This photograph is one of my favorites so far.
I hope I succeeded to tell the story about this boy. Did I?
Some photographs demand spending some time with them and truly seeing what is going on there. This is one of those photos. Every part of the photo tells the story about this boy. Where does he live? How does he live?
Can you just for a second leave your cozy room and imagine to live in that conditions? When did you change carpets in your house? Do your feet feel comfortable when stepping onto it? What is the color of your walls? How does your bed look like?
How does your computer look like? How much RAM does it have? I assume it works.
Do you feel attacked by my questions? Offended somehow? Don’t be, it’s your life. I do want to ask you those questions though. I do want this photograph have some impact on you. I don’t want to be overlooked and analyzed just for composition, my post processing and else. I want you to see it, to truly see this boy and his home.
There are people there not fortunate enough to have material things and necessities for living.
Can you say more about the boy ? His expression tells you also in what condition is his state of mind… there is a little boy in inside that body…
I met him in his school and then we went to his house. I supposed to document in what condition his family lives. He was so excited about my camera, the car and the fact that his school director was with him. He was smiling and happy for that 15 minutes we spent in his house. I just couldn’t believe how far he lives from school and people.
It wasn’t so easy to take this photograph. I didn’t have enough time. He didn’t have enough of patience.
I struggle with available light and focusing. I stood in their hallway in a complete darkness with no much available light and the camera which was in my hands just for a few minutes. I had to borrow a camera from a friend, because mine is not capable to take decent shots indoors. My friend’s camera is Canon 600d with 17-55 2.8 lens. That was the first time I used a Canon. This was maybe the tenth capture with that camera. I left it in Aperture priority mode and it calculated shutter speed of 1/10 of a second. Thanks God I was still and I didn’t get heavy motion blur.
Other thing is how I handled my emotions being with him in his house. It wasn’t that simple to be just a photographer and think about including elements that will tell my viewer about where I was. I needed to think where is the light, where I will stand, how to incorporate what I saw and feel into one rectangle.
I struggled with the name I want to assign to this photograph and someone called it “Barren Simplicity”… and it really is..
I was deeply emotionally shaken that day. I think everyone would be. There are simply no words for explaining what I felt and what I still feel when looking at this photograph. If you want you can read and see a bit more here
I posted this photo on a forum and got this response:
“It’s a powerful image for me that evokes some emotion. Good job on that. I personally think the broom adds to the atmosphere and helps tell a part of the story. I don’t just see it as a broom… I see it as a very old style and very worn broom that completely compliments the story and emotion. My eyes went straight to the boy and I believe the broom helped lead me in. I looked around the scene and then back to the broom. The broom, computer and dirty walls all help tell the story and set the tone of the image. The broom also helped lead my eyes to the poor condition of the flooring below it at the front of the frame. I say job well done.”
I was glad that he read the photo. Could you?
4 Responses to “Real life for some”
I agree with the comment that you got from this forum. It is a good and strong image. This just confirms what I initially thought about you sensitivity : just great.
Thank you Patrick!
I really appreciate the comment and everything else you said to me. It will serve me as a motivation and remind me to stay true to myself!
I saw your shot in the Street Crit group on flickr and was intrigued.
You’re image was so much more meaningful than most you see in that group or in Flickr generally.
Very moving. I’m not sure where you are – I live in Australia, but I know it is the same here, New Zealand, the US, the UK.
Super wealth and extravagance, and then maybe a few miles aways, maybe a few blocks this kind of thing.
Can you tell me where the family lives – not the town, just the country or region?
It is so hard to understand how selfish we are as a society – for me the really sad thing is most people aren’t even aware – but of course YOU know all this – you’re doing something about it.
On a more cheerful note, you have a great eye for photography and I have only read a few pages of your blog so far, but I have really enjoyed those pages.
Thanks.
Jason,
I succeed to tell the real story every time when someone feel compelled to write. Thank you for your kind words, both, for the blog and photography!
They live somewhere in the Southeast Europe in a small country you probably haven’t even heard of.
I think similar as you do, I think that the vast majority of people doesn’t know and doesn’t want to know about how others, less fortunate live. Photography is one of the great ways to capture the real life for some. I can just hope I’ll be able to pass the message.
Thank you again! Wish you all the best!