Disconcerting look

LittleLew

Was wandering around streets of Nong Khai, a city on the Mekong in Issan province of Thailand, and came across parade, mostly of little children in costume. The little girls were all lacquered up, the Jon Benet Ramsey look.

Issan is a very poor province and has the unfortunate reputation of providing many, if not most, of the bar-girls for the Bangkok sex trade.

This little girl's stare was, and is, very disconcerting.

Camera Model: NIKON D200 18-200 VR
Image Date: 2007:02:09 21:39:19
Flash Used: No
Focal Length: 62.0mm (35mm equivalent: 93mm)
Exposure Time: 0.0080 s (1/125)
Aperture: f/9.0
ISO equiv: 200
Exposure Bias: 0.33
White Balance: Auto
Metering Mode: Spot
Exposure: aperture priority (semi-auto)
Comment: (C)L Lorton#p

Chrissiebeez_NL

mhhmm.. the less glamourous side of life..

i like the intese stare of the girl and the story behind it makes it even meaningfuller.. girls should be free to play around and not be forced into these roles (with the make up and hair etc. ) anywhere on the planet; from beautycontests in america to these girls in thailand.. makes me sad.

You've stirred up some emotions with this picture so..

p.s not as critique but as tip: i've learned (the hard way) that dropping the camera to eye level creates more connection with the subject, might be something to try next time.

LittleLew

Chrissiebeez_NL wrote:

mhhmm.. the less glamourous side of life..

i like the intese stare of the girl and the story behind it makes it even meaningfuller.. girls should be free to play around and not be forced into these roles (with the make up and hair etc. ) anywhere on the planet; from beautycontests in america to these girls in thailand.. makes me sad.

You've stirred up some emotions with this picture so..

p.s not as critique but as tip: i've learned (the hard way) that dropping the camera to eye level creates more connection with the subject, might be something to try next time.

Thanks for comments.
Even posting some other pictures from this parade makes me a little uncomfortable. I was a little loathe to make much fuss about the pictures when I took them - foreigners in Issan have a reputation.