About a Boy, a photo from Valle del Cauca, North

Photographer's Note

This is the third in a series I am doing on the children in San Cipriano. The town of San Cipriano is located 15km inside the forests of Colombia, deep in FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) country. To get to the village, the inhabitants use the now abandoned train tracks that lead deep into the jungle. Little homemade carts like the ones you see in this photo are the people's solution to the lack of paved roads. With a long pole and a lot of arm strength, a man can get to the village in less than 30 minutes.

This boy was playing with the cart as I was leaving the village. He would get on one knee and use his legs to push the cart forward from time to time,struggling against the friction of the wheel on the tracks. From what I can tell, there use to be a seat built on it, but is now gone.

Photo 2 in the series

Photo 1 in the series

rengel, ishai, bboss, ngythanh, Curioso heeft deze opmerking als nuttig gemarkeerd

Critiques | Translate

hugolef (4913) 2005-02-16 10:02

Hello Mark,
nice one (my favorite of your series), i like the centring with this railroad, and the position of kid. Is the railroad considered as our life, you can do things wich leads you nowhere ...
Good choice of b&w. the black frame enhaunce your compo. Great work
regards, hugues

gulliver (1648) 2005-02-16 11:39

Very sensitive shot Mark. Monochrome was the right option for this shot, it gives an intesive atmospher. I like it. Thanks for sharing

rengel (315) 2005-02-16 16:30

hello Mark,
this one is the one I prefer in the serie. Perhaps, it's due to B&W ?
I love the railroad, it's very uncertain, we don't know where it could lead us ? The contrast is really impressive with the boy because he seems to be very determinated.
Congratulation

pridel (233) 2005-02-16 17:01

Mark
waou !!! absolutely superb! this photograph in b&w tells us the history of a kid on a railway as seldom I saw some.
compo, light, mood, all are ok.
very very very good one.
congratulations
Pascal
in my fav

ishai (4097) 2005-02-21 16:34

Very clever and well composed composition ,mark
The railway tracks as a junction ,the boy on a wagon looking at his hands like he is making a decision
I like this one too

danielswalsh (13597) 2005-02-22 21:24

Awesome shot Mark!

I've just discovered your photos for the first time (don't know how I missed them before). You really have some good shots.

First of all, your cropping on this one is superb. Really focuses the attention in on the details. Great contrast and a good choice for B&W. Nice and sharp with a good choice of frame.

Well done!
0 Dan

nicoelrico (34) 2005-02-23 14:27

Well, what can i say... the pic. is great but the info is poor, FARC country what is that?

bboss (3578) 2005-03-03 16:01

I just love this photo, absolutely beautiful. Excellent composition
with the big curves of the railway tracks, the look of the kid - already it seems he has the weight of the world on him.
If I have to make a criticism I would say its a little dark, especially on the boy, I have tried a WS, hope you like it.
Interesting note as well.

[workshop] [compare]

ngythanh (8458) 2005-03-25 5:40

Two points for this great photo is unfair, but that is all allowable. I also owe you another points for the helpful notes.

Regards,

sergecross (3438) 2005-06-16 17:45