Monday, May 17, 2010

Live Fire Zone


Is this a wonderful photograph?

The shot, by Athit Perawongmetha for Getty Images, shows an anti-government Red Shirt protester running from violence in central Bangkok. The color photo doesn't feel like a news photo to me. It looks more like it was shot by a unit photographer on a movie set--I assume the effect comes from the odd combination of ambient daylight (was flash added?) and light from the flames in the scene. Ordinarily when I see a picture like this I make the assumption that those fires in the background are coming from propane burners hidden careful out of sight. 

The violence is real, of course: 60 people have been killed in the clash between protesters and government forces, which has declared certain protest areas as "Live Fire Zones."

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