The first hours. Photo

Photographer’s Note

I like to go wandering through villages with my camera, the narrowest the streets are, the better I feel.
I generally take a few hours, starting from 3 or 4PM until the night falls.

The first hour, my best photo "clients" are generally children : it's time for small talk, only then I get "accepted" and therefore can shoot everyday life scenes without feeling too intrusive.

This is taken in Kampong Som (or Sihanoukville if you prefer) fishermen village, -you bet in the first hour-, the little guy and the girl carrying her sister followed me through the main (!) street and they would stop as I'd stop from time to time. I also noticed that...for this one, I just turned round and shot, the boy is more surprised than angry or perplex, it took five seconds before he realized i'd shot him and then he smiled.

I had some sweets but were not very interested though they -politely- took some, i think their only interested was to follow and see what would happen to the foreigner guy.

For the technical part, I still wonder about the colors, specially about his (the boy) skin color. I think it's coming from a special Kodak color shift that gives under sheltered light blue colors for the shades but always enhances the yellows all over. Starting from the Kodachrome, Kodak is reknown for the way they handle the yellow layer.

hispic, sengir, michel_r, arindam_thokder has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Curioso (9115) 2004-01-18 11:43

I like the mood of this picture very much. I love the texture of the colors, of the wood. It's really nice to see these children all around. The angle is interesting too with a nice perspective. Well done !

dsidwell (9745) 2004-01-18 12:03

Nice notes, Luko! I love the gritty feel of this image, too. I really enjoy the various things going on here: the two kids hugging, the one child looking intensely at the camera, the other mystery girl on the table. This is a rich, captivating image.

Porteplume (3255) 2004-01-18 12:23

I most like the strong contrast and the "illuminating" face of the little girl.
Your picture's first name was "les momes du village", what I almost thought right away after opening it, as I still keep thinking in two languages, (and even three since Internet :o), but coming from Lyon I thought "qu'ils sont mignons ces gones".

I would have liked to see a "Greg" framing, just to avoid the empty space on the right.

BobTrips (1853) 2004-01-18 14:16

I love seeing shots of daily life and, like you, love to wander off the tourist path. Seeing children free to play outside, to follow a stranger through the neighborhood, is such a reminder of what we've largely lost here in the west.

You caught a good moment, but I don't like what the color balance of the film has done to this scene. These people tend to have such beautiful skin tones. And the 'flat' areas - forehead and cheeks - draw more attention than they deserve. As well, I've never seen blue dirt or unfinished wood.

If your intent is to produce a surreal image then the film does that. But if one is looking for 'natural' or 'real' this isn't the film to use.

Isabelle (9014) 2004-01-18 15:52

colors and textures are superb. also, you caught a rich moment from these kids. lucky guy ;-)

thien (2102) 2004-01-18 19:40

I love the naturalness of the scene. From the curious wide eye of the boy to the tenderness of the sister. The table leads the eye to the corner of the photo to show the environment that they are in. You are right, the skin color is a bit strange.

clodreno (0) 2004-01-19 5:41

Very nice image Luko.. Beautiful in fact , for a few reasons.. A lot is happening here The small boy looking at you and the one kissing ... I like the way the main "subject" is cut. We "have "to look at him..

maciekda (19587) 2004-01-19 8:32

another composition with someone in the foreground... I really like the colors here, they are quite special. I like also also the hight contrast in the scene, still we can see some details in the house. the poses of those kids are so natural, and the look of the kid is simply great. what could be improved...? maybe if the girl's face at the back wasn't covered by two other kids...

great stuff, more!

manny (21378) 2004-01-19 10:16

technically, I am not the person to ask but I know a good picture when I see one. This one is. There are many reasons why, but the top reason, IMHO, are the dynamics of hands and feet. They are very "active" and their interesting juxtaposition is the thing that caught my attention first.

orme (6746) 2004-01-21 12:35

Great shot, Luko. Excellent wood textures and variety of colours. I also like the innocent moment you have captured in this shot, when the girl kisses her little sister. Good note.

Edwin (2037) 2004-01-29 10:28

Merci beaucoup for sharing this beautiful documentary shot as well as your personal and informative note. I found it really interesting to read about your perspective towards your 'models'. Once again thanks Luko and thumbs up for this great capture!

Darren (6815) 2004-02-01 12:11

Hi Luko,

I really like this shot a lot. To be honest, the colors do look odd and there is a "splotchy" look to the shot (especially the young boy's and the young girl's face), but for some reason they don't bother me. I am guessing they are due to the scan. Actually, they kind of add to the shot in much the same way as really fast film can add grain in a positive way. I really like how you crop the boy in a somewhat strange way, yet it works for this photo (as well as many of your other shots). This is a good moment captured.

michel_r (1114) 2004-11-03 17:52

A very good picture again. You go to the little girl and her eyes with a lost look, to the boy staring and get back to the sister kissing the baby girl. these 2 looks and the special moment of the kiss give the picture a lot of intimacy. I like the way their arms almost connect. The last child in the back is somewhat disrupting though. The bluish cast probably adds to the impression.