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More from ~supremelyshort

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August 26, 2010
951 KB
1847×1151
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Panasonic
DMC-FZ28
10/4000 second
F/4.0
5 mm
100
Jul 31, 2010, 8:07:29 PM
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The American Undercover Photography Contest

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:iconsupremelyshort:
Submission explanation:
(Photo was taken on my recent summer visit to my hometown in Beijing)
When I first reviewed the photo on my laptop, it felt like I was finally dusting off one of the hushed corners of my childhood. Most of my memories of Beijing are like everyone elses' ; they sound like complaints: the incessant orchestra of honking traffic, the disgruntled streetside vendors, the cigarette-stained streets, the taste of morning smog. But once in a rare while, the general urban madness fades and if you listen very, very carefully, you just might catch a brief quiet.
In America, spontaneity usually connotes an action, a knee-jerk moment of excitement or an exuberant show of carpe diem-something unexpected and unplanned. But in a city of 22 million, there is nothing more spontaneous than silence.
And in that brief second of unadulterated peace, I found myself sitting with the girl in the photograph, looking out at a lake full of lilies from a road surrounded with trash. There was no profound contemplation to be had then, no philosophical deliberation nor observation; there was only a sudden, instinctive, almost greedy need to seize the tranquility for myself and capture a piece of the world before it flew away. Perhaps I had snapped the photo through the lens of narcissistic nostalgia, justifying that yes, my hometown stinks of pollution, and corruption, and the unrecycled debris and halitosis of millions of cramped tenants.
But looking back from a continent away, all I see is what the girl in the photograph sees: a place of uncommon beauty and wonder in the most uncommon of places.
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:icond4n13llu5:
~D4N13LLu5 Mar 18, 2011
absolutely beautiful and totally serene
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:iconbaublefruit:
~Baublefruit Sep 28, 2010
I can honestly say that this was my favorite out of the 25 semi-finalists. but I might be a bit biased. So.. nostalgic. Do you think you can send me a file of this photo so I can make a poster out of it? C: I'll send one to each of us.

BTW ANNA I MISS YOU. we belong together. clearly.
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:iconirucrem:
~irucrem Sep 10, 2010
You have left me with both visual and social contemplation. By the photo alone there is no sense of the juxtaposition of the harsher reality within which this photo is an oasis. Thank you for the full picture within your words. I will revisit my culture given, subconscious thoughts on "spontaneity".
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:iconmaxboy01:
Mood: Love ~maxboy01 Sep 10, 2010
This is absolutely gorgeous!
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:iconpirate-kittie:
~pirate-kittie Sep 9, 2010  Student
This is truly gorgeous!
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:iconbhumit1987:
Mood: Love ~Bhumit1987 Sep 6, 2010  Hobbyist Interface Designer
very very beautiful madamji
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:iconsupremelyshort:
~supremelyshort Sep 7, 2010
Thank you :0)!
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:iconbmonro:
~bmonro Sep 5, 2010
Wow! The lighting, the colours, the atmosphere and sense of peace/wonder - just amazing! Good luck with the competition! :)
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:iconsupremelyshort:
~supremelyshort Sep 5, 2010
Thank you very much :0)!
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:iconbmonro:
~bmonro Sep 5, 2010
You're very welcome, it's a great shot! :)
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