ethan.crowley
Stoplight Community
In Cambodia, waiting for a light to turn green is a social gathering.
People jocky for position, inching forward to occupy every possible centimeter of the coveted real estate towards the front of the pack. The scooters weave their way forward, snaking between the less maneuverable cars and tuk-tuks. Those making a right turn just cut through the gas station, dodging between the pumps and attendants.
A small community forms; people strike up conversations, eavesdrop on other's cell phone chats, comment on the weather, talk about politics. Some retreat to their helmets, visors closed, maintaining a illusion of privacy. Others unsuccessfully try to ignore the beggars or newspaper vendors; curious children always stare at any nearby foreigners. For sixty seconds, a small human microcosm of community is maintained.
Then, as the light changes, it dissolves as quickly as it was created.
Aside: this isn't a perfect image, by any means; but I like how it conveys how tightly packed the traffic is while waiting at stoplights. It's a 9 image HDR panorama, tonemapped in Photomatix and stitched in Photoshop. Fun stuff.
Thoughts? Comments? Concerns? Always eager to learn from fellow photo people....
More images and culture at my photoblog, ethancrowley.com
Stoplight Community
In Cambodia, waiting for a light to turn green is a social gathering.
People jocky for position, inching forward to occupy every possible centimeter of the coveted real estate towards the front of the pack. The scooters weave their way forward, snaking between the less maneuverable cars and tuk-tuks. Those making a right turn just cut through the gas station, dodging between the pumps and attendants.
A small community forms; people strike up conversations, eavesdrop on other's cell phone chats, comment on the weather, talk about politics. Some retreat to their helmets, visors closed, maintaining a illusion of privacy. Others unsuccessfully try to ignore the beggars or newspaper vendors; curious children always stare at any nearby foreigners. For sixty seconds, a small human microcosm of community is maintained.
Then, as the light changes, it dissolves as quickly as it was created.
Aside: this isn't a perfect image, by any means; but I like how it conveys how tightly packed the traffic is while waiting at stoplights. It's a 9 image HDR panorama, tonemapped in Photomatix and stitched in Photoshop. Fun stuff.
Thoughts? Comments? Concerns? Always eager to learn from fellow photo people....
More images and culture at my photoblog, ethancrowley.com