Kids fun in Ban Komaen, a photo from Phongsali, North

Photographer's Note

‘Laos - Kids fun in Ban Komaen’

These pictures are taken in Ban Komaen, the village of the tea plantations in the vicinity of Phongsali in the north of Laos.

Anyone who has ever traveled in a poorer country knows that children can have a lot of fun without having expensive toys.
These kids here enjoyed themselves by just huddling together in a big bag.
The girl on the left may not seem to like situation, but this is just the picture of that moment.
PS: The mother of these children was present when taking the photos.

I visited this village in the company of a French woman and I found that it was not very easy to take pictures of the inhabitants or their children as long as I was somewhere by myself. But it all became possible with the female tourist right next to me :)
Apparently, a foreign couple instilled much more confidence than an older guy alone.

ikeharel, jhm, holmertz, ricardomattos, Fis2, Royaldevon, COSTANTINO, jemaflor, everlasting, macjake, CLODO, maloutim heeft deze opmerking als nuttig gemarkeerd

Critiques | Translate

ikeharel (113291) 2020-04-04 5:35

Kids are kids everywhere, Paul, and they love to be photographed.
Always a joy to see small ones and get smiles from.
Three nice posts of same subject.
Wish you a nice weekend, stay well.
Ike

jhm (211736) 2020-04-04 5:41

Dag Paul,

Dit zou in België vermoedelijk niet anders zijn.
Oudere heren die alleen zijn en kinderen fotograferen heeft zeker een raar effect.
Gelukkig had u een partner, van het vrouwelijk geslacht.
Maar uw foto heeft echt een indruk van goed gelatenheid .
En de kinderen kunnen alleen in deze armen landen spelen met weinig, hier moet het allen via iPhone of tablet zijn.
Goed foto werk, bedankt.

Groeten uit Vlaanderen,
John

holmertz (102650) 2020-04-04 6:19

Hello Paul,
I am sure you have the same problem every time you post a photo: Which one to choose for the main upload? This one is very charming, but so are both workshops. Good for you that I am one of those (relatively few, I fear) who actually look at the WS photos. This one a has the advantage of an appealing simplicity and well harmonizing colours. It shows that kids can have fun even if they don't have a smart phone or 100 factory made toys. The perfect eye contact is an obvious bonus.
Have a nice and safe weekend.
Gert

rychem (72187) 2020-04-04 8:01

You are right, children can have fun without electronic toys, in childhood we also did not have expensive laptops and smartphones, and the fun was great :)
very nice and optimistic picture
regards Ryszard

ricardomattos (17460) 2020-04-04 8:44

Hello Paul,

I love children and they fill our lives with joy. A beautiful moment you captured here and really is not the expensive toys that guarantee a happy childhood.

Regards

Ricardo

mesutilgim (0) 2020-04-04 9:15

Hello Paul,
How nice to be a child !
You have observed and captured it perfecty.
Very good ligth and sharpness.
TFS and have a nice weekend
MESUT ILGIM

[workshop] [compare]

Fis2 (170693) 2020-04-04 10:03

Witaj Paul!
Nice kids, beautiful scene.
Good framing, colors and light.
Well done.
Have agood weekend.
Keep safe.
Krzysztof

Royaldevon (85896) 2020-04-04 10:26

Hello Paul,

I think your observation about taking photographs is exactly right.
Women photographers seem less intimidating than men. I know other male photographers on this site have commented how difficult it can be to photograph children. That is, all except Claude (Clodo), who has a remarkable way of taking photographs without the subjects being aware!

This is delightful.
I bet these two youngsters were giggling with delight!
I know my granddaughters have tremendous fun playing with wrapping paper and boxes. They are so much more versatile than actual presents!!

