Sunday, May 13, 2012

Roadside smoker

Nicotine fix
Shanghai, China
May 2012



















I didn't have the time to do any empirical research when I was there, but anecdotally I couldn't help but notice how many smokers there were in Shanghai. It reminded me of my own childhood, where the majority of adults around me smoked, and a house filled from the ceiling on down with a choking blue cloud was a normal thing when the parents had friends over for a party.

I used my longish lens to capture a few random in-the-street shots of complete strangers, and this one stood out as particularly unique to this place. I didn't stick around long enough to observe what he did next, but when I reviewed the shot later on I couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking as he idly puffed away by the side of the road.

Your turn: So what is he thinking?

5 comments:

Mike Wood said...

I like this, shot Carmi. An unknown thought captured. Tough to do without a long lens. and I can relate the blue haze of smoke growing up too.

Peter Anthony Holder said...

It's tough to tell if he's deep in thought or looking at something intently.

Perhaps, since you mentioned that everybody seems to smoke and there's always a blue haze, this was the one spot he could light up and enjoy just his smoke alone. A private puff, as it were.

PAH

rashbre said...

Looks as if he's in his own spot. Nice picture.

Kalei's Best Friend said...

LOL, he's obviously NOT thinking about his health...

darlin said...

Carmi this is a wonderful shot... I'm going to guess he's thinking about times gone by, that or he's contemplating turning around and heading for home; his destination might be unrealistic to reach in the time he's allotted for originally.