One of my favourite things to photograph is a good public market. And some of the best and most interesting markets I’ve encountered have been in China. At their busiest, there is so much going on simultaneously, you could probably spin in a circle and point your camera, and you’d find something fascinating ready and waiting for you.
Even when you look at a photograph of one of these markets, it is worth it, as the observer, to move beyond the focus chosen by the photographer. So, I’m hoping you do that with the following photograph.
I’m including two photos from a market I visited in Hunan province. One is a close up of a larger scene. I’ve chosen a clear focus, but I find myself asking questions about the other elements of the photo. In the second shot, I widened the scene to include what was going on around my chosen focus. I see something new every time I look at them.
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Fascinating photos Tara. I’d love to know what’s for sale on the red table…
Is that a large cooking pot next to the dead chicken? Soup? Are the people lining up to fill their pots with whatever’s cooking?
Those are actually shoes on the red table. All different kinds.
It is indeed a cooking pot, but somehow, I think it isn’t soup. There appears to be chicken goo – blood, guts, etc – on some of the surfaces in that area, including the pot. I’m guessing that they may be boiling down parts of the chicken for a variety of reasons. But there was no food being sold in that area of the market.
Incidentally, right beside this stand, a vendor was selling live Silkies – a really beautiful kind of chicken (see my chicken post: Here a Chick, There a Chick)
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Poor chicken..
You can say that again
Is that dinner on the floor again?
(A common enough sight here in Africa, too!)
Highly likely
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Hmmm, just guessing, but Health Inspector, not a common job in China???
I knew a British chemist who had some position of authority in a Chinese chemical company over here. He told me he had to receive the government officials who came to do safety inspections. No inspections ever occurred. They expected to be taken out for dinner and furnished with prostitutes in exchange for their signatures.
I suspect there are lots of health inspectors, but they function in much the same way.
Welcome to China!
Prostitutes! Free dinner! Now that’s a party I want to join!
Nobody does corruption and partying like a government! The best I’ve been able to get in on so far is an extravagant lunch (with real French wine) with a city’s head of tourism. And dammit if there weren’t any prostitutes. I’m going to have to schmooze with Public Works or something…
First thing that came to mind looking at the large photo: how long till the dog discovers the chicken, (or has he already, and that’s why it’s on the ground?) First thing that comes to mind looking at the large photo: what is the woman in the white pants interested in? She doesn’t seem to be looking at the same thing the man to her left is looking at. Does she think the chicken is abandoned / will be thrown out and really wants it, maybe she has a large family and could really use it?
You have taken a few of my questions right out of my mouth!
Yes, I thought the same thing about the dog – why is she seemingly ignoring what would be a great meal? She has clearly recently given birth and looks really skinny. Maybe she’s trained???
Yes, and I couldn’t figure out what that woman was looking at. I got the sense that she was working there, and the man was buying something. What surprised me most was that no one was looking at me! I’m pretty sure I was the first Caucasian to ever visit that market.
I’d also looked around in the photo for the dogs’ puppies (under a table, in a cate…) as they generally won’t go far from them. Now, that would have been an interesting unintentional thing to capture somewhere in the periphery of the photo!
Absolutely! I didn’t see them either. There must have been a little safe haven nearby out of the range of my lens. I wonder what they ended up having for lunch…
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It’s an interesting question, the first thing I notice is the kids. I wonder, what are they doing, what are they looking at ?
Do kids run around on their own at the markets ?
I love that everyone sees something different
Yes, absolutely, the kids run around on their own everywhere. It’s interesting – the approach to children. While Chinese children are raised to be completely obedient to authority figures and to refrain from free and creative thinking, they are actually quite free to roam – there’s no obsession with predatory pedophiles or safety or germs here. It is the complete opposite in the West.
I will often see parents discouraging their kids when they visit a farm or market, ‘that’s dirty’ they say. Meanwhile my son is playing in the goat pen!
I think that ‘s the best thing you can do. Aside from the hands-on learning, kids need to build resistance to germs. Can’t do that if you live in a bubble (or on the sidelines), eh?