Children in general, but particularly in places like Latin America, have been a source of joy for me for many years. During my own childhood, I reveled in the improvised games and raucous, multi-aged bands of playmates I encountered during trips abroad. The ingenuity, imagination, and sheer energy of our activities were something I did not find in my middle-class community in the United States. Later, during stints working on community service activities as a high school or college student, I found ways to continue to engage with children, attempting to bridle their energies when, for example, I was teaching them math - yet still finding humor in their antics, and myself, too, looking forward to break time when we’d play kick-ball or some other game of their design.
As a photographer, I’ve spent a great deal of my energy on portraits and street scenes - focusing on children and their lives: young Buddhist monks training, street children wandering cities in groups, country children tending livestock or following their parents to join in chores, or children of the shanties making the best of the only world they know. I’ve tried to communicate the personality, openness, and emotion of the individuals I’ve photographed as well as provide a glimpse into their realities. In this series I share images of six children I’ve met during my travels. Each is from a different place and background, yet somehow they are unified.
There will be more series of children to follow.
