
Para la semana próxima comenzaré una laaarga serie de street photo !
Saludos !
22 Sep 2008 6:27am
Ana Lúcia from Leiria, Portugal
This is excellent. The sharp details of his face are excellent.
22 Sep 2008 8:53am
Vink from Grasse - French riviera, France
Superb b&w portrait ! Excellent angle !
22 Sep 2008 10:02am
andrei from newark, United States
like the picture, the moment and the angle . however i find it slightly too dark, i would have liked to see mor light reflecting from the man's eyes . his eyes were the first thing that i found in terms of focal point, they attracted me to them but i needed to scrutinize them deeply to find " life" on the other hand, the lightless eyes could act as a metaphore , offering a good contrast between the meaning of a parade and the human existance.
22 Sep 2008 1:19pm
@andrei: Andrei, thanks for visiting my blog and your honest assessment. I don't know if the dark you encounter is from a color calibration issue; though, I admit I like my images dark. For me the image has a meaning that can be difficult to communicate given the lack of a description and sociocultural context.
This was taken at a parade in Mexico celebrating independence from Spain in the late 1800s. Since then no real benefits have been passed onto the general population or what George Orwell might call 'prols' in reference to the proletariat. The man in the image is a peasant that was observing the military march. Mexican history shows how his class and hundreds of thousands of indigenous peoples have been cheated by their government time and again. They settled for small parcels of land instead of equal access to the political and economic life of the nation that is currently in the hands of less than one percent of the population. Current 'democratic' trends --like elections and the removal of the PRI from 70 years of rule-- now mean that policy is forced fed by what the superficial media gives you, skewed government information, and distraction from the real issues and causes of the nation's woes. Before you got beaten on the head, now people are duped by lies, deception, bread, and circus.
People like this man will seldom protest or join any violent or peaceful protest against government as this show of force in the name of nationalism and patriotism sends a mixed message: in part, how impotent they truly are against such power if welded against a frustrated and hopeless population.
As I framed the image I thought about what this man must be perceiving from this military march. What it truly meant for him, which I will never know and continue to speculate. If the situation is bad in the US, the prospects are --for the short term-- worse for Mexicans. The government has money to spend on this army created for the sake of national stability, not the defense of sovereignty: It is there to ensure control by that less than one percent mentioned earlier vis a vis an attack from a foreign entity.
Sorry for the lengthy reply, but such issues get me all worked up. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts.
gbe from kansas city, United States
i like this photo very much - the man's blank stare, the grittiness of the scene. it all works together.
22 Sep 2008 2:44pm
Ted from South Wales, United Kingdom
Great capture...what a striking face and expression!
22 Sep 2008 3:27pm
Thomas Griffioen from Rotterdam, Netherlands
Very intriguing portrait! I can see him thinking. Well seen.
22 Sep 2008 7:25pm
Rui from Leiria, Portugal
Remembering old memories? Very nice shot, showing the man's perspective. Good work
22 Sep 2008 9:22pm
Margie from Auckland, New Zealand
Very powerful shot. You can almost hear him thinking...but what does it mean for me?
23 Sep 2008 6:13am
DonLon from Providence, RI, United States
I THinks this a an excellent street shot. I agree with you view of Andrei's comments. THere is something very empty about the look and the military vehicles. Sort of like there is nothing to see except what we want to to see. Very nice social commentary.
23 Sep 2008 4:35pm
Thierry Masson from orly, France
The dark eyes show some kind of question, that I would translate this way: do they actually protect us or do they prepare to crush us? It remembers me some photos of Pragues in 1968...
23 Sep 2008 8:13pm
@Thierry Masson: Thierry, you hit it right on; exactly what ran through my mind. Cheers!
sophron from berlin, Germany
great shot - both photographically and in regard of contents.
thanks for sharing your view on mexican history and present. i´ve been watching with huge interest the social fightings in chiapas and anywhere else in mexico for some years now. i think latin america is the most hopeful area in regard to progressive social development nowadays.
26 Sep 2008 12:05pm
Nikon D80
1/750 second
F/4.5
ISO 400
17 mm (35mm equiv.)