The shadow tells the story.
This photograph, transmitted by AP stringer Mukthar Khan, illustrates the strange balance between media and subject better than anything I've seen in a while. The crowd at top, worked into a rage by some perceived slight, amp up their actions for the rather large gaggle of photojournalists, captured in silhouette by a convenient wide-angle lens.
Would the people of Kashmir be just as angry if it weren't for the massive media presence there? Much like the proverbial tree falling in the woods proposition, I suspect the answer is a resounding "no."
Kashmiri Shiite Muslims shout religious slogans during a Muharram procession from behind a barbed wire as an Indian police man tries to stop them in Srinagar, India, Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2010. Police fired tear gas and swung batons to disperse hundreds of Muslims participating in religious processions in the Indian portion of Kashmir on Wednesday. Large public gatherings have been banned in Indian-administered Kashmir since the outbreak of an insurgency in 1989 by nearly a dozen groups demanding the Himalayan region's independence from India, or its merger with neighboring Pakistan. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)
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Side note to Kevin: You see what I just did there?
Side note to the AP: I am specifically discussing the composition and layout of the above photograph rather than the subject, and as such, hope that you'll agree that it's a valid use of a "fair use" claim. I think you'll find that I've been really good about that over the past couple of years, too. If you disagree with my supposition and subsequent use of said photograph, you know where to reach me. I'm as reasonable about requests like yours as I ever was!
Tags: AP mukhtar khan #NewsInFocus
