Backstreet Life

The photo offers a glimpse of life in a typical Taiwan alleyway in the 1960s. Despite the crowded conditions, all the neighbors get along amicably. Clothes are haphazardly hung out to dry, little children are at play, and next to a doorway, a small stand displays miscellaneous items—someone is doing business! Hsu chose a portrait format, using backlighting to set the scene. Filling the frame with imagery, he took advantage of the oblique sunlight beating down on the pavement, silhouetting the two children gazing up at the adult. A father stands in the shade, holding a crying baby, the reflected sunlight giving him a warm, placid expression. The grandmother is sitting beside the man, her hand raised in a gesture to soothe the wailing infant, an implicit representation of the chaotic-yet-orderly life of a family of three generations living under one roof. Hsu Yuan-fu had an uncommon knack for capturing scenes from daily life in impromptu snapshots. The 1961 photo was commended for excellence in the second section of the black-and-white photography group of Japan's Nippon Camera Monthly Photography Contest in November 1962.