Same shocks but different in pictures

Aiming to display the quo status in disastrous places where like Zhouqu county in China after the recent floods and mudslides, both western media and Chinese media would like to give a hit to readers by visual images. However, even they did the similar headlines and contents, the photos can be different ones because of the diverse angles.

Photo from Xinhua News: Chinese mourn for mudslide victims
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/photo/2010-08/15/c_13445677_5.htm

This is a panorama about the mourning people in rescue site in Zhouqu. A full shot usually gives the audience a whole idea about an affair. In this photo, the collapsed buildings, the rescue machines, the crowds, the black and white crying slogan, with the survival natural scene all together, conducting the readers an idea what is happening in this place. The objective is clear and direct.

However, I prefer another photo taken by the BBC news, even they made the photo from the same site, but the BBC news choose to make a long shot from the opposite side.

Photo from BBC news: In pictures: China unites in grief on day of mourning
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-10978713

In this photo,the killer - the huge mountain - is far away but in the picture, which can tell its readers the disaster is a landslide even they can't read what it said in the black and white crying slogan. Also, the photo highlights the half-mast Chinese national flag, telling the readers what a disastrous thing to China. It gives the meaning with a stress, not only telling the truth but also giving some more details in the photo. It is objective but with more information, clear and direct as well.

After checking any others photos like the ones from Reuters and AFP, some more differences can be found in these western media. Some of them show the feature like "hunt of novelty", and seeking for the "bloody" or terror. Just like the photo from AFP news, as it said "A man walks past the decomposing body of a mudslide victim in Zhouqu", what it selected are not the whole body even in the live person.

Photo from AFP news: China observes day of mourning for mudslide victims
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/slideshow/ALeqM5iqXygHCazbXau-mxMjIgTnQ8QFsw?index=0&ned=au

The photo chose by Reuters shows the western media care more about the privacy of the person shot in the photo. That's a good tradition in western media.

Photo from Reuters news: China marks day of mourning for landslide victims
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTOE67E002._CH_.2400

However, both the photos from AFP and Reuters seem not much relevant to the headlines and the contents they want to report. They didn't tell anything about the morning day but catch a spot to demonstrate this disaster in China only.