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Something about photojournalists in rainstormsPosted by Joel Martinsen on Friday, August 3, 2007 at 11:22 AM
![]() In this photo, an elderly bicyclist crashes into an open manhole on a flooded city street in Shenyang. Does that photo look familiar? Back in 2005, this was the image that circulated around online forums: ![]() That earlier photo was taken on a flooded street in Xiamen by a photojournalist named Liu Tao. Here's Liu's justification for waiting to snap the photo instead of warning people away from the hole (in ESWN's translation):
Later, photographs of two other victims turned up online, indicating that Liu may have had more than the public's interest at heart. Sina's republication of the Shenyang photo has attracted over three hundred comments, mostly questioning the character of photographer Wang Yixin. Was Wang seeking evidence to convince the city to pay attention to its infrastructure, or was he simply lying in wait to snap a front-page photo of an impressive wipeout? And does it matter if he was? Links and Sources
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Comments on Something about photojournalists in rainstorms
"it's funny because it's not me"
Right, bocaj. Didn't a famous comedian say, "Tragedy is when I stub my toe. Comedy is when you crash your bike into an open manhole and wipeout in the muck"?
I believe that was Mel Brooks, but I was quoting the esteemed Homer Simpson.