Photographer's Note
Day 10
As you might expect, in an area where people are still being killed and maimed from UXOs (Unexploded Ordnance) left from the Secret War,(see the theme on the left) there are more than the usual amount of orphans. We were told we were going to an orphanage. If I am honest I was preparing myself for something harrowing. When we arrived, the view of the place (see in the WS) was not what I had been expecting. A fairly new set of smart bungalows set in well tended gardens are built round a playing field with the usual children’s play equipment. This was an SOS Children’s Village. The first such village was set up by Hermann Gmeiner in Austria in 1949 to look after children orphaned in WWII. Today it is an international organisation,
In each of the houses there are 12 children of varying ages replicating a real family; siblings are housed together. They are looked after by a “mother”. The “mothers” are single women who have given up a personal life and who train for 3 years. As much as possible the children live life as a real family, with the “mother” performing as a real mother would. After school age they stay at the village until they have a job and somewhere to live. They are supported in what they choose to do.
When we were there the children were at school and we were shown into one of the houses. It had a good sized kitchen, a bathroom, several bedrooms with bunk beds and a communal area with a low table for eating. It is a world away from the wooden houses in the tribal villages we had visited. All fixtures and fittings appeared to be of good quality and everything was spotlessly clean and tidy.
We went to visit the nursery, unfortunately just as the children were being settled down for a nap. However they let us go in and of course the children were curious and didn’t look as if they had any intention of going to sleep. They sung a song for us and we were asked to do the same. We sung “If You’re Happy and You Know It”, a British nursery classic.
I left here feeling strangely uplifted. Of course nothing can compensate for the love of real parents, but here they were doing all in their power for the health and happiness of the orphaned children to provide as good a start in life as possible.
This photo was taken outside the nursery. It is the custom in SE Asia that no-one goes indoors with shoes on their feet and I was struck by the order of the tiny shoes on the step. “So what?” I hear you say. I like it for what it represents. Firstly, take note: these are mostly shoes or well-made sandals, compared with the tribal village children, who either wear plastic flip flops or even go bare foot. Secondly, those of you with nursery age children will know how difficult it is to get them to leave any of their things tidy. These very young children are growing up with order in their lives.
Fixfocus, Cuba-Junky, Gerrit, barrufeto_77, ChrisJ, alvaraalto, singuanti, dsidwell, peck, jjbach, sergio1, andante, peter1892, asanak, dareco has marked this note useful
Critiques | Translate
Fixfocus
(9385) 2006-03-28 4:01
Hi Kath,
It´s a strong and touching note again and it´s great how the picture is illustrating that.A lovely detail shot, excellent put into the vertical frame.
Greetings,
Hermann
Angshu
(56760) 2006-03-28 4:25
Hi Kath
A nice documentary style shot & a great note..of course the photograph is a strong compliment to your note & that's why it's important
Regards
Angshu
Gerrit
(62042) 2006-03-28 4:25
Hi Kath,
good symbolic picture, with a high human interest quality.
Thanks and regards, Gerrit
barrufeto_77
(28888) 2006-03-28 4:32
Hi Kath.
I like this picture for what it represents. It is a simple composition but this great note explains a lot of things.
Thanks for sharing.
Regards, Oscar
ChrisJ
(171252) 2006-03-28 5:15
Hi kath
I like the strong compositional diagonal & shallow dof. A good daily life shot of the shoes outside the temple or house. (ps: you can have Tony Blair back!)
coco
(30439) 2006-03-28 7:31
Hi Kath.
A good composition. But more than a good composition and very interesting and useful note.
The life of these orphans will be hard, sure, but even then, they have what they couldn't have out of this place.
Thank for share. Again I must say that sure was a very nice travel.
plimrn
(21344) 2006-03-28 8:30
Hi Kath
While your lovely noter supports your photo well, the photo stands alone well. I saw the order and the hope before reading the note. Well done
Pat
Rossignol
(2289) 2006-03-28 14:16
Hi Kath
What a simple but effective composition. An object lesson in what can be achieved with a simple wall and row of shoes. The angle you've chosen makes the image interesting, the diagonal gives it real depth. The bright colours of the shoes against the dull colours of the pavement and wall work brilliantly.
Peter
alvaraalto
(42804) 2006-03-28 16:59
Hi Kath,
Excellent work! You have a great eye for the big and beautiful but also for the small beautiful moments of life.
I think we need both. In Dutch we have a proverb saying: If you don’t appreciate the small, you aren’t worth the large. You proved it with this picture.
Groet Rob
singuanti
(15250) 2006-03-28 21:53
Hi Kath. I'm glad it went better than you thought it would. You gave me a nice chuckle with your singing of "If You’re Happy and You Know It”. I like the way you worked the DOF. tfs Kath.
dsidwell
(9783) 2006-03-29 9:05
Howdy Kath! I sure love these shoes and the line they make. This is a very artsy, graphical image. The note is especially potent today!
jjbach
(9326) 2006-03-29 16:12
Nice, clever and original composition, strong enough to start a story...
I like the way you composed it and the point of view, but I should pick a bigger f/stop in order to have all the shoes in focus. Very well done!
Regards John
peck
(2779) 2006-03-30 4:18
Hi Kath,
I like this diagonally framing... really well taken with nice DOF.
best regards
Gregory
sergio1
(12152) 2006-03-31 5:05
Hi Kath
Very nice shot but more very nice the note. Excellent photographic representation.
Very good work my friend.
Well done.
Sergio
andante
(7092) 2006-04-03 8:49
Strong graphism here, Kath. I feel that every pair of shoes have a story to tell about how their feet brought them to this place. Great capture!
peter1892
(1681) 2006-04-03 17:15
A great document Kath, simple but very effective. Excellent note too.
asanak
(1972) 2006-05-03 20:41
Dear kath
Smart shot! The focus and colors are excellent .Well done.TFS.
asana
Photo Information
-
Copyright: Kath Featherstone (feather)
(51130)
- Genre: Places
- Medium: Color
- Date Taken: 2006-02-08
- Categories: Daily Life
- Camera: NikonD70, Nikkor AF 24-120mm D
- Exposure: f/5.6, 1/50 seconds
- Photo Version: Original Version, Workshop
- Travelogue: Journey through Laos
- Theme(s): The Secret War In Laos 1964 -1973 [view contributor(s)]
- Date Submitted: 2006-03-28 3:56
- Favorites: 1 [view]
Discussions
- To alvaraalto: thank you (1)
by feather, last updated 2006-03-28 05:26