It's a relationship bust up. The way Chinese girls behave is very similar. They will go cold and stone like. Turn away and just stand there. No matter if they are in public when the argument/truth/heartbreak came out.

Look closely at her body language - her arms. Then the dude. The slump of his body, the look at the girl.

The negative space on the left to reinforce that it is a public walk way and there is no other reason to stand or be there like that.

She had tears streaming down her face. This scene is played out a lot. I guess it won't mean much to a non Chinese/China Expat person.

But this is gold as far as a very day scene from Chinese social life. Friggin glad I caught it!

I mean - they were there at least 30 mins. As they were like that when I arrived and then after I came back still there.... I guess there is a place for video as well. Or strategic placing of a clock face in the scene somehow. ;-)

Yes, I guess all YOU know about this would make you believe it fits the theme (and it does). But WS is set up so the picture (not the story) must really convey the theme. I can't see her tears. Her arms look relaxed, not angry. He actually looks like he's looking down the street waiting for someone else.. not really sure if he's connected to her at all. If I knew the story, I reckon I'd see the connection to the theme. Very nice photograph, though.

Yeah - this is really a shot that you have to spend time to explore. And an affinity for the human condition (as caught in raw street) helps too. I notice more about their body language as I look over the image more.

And that'd be smart arse! Don't drag the donkeys into this!

Oh Ana, here I have to disagree. I got the connection and the body language right away. I knew they had had some rift. What made me keep looking is the way she is so close to the little bit of wall and just staring a hole in it!

I've had this exact hole stared through me a few times. I sent this around to all my mates who are either married or have dated Chinese girls. It is beyond cliche. I saw the exact same scene today again while out walking. The dude is always quiet as it is impossible to gauge the degree of how pissed off the girl is... on a scale from thermonuclear on one end to genocidal at the other.

So they just sit there and try not to pour oil on the flames (the simmering, pressure cooker of flames).

It is a truly awful situation to be it. I regular old yelling match and debate - be it public or private would be better. But the silence and stiff body that can not move like an infantry man on the parade ground for what seems like an endless period of time.

Truly excruciating.

I am good husband now! ;-)

....put it in the averages.

Richard I do like this as I stated but the crop kills it for me, not necessary in my opinion.

and ratios not rations - that will teach me...

@ Tracy... XPAN. ;-)

Unusual ratio... well I guess. But a standard one. I am a big fam of 2.35:1 and 16:9. This is 6x2 - two full 135 frames next to each other.

I do plan to try 6x17 shooting in the future as well!

@ Tracy

I did contemplate cropping to 2x3 but I didn't because of:

- The man is so close to the edge of the building the crop may confuse or make it look like he was chopped off. So I would have to leave at least that one chick who is touching her hair in the background also.

- The movement of the man right of frame and the massive empty space on the right, I then felt conspired to show the context of the scene - IE a busy street and in public and not a quiet corner.

In deed it was lucky to get this shot - had to sulk near a bin and wait for a clear opening - not easy in one of the largest market/shopping districts in BJ.

So yeah, it is funny that you mention ratios because this is a shot that I wouldn't frame and shoot in pano. However that is the mode that was set on the camera as I went past and picked this scene out of the chaos around me. It turns out for me for the reasons of context that I felt crapping was not an option. Poetically this is a issue about cropping and that I didn't do it. ;-) But yes - it was heavily considered....

Thanks Wings. I shot this the Sunday before the new theme was announced and then thought it would be a good one when the theme was announced. I have packed up all my developing stuff so had to wait a bit to get this done by the lab.

Wow - got hammered on this photo. Oh well. I never was a mainstream shooter of main stream stuff. Thanks to those that managed to peel the onion and notice the small details that make the magic of street. But a 3 for relevance? Maybe I should have put a broken window in there to really confuse people! :-)