Watch Out for that Pothole
You be the judge… funny or sad…
A photographer has come under fire in China for his pictures of a man falling off a bicycle.
The man came a spectacular cropper in Xiamen city after his bike hit a pot-hole submerged in rainwater.
But photographer Liu Tao was accused of lying in wait to take his pictures instead of warning people of the danger.
Readers of the Beijing Youth Daily, which published the shots, wrote in to express their feelings.
One wrote: “The pictures are well shot, but the person who shot this is disgusting. He knew there was a pit, but was waiting there for someone to fall over.”
And another said: “The photographer should really be condemned since he knew there definitely would be other victims.”
Liu defended himself, saying: “I just knew that the city government has paved the pit, and without my pictures, the pit would not be noticed by the government, and there would perhaps be more people falling over.”
SAFE !!!
Comment by Urban — 12/27/2005 @ 5:08 pm
I have to go with the photographer on this one. He may have been able to prevent this fellow from falling down, but the photographer cannot realistically be expected to stand by the hole 24/7 and warn every passerby. However, by taking the photo, he drew attention to the problem, and goaded the local authorities into filling up the pothole.
Comment by Heraldblog — 12/27/2005 @ 8:29 pm
The photographer is a genius!!! How entertaining can this be to stand by a
pot hole and watch it gobble up poor innocent bicycle tires in the rain.
In defense the the photographer surely he can’t be expected to guard a pothole
and I am sure the cyclist for 1 shouldn’t ride with an umbrella open. Hello
it is called a rain suit and he should really use 2 hands. Also I bet this guy
had ridden this route multiple time in the nice, dry, warm sunshine was knew it
was there and had forgotten. Kind of like driving to work you know were the bumps
in the road are.
Comment by Tulsa — 12/27/2005 @ 11:15 pm