Keep safe,
Bev :-)

COSTANTINO (116421) 2020-04-04 12:05

Hello dear friend and have a nice
time and a happy sunday
what a sweet photo indeed!!!!
I like these kids enjoying
themselves by just
hudding together in bag
what a beautiful moment for this
childhood
welldone
regards
costantino

lousat (139220) 2020-04-04 14:38

Hi Paul,a beautiful photo, it takes very little to entertain these two children from this remote village of Laos. Great catch also in the WS and beautiful composition with the grandmother.Have a nice Sunday and thanks,Luciano

emka (158092) 2020-04-04 23:32

Hello Paul I visited some poor countries and always I am fascinated by how the kids can be happy with anything to play, more than our children with expensive gadgets that after a short time are abandoned. A charming view of these girls playing with the bag.
As an old lady, I am in a better situation than the old guy - I have never (or rarely) problems with the photos of women or children. And often the parents are proud and thank me for taking pictures.
Stay safe, the situation in Belgium is really dramatic

MAlgo

jemaflor (147076) 2020-04-04 23:38

Salut Paul,
Attendrissante photo avec ces enfants tout sourire, bien pris, intéressante contribution et note qui l'accompagne, parfait rendu d'image.

Silvio1953 (221525) 2020-04-05 4:51

Ciao Paul, lovely composition with cute couple, excellent clarity, fine details, splendid light and wonderful colors, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

Tue (92322) 2020-04-05 14:16

Hallo Paul,
Een kinderhand is gauw gevuld, want kinderen zijn inventief en weten met weinig spullen toch een hoop plezier te maken. Vooral het meisje rechts laat zien dat ze het uitstekend naar haar zin heeft. Mooi contrast van de groene zak met de gele achtergrond.
Lars

everlasting (19680) 2020-04-05 21:41

A charming image of these kids at play and an interesting note. I can imagine in some places it is difficult for a man alone to take photos of children and probably it is good that the people are now aware of the potential harm.

macjake (98438) 2020-04-06 14:25

Hi Paul
I didn't know you were in Laos, I hope you got back in time before Covid 19 struck. Are you self isolating? I didn't know you have been posting again on TE, welcome back :)
another great shot, and you're so right about how its difficult for men to take photos of children, yet woman seem to have much more freedom to do so - i get it. wonderful shot my friend, having fun with a bag! poorer children have it better in SOME ways. Looking forward to seeing more
cheers
craig

CLODO (45116) 2020-04-07 4:20

Hi Paul

they look so tiny, the body does seem to be in accordance with the head. The young boy seems a little bit afraid of you, the youing goirl knows how to seduce strangers
Cheers
CLODO

Nicou (193806) 2020-04-08 20:40

Hello

Dans le sac ces enfant ils ont froid quel portrait et image quel visage et attitude superbe vue avec ce fond brun ce vert du sac image très touchante de ces enfants qui n'ont rien grandiose
Bravo et amitié
Nciou

Ilonka1974 (10289) 2020-04-11 12:00

Hi Paul,
Beautiful picture.
Excellent presentation.
Very well done.
Best regards
Janusz

mkamionka (74351) 2020-04-12 23:51

Hi Paul,
quite a charming children photo. Very unusual game indeed.
Very well seen and captured.
I am glad you shared your feeling about taking photos as a man. We had this discussion already. In Europe it becomes more and more crazy. Now even taking photos of a monument but with children accidentally present I need to worry. And as Clod said, if you don't use phone but a camera then you must be a pervert.

Thank you for your photo wishes.
Stay safe,
M

PS More and more features of TE are getting lost. For example I can write comments under photos but I was logged out of forum so when I try to answer comment it tells me I am not logged in. So I cannot even raise it on the forum because I am locked out from the forum :(

BennyV (34748) 2020-04-26 12:06

Mooie foto met een nog mooiere tribute/bewerking in de WS - waar TE allemaal niet goed voor is!

Goede observatie in je tekst ook. Vertrouwelijke foto's nemen is inderdaad veel gemakkelijker(en leuker) als je als echtpaar reist of - zoals in mijn geval - met vrouw én dochter erbij. Ik heb zo al heel wat portretjes gemaakt die ik anders waarschijnlijk nooit had mogen/durven maken.

Hou je gezond

Benny

maloutim (13617) 2020-05-03 10:21

Lovely photo of the two kids having fun at no cost ! Very thought provoking note too !
Indeed, too many male occidentals have participated in sex trafficking in south east Asia, so I suppose all men may suffer from a bad reputation :-(, which is a shame.
Thanks for sharing and have a good week ahead.
Marie-Louise.