Young men, some of them very young, carry huge bags of rice from ship to shore on Yangon's jetty. They must be paid for each bag they carry, because they move very quickly. The image is primarily built around the fellow in the middle, who carries the hem of his sarong in his mouth so he won’t trip, and flashes the white of his eyes as he carries his burden toward us.

Once again the difference between the meaning of the color version (which can be seen in my Myanmar travel article posted at: http://www.worldisround.com/articles/139134/photo29.html ) and this black and white image, comes down to portraying realty vs. creating a meaningful symbol.

When the purple and yellow clothing, along with the tan roofs and ground, give way to black and white tonalities, the determination of the young man in the middle seems to grow beyond the case in point. His effort becomes a symbol, representing the struggle of all who must carry heavy burdens in order to survive. In color, we see what the scene looked like and felt like. In black and white, we see what these workers represent.