These faces have haunted me since the day I captured their images in Cuzco. I have decided to present them in black and white so they are not so overwhelmed by the vivid colors surrounding them.
This small girl with a bit of a runny nose, featured in yesterday's post, is with her mother and two other women and their children. After several shots, she managed only a half-smile, which you can see here.
Below, she looks away after having engaged with brief eye contact.
Here is a portrait of the child and her mother. You may see now why the child's sweater is closed with a safety pin. The mother's left arm is paralyzed and withered, making it difficult for her to manage buttons.
The women below are dressed more resplendently and seem better fed. They engage actively with the camera. The older child is dressed like a doll and clearly would rather be doing something else.
This bright-eyed little one is taking everything in.
Below is another mother working the fiesta crowd. Rather than selling photo opportunities, she is selling dolls, not at all shy about approaching anyone who looks like a tourist and is probably carrying dollar bills from the United States.
I have more photos of Peruvian women and children and more to say about the experience of photographing them, but i'm saving that for tomorrow's post. I will pose a few questions now in the name of research.
Have you ever paid to photograph a local person? If so, do you have ethical concerns about the practice?
Aside from the obvious economic gain to the photographic subject, have you seen or posited any other effects, good or bad, on the local individuals and their community?
