Sea of Blue
A young child sits amidst several women wearing blue burqas at a food distribution in the Afghan capital.
A young child sits amidst several women wearing blue burqas at a food distribution in the Afghan capital.
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Feb, 2016Views
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Awards
Winner in NON-WESTERN SOCIETIES Photo Challenge
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Superb Composition
Peer Award
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Outstanding Creativity
Magnificent Capture
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vitor
March 09, 2021
masterpiece. Children of the world, all children, symbolize our hope for a better world, a world where every human being be respected in his/her intrinsic dignity.
dillardtaylor
March 27, 2022
OMG! You’re photographs of children in Afghanistan are to compelling and heart wrenching! I don’t see how someone viewing them could remain untouched or indifferent to the fate of these innocent children!
Platinum
David_R_Anderson
March 27, 2022
I agree, Dillard! It is unfortunate that, in some parts of the world, children do not have the opportunity to grow up as children, and they quickly lose that innocence.
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This picture was taken at a refugee camp in Kabul Afghanistan in 2009. The NGO I was working with was doing a winter blanket and clothes distribution to about 400 displaced Afghan families.Time
I had just arrived in Kabul a few days before and failed to remember to reset the time in my camera. The time recorded was approximately 6:00 am EST, which would put the time in Kabul at around 3:30 in the afternoon.Lighting
Lighting was fairly flat with overcast skies...right at the beginning of the rainy season in Kabul. Fortunately, it was not raining during the distribution - I had no rain gear!Equipment
Shot with a Canon 5D Mk II and an EF 100-400mm L series Canon lens. No other special equipment was used.Inspiration
I was documenting the distribution for the NGO I was working with. I am attracted to large splashes of color, so when I saw the young child's face emerging from a sea of blue burkas, I was hooked. I especially love event style street shooting, shooting real events as I see them happen. I am lousy at posing, so this type of shooting suits me well. I absolutely love to capture natural expressions where people are just being themselves. This little child had no idea that I was there, which is exactly what I wanted; to be able to capture his face as he tried to make sense out of all that was going on around him.Editing
All post was done using Lightroom - just a few minor adjustments to suit my tastes: contrast, color balance and sharpening. No big problems that had to be overcome.In my camera bag
I had been carrying the 5D II, kit EF 24-105mm L lens, 16-25 wide angle and 100-400 telephoto lenses with me everywhere. Also, a Canon flash, even though I rarely use it. As I get older, all this stuff is getting heavier and heavier, and I am starting to leave the extra lenses home when I travel. I now only carry all those lenses when I do a local photo shoot.Feedback
I learned in Afghanistan that it is really good to have 2 cameras when shooting events like at distributions. With only one body, you have limited access to shots that require a different focal length, unless you are extremely mobile. I was not very mobile in my situation, mostly because of honoring cultural values. In my earlier experiences using only one body, I realized I was missing a lot of opportunities to shoot when I was constantly changing my lens. A bigger problem with lens changing, though, was the horrific dust problem in that part of the world. So. I decided to get a second body (Canon SL1). on which I could put the 100-400mm telephoto lens, while I continuing to use the kit lens on my 5D II. This has worked very well for me, and I don't have to be constantly moving around to get shots at a distance as well as those closer by.
