The Wicked Witch of the East

[mistress_elaine]

This German girl, whom I found sitting in the lobby of my Bangkok hostel one afternoon, had been taken to a classical Thai dance performance a few nights earlier. She had been so fascinated by the whole thing that her parents had bought her these finger extensions, with which she sat playing for hours on end, just moving her hands in front of her

Comments

[cosmiccircus]

Aww, how cute!

[mistress_elaine]

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh! You know use of the C-word is forbidden in these parts. It is not to be used!

Thanks, though. :-)

[miltonmalone]

This is (and she is) wonderful.
(By the way, I knew somebody will use the forbidden c-word to describe this. :-) )

[mistress_elaine]

Thank you! It was wonderful looking at her. I've seldom been so fascinated by a child.

As for forbidden use of the C-word, I shall have to think of an appropriate punishment for cosmiccircus and others who may make the same mistake. I'll have to crack down hard on this sort of thing, to prevent it happening whenever I post a picture of a child... or a kitten... or whatever vaguely sweetish.

[taotianone]

this is really a great shot. what i like about it is the seeming bi-polarity -- the child looks innocent, the fingers [claws] malevolent. i realize they aren't 'claws', but they look like it, so the photograph impacts upon me somewhat the way it might if it was a child with a gun. as if in her sweet innocence she isn't aware that in her hands she holds great power of some sort.

[ok, i admit it, i have a vivid imagination -- but i do really like the image.]

[mistress_elaine]

Thanks! I completely understand what you mean; I didn't call the picture "The Wicked Witch of the East" for nothing. There is something evil about the image, and it's not just the finger extensions. There's also something mildly disturbing about the intensity of her gaze. Yes, I know -- she has a completely innocent face. And yet there's something in that gaze -- as if she's not merely hypnotised herself, but trying to hypnotise the rest of us, as well. At least that's what I see when I look at the image, but then I have a vivid imagination, too. :-)

[papayas]

lovely image. it has a spectacularly eerie quality to it - not just the gold fingers and her gaze, but also the coloring and the flash reflections. i like the memory it brings back for you.

[mistress_elaine]

Thank you! I take it that by "the colouring" you mean the desaturated background? I was wondering if I hadn't overdone it a bit, but I really wanted the girl to stand out from the background, so...

And yes, the memory is beautiful. It's one of the most vivid memories I have of Thailand. :-)

[papayas]

i actually didn't realize that the background was desaturated... by "the coloring," i meant the slightly golden look of her skin (which matches well with the "talons") against the dark background.

[mistress_elaine]

Ah, the golden hue. Yes, that's what a few weeks on a Thai island will do to your skin. As you'll soon find out for yourself. :-)

I'm glad you hadn't realised the background was desaturated; that means I didn't hopelessly overdo the desaturation. Thanks for setting my mind at rest on that score!

[mortsleam]

It's obvious that the look in her eyes says, "Don't you dare call me c*** or I'll stick you with my talon thingies."

[mistress_elaine]

I think you've nailed it. That is the right interpretation of the look in her eyes -- that, or something like it, anyway. Because children hate being c***, don't they? :-)