In response to "Through the baracades". I've posted this image previously in late 2010 or early 2011. It's been reworked back to colour. I'll share some backstory later.

I like the shot however they look cold not sweaty

No seriously, I like that you shot through the shutters and I think it works well in color. the one woman staring directly at the camera adds to the shot as well.

I like the design of this and the information it provides about the subjects.

You use color when necessary. Very nice (as usual).

Nice shot.

It works well in color (maybe not enough contrast for b&w)

Another thought provoking, well executed shot. Taken on it's own it tells us about the sweatshop conditions that many workers have to endure.

Now I'm curious as to the context and back story. I think this is a healthy debate about how we view images and apply context to them and whether this is consistent with the photographer's intentions or not.

I'm remiss in completing this tale. Let me start with saying I personally like this shot as it comes with a story that I'll tell in short form.

This is on the street that I've been shooting for close to five years now. Hefei Lu in Shanghai. People know me, I know them. Even if we don't converse much. The shop sells PJ's, JimJams, day sleeping wear. They sew them in the evenings.

The shot was taken in the dead of winter with the front shutters drawn. I'd parked myself outside, peeking through the screen while taking shots of an open shop next door. The subjects and I kept making visual contact. Again, we knew each other, made faces and laughed a lot.

So I got this shot. I like the shot. It still makes me laugh. The people in the shot like it because they also know the context. But for many it presents a much more dire circumstance than the actual situation.

The shot itself is complete. It's only ambiguous in so much as there are chapters missing in the story.

Originally Posted by michswiss I'm remiss in completing this tale. Let me start with saying I personally like this shot as it comes with a story that I'll tell in short form. This is on the street that I've been shooting for close to five years now. Hefei Lu in Shanghai. People know me, I know them. Even if we don't converse much. The shop sells PJ's, JimJams, day sleeping wear. They sew them in the evenings. The shot was taken in the dead of winter with the front shutters drawn. I'd parked myself outside, peeking through the screen while taking shots of an open shop next door. The subjects and I kept making visual contact. Again, we knew each other, made faces and laughed a lot. So I got this shot. I like the shot. It still makes me laugh. The people in the shot like it because they also know the context. But for many it presents a much more dire circumstance than the actual situation. The shot itself is complete. It's only ambiguous in so much as there are chapters missing in the story.

... and of course, you gave it a "loaded" title. We all know how we're supposed to feel about sweat shops, don't we?

But of course, the image itself, if we ignore the title, is ambiguous without being misleading. Like a good novel or short story, we can see what the characters are doing, but must supply our own internal motivations for them. Is the person in focus lonely, bored, happy, sad? Does she enjoy her work, or is she secretly stitching "help I am being held prisoner..." into the fabric she's working with?

Excellently ambiguous. I like.

First, wonderful image - one of your best. Second, allow me to suggest that those circumstances are pretty dire, even though you know the subject, etc. etc. And I know, I am applying Western standards in order to reach my conclusion. And I get that the subjects are employed, are making money, can eat, etc. etc. But so were American women who worked in sweat shops on the Lower East side of Manhattan in the first couple decades of the 20th century. Being employed, being paid, doesn't make the conditions any less onerous, or more acceptable. Appalling conditions are appalling conditions, no matter where they are. So, yes, it's nice to know the back story. But the back story really doesn't change the larger take-away this image gives us. ;-)

beautifully said BD.

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