In my point of view, this picture is a good, and at the same time fake, version of Harlem. Here are my reasons.
When I was in Harlem, I felt like an embarrassment between my camera and people. Each time I was trying to take a picture, they were avoiding me. I was worried because some of those people was wearing some incredible clothes, or had beautiful feature BUT I couldn't catch them.
However, when I passed by basket ground, I saw some children who were singing. As I moved closer, they started singing louder and dancing. I thought it was THE time...
I really enjoy all of the joy which emerges of the photograph. All of these smiles, these looks, the feature on their faces...
We can see in the middle of the picture that there is a "hole" where a child or maybe a teenager looks at me with a smile, certainly because she enjoys this moment. An other one, in the left of the middle is singing and dancing.
In comparison with the adult world, those children seem to take advantage of their youth. They don't judge you or directly say "no" or "yes, 5 dollars" when we ask to take a picture of them. It is maybe a kind of carefree attitude but it is what we miss.
Indeed, we are always afraid by what this person will be thinking about us if we do, say, act in a certain way. In growing up we become more paranoid towards the others and less joyful than when we were a child...
If it's what growing up means, I prefer to stay a child and enjoy my life as much as I can.
4 comments:
Yeah I can feel what you mean. Yesterday I was taking photos of kids playing in a water fountain. Some kids were even dancing. Some of the kids looked at me and smile but most of them did not even care that I was taking photographs while their nannies and possibly mothers gave me frowning and suspicious looks...
I understand what you’re saying! I too felt really frustrated because I felt that there were many moments I wanted to capture and could have captured well, but was too afraid to because of the reaction I might receive. I was just saying yesterday how I think children are the coolest ever. I was taking pictures of some in a park, and they were all just running around in circles through water and laughing and playing and not minding, or maybe even noticing that I was taking there picture. Kids are just so free, so happy. Let’s never grow up!
i think photographing kids sometimes is a little easier. kids are less defensive, and in some ways more pure and open to others. i like this picture you're posting, i do think it represents harlem really well to a certain extent, kids gated up in school, probably the safest place, yet kind of constraining. okay, too much architecture of authority for me, heh.
amanda
Excellent point of view, I love it. The childhood is the best experience
that we ever gonna have in this life, we just care about have fun no
matter what and we're so innocent, we're not impregnated yet, of the prejudices of the society,
which one day we are going to have. But the best thing consists of the fact that we have a long life
to enjoy every moments of it. finally, I can't jugde the people of Harlem or other different places,
they are nice persons, just that they have a different point of view about the life...
GOOD WORK, GIRL!!!
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