Thaipusam 2007: Pierced abdomen
In a sense, this photograph taken at Thaipusam 2007 has no clear focus of attention.
The arm of the man dominates the image.Yet the eyes of the viewer are naturally drawn to the side of the man's abdomen pierced by sharp needles, which is obviously the more interesting – although some people might consider revolting or disconcerting – part of the photograph.
And if you look closer, there seems to be screws attached to the man's hip as well!
Overall, I thought this makes an interesting photographic composition, where the side object in the image, because of its powerful element, draws greater attention than the main object.
It is certainly not the classic “correct” composition with a main focus of interest slightly off centre.
Adding interest to this photograph are the strong diagonal lines of the skewers. Because they all end up piercing the man's absomen, they again help draw attention to that section of the photograph. The rest of the image, including the dominating arm of the man, seems to serve merely as a counter balance to the composition.
The unusual photographic composition of this image may not work for everyone.
But I like it a lot. It appears at first to be another of my photographs of hands. In fact, it is a photograph of the side of the abdomen.
This is one of my favourite images from Thaipusam 2007.
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