Shanghai Bombed H.S. Wong

Construction:

Mise-en-scene:

looking at the photograph you can see a little baby who has is left in the middle of a train station to sufferer the after mass of the bombing which took place in the Shanghai Rail Station 1937. By the cropping the image it shows that the other objects that were in the picture have been eliminated.  It wouldn’t have had a bigger impact. If the bay was not there it would not have had a story to tell. It gives the viewer’s more curious as to why there is a baby in the photo. Having a child in the photo gave it more emotion and feelings about the image. It makes it more curious as to what had happened be hide the child in the background.

Props:

By looking at the photograph you can see that the bridge is falling apart and pieces of the bridge can land on the baby leaving a big impact on the image. You can also see that the baby is covered in dirt and ashes from the destruction

Non-verbal communication:

The photographer, H S Wong, is trying to express the story to the public as what has happened to the baby who was caught in the middle of the after mass.

Codes of Dress:

By looking at the baby’s clothes has been teared apart from the after mass of the bombing and needs medical treatments and can die if he/she doesn't get them on time. You can also tell the baby is covered in dirt of the after mass.

Construction-Technical Code:

Shot Size:

I think the photographer has used a wide angles lens at a close range. I will say an F/5.6 must have been used in order to keep the baby in focus with the railway tracks and the background blurred.

Camera Angle/Distance:

I think the photography was trying to keep parts of the photo out of us and keep parts in specially the baby.

Composition:

You can easily tell the baby is centred and there are parts of the image that are missing which has been cropped out.

Focus:

The main purpose of the photo is to show the baby who was left in the middle of a train station to sufferer the after mass of the bombing which took place in the Shanghai Rail Station.

Lighting:

The photographer has used any source of light expect from the nature light coming from the sun.

In 1937, the Retreating Chinese Nationalist Troops had left behind them a obstruction across the Whampoo River in Shanghai. On the roof of the Butterfield Swires Building, which faced the Whampoo, many of the correspondents and cameramen waited to record the bombing. Wong used his 35mm Eyemo camera and film. He used his car towards the approaching of the railroad station which had been hit. While he stopped to reload his camera he had noticed that his shoes were soaked with blood. He walked across the railway track, and made many long scenes with the burning overhead bridge in the background. Then he saw a man pick up a baby from the track, and carried him to the platform. He went back to get another badly injured child. The mother lay dead on the tracks. As I filmed this tragedy, I heard the sound of planes returning. He quickly shot his remaining few feet on the baby. He ran toward the child, intending to carry him to safety, but the father had returned. The October 14, 1937, issue of Life magazine estimated that 136,000,000 people had seen Wong’s “Chinese Baby.”