Photo d'Asie
Hungry men (Phnom Penh, Cambodgia)
Posted by Philippe (Bangkok, Thailand) on 21 February 2008 in People & Portrait and Portfolio.
The result of the Red Khmer politic and the Cowardice of the American government which has left the people cambodian hands of the Red Khmer
En 2005, j'ai decide de quitter la france, je vie depuis a Bangkok ou j'ai refait ma vie. Ma passion, prendre des instants de vie du quotidien des gens en Asie du Sud Est. Voir mon blog Mon Asie et mon FlickR
In 2005, I decided to leave France, I was living in Bangkok where I rebuilt my life. My passion, take moments of everyday life in Southeast Asia. See my blog Mon Asie and my FlickR
Disoriented from Washington, DC, United States
Compared to your other pictures this is quite a stunning -- and painful -- contrast. On the one hand, it's just a picture with form, color, and composition. But on the other, it presents a distressing reality and a social commentary about hunger, starvation, and alienation. Yet despite the provocative issues that this photo raises, I do wonder if you, at the very least, donated something to alleviate his misery? I think that's a fair question since you were there after all.
I apologize if I do not speak/write French but my intention is not to personally attack you. In fact, this picture is raising a lot of personal and political questions for me about the nature of photography. It demonstrates yet again how powerful one picture and one photographer can be.
21 Feb 2008 6:33am
Philippe from Bangkok, Thailand
Mister/Miss Disoriented ...., This picture comes from a report that I made in Phnom penh in 2005, others will follow on this blog ... Its just the result of the Red Khmer politic and the Cowardice of the American government which has left the people cambodian hands of the Red Khmer. I took this picture to open the eyes of some people living in the West.
Sorry for my poor english, not so good, i hope you understand.
21 Feb 2008 7:11am
Helen from Melbourne, Australia
A marvellous photograph ... very powerful.
I agree with your choice to expose the sad side of Phnom Pehn and the terrifying recent past that Cambodians have survived no matter what side they were on.. ..
We must not shy away from what is difficult in life, but rather face it full on, and above all do something about it, not accept or ignore it.
21 Feb 2008 8:02am
Caroline from Brighton, United Kingdom
It's a beautiful yet hard-hitting image - thanks Philippe
21 Feb 2008 9:38am
Evelyne Dubos from Le Mans, France
Oh la la !! celle-ci elle est terrible et criante d'une certaine réalité de notre monde et de ce que l'homme peut faire subir à ses semblables. J'ai souvent été confrontée à ce genre de situation dans mes voyages ( en Afrique mais surtout en Inde, au point d'être quelques jours sans pouvoir sortir mon appareil tellement j'étais bouleversée et j'avais honte de l'humanité et me sentais coupable d'assister à cela sans pouvoir faire quelque chose). Par choix mais aussi parce que je ne me sens pas capable de faire plus, j'ai décidé de montrer une image positive de ces pays pauvres mais ou il peut exister une certaine forme de bonheur (même si elle ne correspond pas à celle que nous pouvons avoir dans nos pays dit "civilisés"). Mais je respecte la démarche qui consiste à montrer l'autre coté du miroir. Merci à toi d'avoir assez de force pour prendre ces photos-choc et dénoncer ainsi les résultats désastreux de gouvernements irresponsables et de leurs alliés assoiffés de pouvoir et de fric ....
21 Feb 2008 10:56am
Philippe from Bangkok, Thailand
Salut evelyne, .... la vie est ainsi, une grande majorite de personne ne sortent jamais de chez eux et se plaignent bien souvent pour pas grand chose, ca permet aussi de relativiser. Pour le cambodge, j'y suis reste bloquer une semaine car je n'avais plus de passeport et je suis partie a la decouverte de cette ville, si tu as l'occasion, achete le DVD du film "la dechirure", un super film qui detaille bien cette sale epoque des Khmer rouge. ce que l'on voit ici encore maintenant n'est que les restes de ces conflits dont ce pays n'arrive toujours pas a ce remettre ... bon je te laisse, je part en france tout a l'heure, premier voyage en europe pour mon epouse ..... la suite sur mon blog :), au plaisir de dialoguer avec toi ....
21 Feb 2008 11:06am
shahab from Qazvin, Iran
Great work!I wonder that he is alive or not!Just like a statue!Brilliant capture!
21 Feb 2008 11:37am
Soco from Gerona, Spain
Impressive image and lasts reality of our world unfortunately
21 Feb 2008 8:21pm
CraHan from Koolkerke, Belgium
A very powerful photo. Too bad this is a reality for some people. Really saddens me to see this kind of thing.
21 Feb 2008 9:25pm
yours truly from United States
interesting. but I strongly disagree with your simplistic and misleading caption. why do people always seem to blame others for each others misery? so now the US is to blame for this poor man's misery as well? i don't mean to be political about it, but if you were really worried about it I would try to find a better way to help them other than just taking a picture. You got your nice shot, I hope he got something in return. (I hope this isn't just you taking advantage of him). Nice shot of human misery.
25 Feb 2008 8:22pm
Tawny from Cerritos, United States
You are no Henri-Cartier Bresson, you're just another white guy living in Asia exploiting these people. "Look everyone, I'm in Asia and I'm taking these great dramatic shots of how these people are living...." or, "Look everyone, I captured this mans suffering really well, aren't I a great photographer?" Get over yourself. Remember who bailed your ass out of WWII, you enjoy your freedom because of the USA.
26 Feb 2008 6:14am
Irwansyah Sk3tchw!nd from Dumai, Indonesia
Oh god, please give the power of this people coz we are very sad.
nice moment
27 Feb 2008 3:12am
L. Despres from Lyon, France
même si je ne soi pas conviancu que la phrase ajoutée en légende soit forcement la seul et unique raison de cette misère. je reconnais que la photo est forte et que la misère humaine est une indaignable réalitée...
27 Feb 2008 9:44am
Oswegan from Lake Oswego, United States
A very intense commentary on life. Well done.
27 Feb 2008 7:11pm
lasiate from paranaque, Philippines
de ce que je vois il ne meut pas de faim mais sans doute du sida et franchement bien que je n'aime ni les KR ni la Bush amérique , je ne vois pas bien ce qu'ils viennent faire dans ce cas!
En tout cas l'image est terrible
1 Mar 2008 2:00am
Pooyan Ahmadi Asl "expose" from Tehran, Iran
oh my GOD!!!
No idea, just makes me sorrow!
3 Mar 2008 3:51pm
Loïc Brohard from London, United Kingdom
Disturbing and heartbreaking, however stunning "documentary" or "photojournalism" photo... Bravo. Loic http://brohardphotography.blogspot.com
16 May 2009 12:45pm
ishm from dubai, United Arab Emirates
This is photography..we have to display the good and the bad side of life. It need not be this way..i mean the state the man is in. Thanks for sharing Philippe.
25 May 2009 9:18am
Shirley from United States
This is an upsetting photo, but it is just a photo. How we react to the photo is dependent upon what we bring to the photo. Is the man starving because he lacks food, or is he feeding an addiction which steals the flesh from his body? Does he have a disease that is destroying him? I don't know, but there are many ways to interpret this image.
19 Sep 2009 2:22pm
Magda from Vancouver, Canada
What a powerful image! Stunning and superb in every way! The is so much pain in this world
9 Nov 2009 6:34pm
Canon EOS 10D
1/180 second
F/5.6
ISO 200
200 mm