Scars of Childhood Photo

Photographer’s Note

Another one from Cambodia. This was taken at the rear entrance of the Ta Prohm complex in Angkor. Ta Prohm, being known as the "natural" temple in Angkor, is the one everyone wants to see. Banyan trees hanging off temple walls and roofs, vines hanging everywhere, and people all over the place. At the rear entrance there is a virtual mini mall going on - shops, restaurants, tuk-tuks aplenty, kids everywhere. This guy here, well, we couldn't even get a hint of a smile out of him. He was well fed and clothed, going from tourist to tourist, trying to sell whatever he had...but just not happy...sort of just blank.

I like this shot for the color, as well as the memories of the children I will never forget. The color in the background is a wall of paintings in one of the shops behind the complex. The title comes from the scar on the boys face, mirroring his somber look and his so very unhappy disposition. It's really not right. He couldn't be more than ten. Years stolen from his childhood, with only a scar to show for it.

Let me know what you think,
John

...and I know, another poor kid from Cambodia shot. But, the more people see, hopefully the more they will realize some of the people' situation there, especially the children's.

sothy81, danielswalsh, plimrn, bombilla, robertosalguero, dareco, eleparc, Dpbours trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

sothy81 (8540) 2007-09-27 18:28

Hi John,

Excellent image. I love how vivid colors you image is. Very nice sharpness and excellent exposure. It is a very good shot ahowing typical Khmer boy. When you look at him, you can tell he is Khmer. Yes I also do remember my scars from childhood too. It was horrible when I look back to the past of how silly things I have done.

Well done
Sothy

danielswalsh (13324) 2007-09-27 18:38

Nice shot John;

brings back fond memories of my trip to Angkor. Nice portrait of this little guy with the sad face- in stark contrast to the smiley Angkor painting behind him.
Nice compo, sharp detail and a nice bokeh.
Good framing- but be carefull of the bevel edged frames (just a friendly warning as I've had a few removed for that reason).

Sorry I haven't been too active on TE recently- works been keeping me really busy lately.

All the best,
- Dan

shevchenko (10016) 2007-09-27 19:17

Hi John,
Through his face, I felt he was tired with his life, but his face not so thin, good capture a boy wearing a dirty shirt, carry a big basket, thanks for sharing.
Ally

bombilla (3402) 2007-09-27 20:00

So many portraits lately of kids who have lost their childhood -- maybe for a moment, maybe forever. Makes you remember that the privileged carefree youths that so many of us in the West have enjoyed are not shared universally. Kid track? No. Adult track. World weary, scar-ridden course. The bag hanging on his arm is especially poignant to me for some reason I can't express. And the painting out of the field of focus behind him looks a demon mocking him. -Hugh

plimrn (19688) 2007-09-27 20:04

Hi John,It makes you want to take him home with you. Great DOF, excellent detail and colr.HLJ, Pat

rhamza (97) 2007-09-27 20:20

Hi John,
Excellent shot! You have captured the mood of the boy and his surroundings very well. Cheers!
Rashid

robertosalguero (110) 2007-09-27 20:24

I don't understand why so many people need to suffer this way. Why children suffer the worst in most instances and many never get to live a natural life. The child here does show sadness, need for something and despair to some degree. Excellent portrait and an eye opened as to what the situation around the world is like for many people. Thanks John.

Roberto

ViktorVaughn (1517) 2007-09-27 20:27

A usual informative note!

I do like this shot of this young Cambodian boy. His expression is not one of sadness, and obviously not happiness. To me it is just a blank stare. As if the world means nothing to him. A dull look.

Yet you're right. He is well-fed, and his clothes are (relatively) clean. The background is excellent (I'm taking notes!). A nice, solid portrait. For me it's still missing something, not sure what that is. But still an excellent shot.

dareco (17104) 2007-09-28 3:16

He really is without expression. But this is a very nice portrait. Personally , I could NEVER see to many pictures of kids :) His eyes seem to be trying to say so much. TFS

eleparc (24059) 2007-09-28 8:57

Hi John,

I like this portrait very much for it depicts in a perfect and not miserable way the people of Cambodia. There is a real sadness and sense of despair around them. This is something that struck me when i went there... The weight of History and too many years of gloom and misfortunes? the heavy bombings during the Vietnam war to start, then the Pol Pot years, and now the vietnamese oriented communist regime...This people has really suffered a great deal! Thanks for the note in line with this shot!
Eric

dvlazar (6488) 2007-09-28 17:42

hey john,
Thanks for all those honest comments on my latest photo and the back and forth banter with that other fellow. I agreed with all your sentiments.
With this shot, i feel the boy's face isnt let as best it could be - obviously you couldnt just pick him up and move his near more light - but as a result theres a bit of vibrancy lacking in the shot (in my opinion).
Cheers!
Dave

Dpbours (220) 2007-09-30 22:05

Hi John,

I won't start a 'Have you ever been in an African refugee camp'-story ;-). Maybe I'm a bit blah at the end of my mission. Maybe I use Africa as a reference for Asia, but for my feeling the kids that I have seen up to now here in Asia are not doing that bad. I've not seen children die here of hunger. They are properly clothed, they seem to be overall reasonably fed. Just my feeling.

What I like in this shot is that your portray the boy as he is. He's strong. He's tough. He's not a sad little kid who lost his childhood for me. That is your story added to it. And yes, there will be some truth in it for sure! But what I see in the shot is a strong little fellow. And I like that! Kids do not need to be portrayed as sad, though the situation they are in might very well be.

'Years stolen from his childhood, with only a scar to show for it.' Why? Boys will be boys and they fight and do little nasty things and get scars. I have some childhood scars and looked unhappy sometimes...

Greetings!
Dennis

batalay (21122) 2007-10-05 9:07

Hello John,

Another poignant image from the Cambodia, much like Sothy81 presents periodically from (his countury) Cambodia. I too like the colors, and the compositiion. You've intuitively put one of his eyes (here his right) very near the vertical bisector of the frame. (I most likely wrote you about that principle that was discovered in 1998 by Christopher Tyler, British-born psychologist practicing in San Francisco, about the centerline in all great portraits (from Leonardo's Mona Lisa to Rembrandt's self-portraits having been composed that way.

Warm regards and have a good weekend,
Bulent

mphotographies (1976) 2007-10-14 21:43

Hey John,

The bitter past, the place where people are still recovering, scars of the past will always remain a contovertial picture of what these people had lived beyond the imaginable Khmer Rouge.

Excellent interpretation!

Best Regards,

Jom