Sunday, March 27, 2016

Young Student + Humana People to People India, Mewat, India, 2016


Last week was a rough one in Mewat, with our photography sessions being stopped twice by unsavory characters having nothing to do with the photography, the students nor the schools. While we had the cooperation of the community leaders, it seems that some of the villagers had yet to receive such information.

Rather than sharing images from that session, I share an image from one of our better times. On this morning we visited one of our schools within a government school. Humana India has moved onto this new system, allowing out of school girls to enter the formal government system slowly and with a well-thought-out program called appropriately 'Step Up.'

We began by making digital photographs of all the girls, perhaps around 100 or so. These were simple snapshots, yet the girls saw nothing simple about them. They took this opportunity to show themselves to the camera, and to us as a result. The reactions came from every direction emotionally, from extreme shyness to bold curiosity. This young girl never took her hands out from under her scarf, and had the most beautiful facial reaction as seen in this image.

Her expression alone makes up for the hardship from the rest of that week, and I do hope that we return before my departure to these villages to make more ideal portraits for those left out last week. The students were wonderful, the teachers were working hard to make a difference... and I do hope that the rest of the villagers see the value in this work and allow us to progress.

Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M3.

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