Congo Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

"The sad eyes of poverty"...a portrait of a Mama*, which represents life here in the Congo. Her face, and especially her eyes, speak of hardships.

*The expression on her face is not a mistake, she is not blinking or purposely looking away, rather her eyes are always like this…tired and down-cast. It is like so many others’ I’ve seen here in Congo, estranged and detached, hopeless because of their situation and poverty.

RenaLarson, shayes has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

sicily198x (1998) 2005-08-12 13:08

Everything is good enough for a portrait (color, DOF, compositon, sharpness) but not her face (or expression). Hopefully my critique won't disturb you.
Regards

kensimage (8539) 2005-08-23 0:23

I think her expression is unfortunately likely very evocative of the life she leads, so I really like this one. Her eyes could be a little more visible, but the DOF is just right and the colors work together well.

I suspect there's more than just poverty behind that expression; most poor people do not have such a look. There's been an awful lot of conflict in the Congo for a long time, maybe that's part of it.

Why on earth does this have only one smiley point???

RenaLarson (0) 2005-09-03 15:46

Well done, Jamie on the photo and on the VERY well-written note. I agree with kensimage that Congo's conflict may have contributed to her despair.

Dave

shayes (495) 2005-10-17 13:33

This portrait, coupled with your note, packs a powerful punch! You must see a lot of despair in your line of work James. It is expressions like these that make me happy to lead the life I lead. Great DOF and colour. You've shown a side of emotion that isn't often shown on Trekearth. Well done! Keep snapping! :)
Shannon