Franco chose to use a very old fashioned camera with a very simple kit of just two lenses for this series. Looking at the elements in each image, it is clear that he has a deep understanding of perspective as he has managed to build a dynamic yet clear visual balance in the chaotic city space. In the first image, among the chaos of the bushes, bridges and pillars, he has managed to make a stunning image by finding a perspective where there is a point of interest. This point is at the top of the hill of the bushes, where all of the bridges converge and the pillars are partly green and partly clean beige. In the second image there is an interesting element filling in each part of the image, the only open space is in the water, which has a person swimming right in the middle of the whiter-reflected water. In the third image, he has the his two subjects centered so that their heads are right above the horizon line. Also he has the subjects framed with a nice contrast between the solid archaic building on the right and the broken carts on the left. Lastly, he has the contrasting diagonal lines created by the cords and the staircase, cutting through the image from the top right to the bottom left.
In all three images there are natural elements meeting the urban elements in an almost combative way. In the first image this is seen in the brush, bridges and pillars which meet at a total convergence where vines even start to grow up the pillar. The natural elements in the second image are the water as it extends to the mid-horizon line the and mist as it covers the bridge and city scape. Again we see a convergence with the huge ships and pillars extending from the water and the into a city scape which is blanketed by a foggy mist. We see this again in the third image as the forest line meets the city scape in the middle of the image. Also in this image, the diagonal lines created by the cords cut through open sky as the urban staircase cuts through the green hilltop.
I find Franco's approach to be both very captivating and telling of the social impact of China's unprecedented urban development. I think its interesting that you can see that to the people of this mega-city this may just be ordinary life as they know it. With a different perspective and upbringing, Franco is probably able to see everything with a different sense of dedicated fascination, which really shows in the enchanting nature of each image.
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