angkor kid Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

two years ago, day per day, French elections were a total fiasco, throwing the French socialist governing party off the board, for lack of participating voters (the week end was sunny, and people preferred to go out to the countryside to enjoy and have a good time...). It brought in the ballot the French nationalist party ( former fascist party) as the opponent to the then departing president who was then reelected with a russian type cast of 82% of the votes. At that time, I was voting through proxy (being a responsible citizen, respectful of democracy!)and heading for Cambodia where I took this shot... I guess the word Democracy really meant something to them who were deprived of it and all forms of freedom for over a decade... It makes us think over our world and our riches attitudes... Sorry for being in that mood today, but our local news have been talking over and over about this political upheaval this morning on the radio...;-) On the opposite, this boy looks so serene despite his country's harsh history. probably what made me react like this today... a bowl of fresh air IMO! :-) hope you enjoy it too!

bgladman, manny, Kenny10pin, Rinie_Hoff, scalerman, bfly, touristdidi has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

clodreno (0) 2004-04-21 4:11

I was in Kunming, China, that day.. still remember watching it on chinese TV.. A terrible defeat .. I was destroyed.. Hope the French people won't do it again.
Nice picture though.. Nice boy. Still have to go to siem reap..

maciekda (19599) 2004-04-21 4:14

hi Eric, very nice portrait, great pose of the kid, nice colors - those green leaves in the background are nice. but the picture is a bit too soft to my taste and DOF could be shallower - the background should be more blurred to my taste. nice shot, but could be better ;)

bgladman (1153) 2004-04-21 4:14

Hi Eric, As i have become accustomed another great portrait. The child has a nice contemplative pose. And the colours are nice and soft. The composition is sound, but with the child's right shoulder forward, i think placing him on the left of the frame would strengthen this shot. Also the shot is a little blurred, possible from camera shake? Still a nice one. bravo!

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manny (21378) 2004-04-21 8:21

I agree with Maciek about the softness. Also, I like the way you blurred the BG of your last two posts. Maybe you can do it here too. Love the green leaves. Anyway, I like this shot despite these.

Kenny10pin (19301) 2004-04-21 10:07

Nice soft focus here, his expressions tell a hundred stories.

Good portrait and well done indeed

Good shot

Rinie_Hoff (9334) 2004-04-21 11:52

Hi Eric, this boy indeed looks serene. He looked for a good pose and looks confidently into the world. If he was on the left side, I think it would be better, but I like it.
Good note! ;-)

merpb (1970) 2004-04-21 12:52

Nice shot Eric, it's a bit softer than your usual stuff, which although isn't entirely out of keeping does make this a bit to kitch for my taste.

scalerman (25787) 2004-04-21 13:15

Maybe a little soft, but his expression and the other details of the shot compensate. very nice.

Curioso (9141) 2004-04-21 18:05

I find it too soft framing and the way the boy stands are great ! I also find the contrast between the wear texture and the soft face really attractive.

Your WS idea is great to strengthen the DOF effect but could probably be improved.

Don't know if that's a sad look or not but that's quite moving. You made a great and interesting portrait here ! Like the light reflection in the eyes : did you use any flash ?

[workshop] [compare] +

bfly (5737) 2004-04-23 14:43

beautiful expression in his eyes..like a dark lake...
about your great note; we suffer from the same here for many years now..I have been on a meeting this week with 20 other colleagues..2(one is me) had the ink spot on their fingernails from our elections that just happened...not sure if there is a strong left here but I guess ratio of fundementalists are not as per the election results as well..(I hope..I wish..I do)

touristdidi (8561) 2004-10-15 7:57 [Comment]

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