Wire Fence, a photo from Phnum Penh, West

Photographer's Note

The Cambodian people are beautiful people - full of life and hope - and considering their devastating and heartbreaking past, its amazing to see these characteristics shine through in the people. This photo was taken in the area of the Killing Fields at Choeung Ek - a place where the remains of innocent yet terrorised victims were burried by the Khmer Rouge in mass gravesites in the late 1970s.
Basically the Khmer Rouge regime arrested and eventually executed nearly anyone suspected of connections with the former (or any other) government - and this included children who had no actual mind of politics but were just in the wrong family at the wrong time. Luckily this act of mass genocide is now over, and whats left is a very poor country which is slowly recovering. This girl reminds me of that with her seemingly optimistic and happy personality.
However if she had just been born a few decades earlier, she may well now exist only as a skull in the Killing Fields momument to the torutred and innocent individuals that fell to the Khmer Rouges reign.

Aazragi, managua, yazdi, hamster, don_narayan, kajspice, ishai, danbachmann, patriik, yigalco, banyanman, wrangell, xuaxo, ayobami, sowhat, InasiaJones, dareco has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

aimiliospet (2355) 2006-03-11 5:01

Hi,David!
Very "clear" Face!!!
This girl reminds me of that with her seemingly
optimistic and happy personality.
Aimilios

Aazragi (1927) 2006-03-11 5:08

Hi, David L :)
Nice and cute face you got here, and lovely composed it well done and keep it up and up.

With all my Best wishes 4 You.
Latif.

fkk (2039) 2006-03-11 5:21

Merhaba David;
Beautiful cute face girl, wonderfull composition and portrait...
Well done
thanks for sharing David

catman-fatih

managua (902) 2006-03-11 5:52

Hi David,

when I was there I took a Photo of the same girl, in the Killing Fields. She is one of those children that stay there trying to get some money from the visitors, isn't?
Anyway, wonderful portrait, really well captured with the barbed thread.
Regards,
Andrea.

yazdi (460) 2006-03-11 6:57

Hi David;
Its a great portriat, specially wire fence make your image very strong feeling of earlier decade, and you have captured with good colours and sharpness with goog note too.
well done.
Regards!
Jamal

hamster (104) 2006-03-11 8:47

Beautiful portrait. And very pretty girl. Very well cropped. Interesting face expression. Fine bokeh. And this chain makes the picture much more interesting! I like it very much.

Regards,
Grzegorz

adrost (2378) 2006-03-11 10:20

Beautifull face and colors of Cambodia.
Her eyes its magic.
Good work.
Regards.
Adam

don_narayan (2014) 2006-03-11 10:42

Hello David. It is a nice portrait, the barbed wire has a strong impact. Even if it did cost you 50cents, that's alright, it is still a good image. I see a lot of photos here that i know needed some coin to get... and there weren't as nice as this one.

Narayan

rowanb (864) 2006-03-11 11:05

beautiful portrait, well composed with the barbwire creating a strong impact.
rowan

johnhopkins (866) 2006-03-11 19:37

The subject, light and setting (behind the wire) are wonderful.

tinamunk3 (6408) 2006-03-12 3:38

Hi David,

This is a great shot of this beautiful girl. The light is gorgeous and so is her natural expression......those brown eyes......wow!!

Well done!

:) Tina

kajspice (4542) 2006-03-12 17:37

A very astute decision to present this in colour as it fits the story you have told...I feel the picture would have conveyed a different message had it been in B/W. Her face is full of life and innocence, though her hand gesture suggests she knows more.

A song title springs to mind..."the girl with the sun in her hair" (orbital "insides"). Your pictures are heartfelt and I see real sensitivity in your work. They are not the type to flick through...I am finding myself spending healthy time looking at and observing the details within all of your well composed images, hence you are resting in my favourites...

Kajx

Tracker (1942) 2006-03-14 4:29

Hi David,
Really nice portrait of khmer girl, well composed and colourful. Just a bit strange to see the barbed wire with so gladdy facial expression but may be it was some think of author. Anyway thanks.

entrelec (8328) 2006-03-14 4:45

I go to this nice portrait,with beautiful lightening and natural colors.

joel

ishai (4097) 2006-03-15 16:51

Very good and strong note, and a very good portrait accompanying it,
The eyes are very powerful and so is the barbwire
Well presented

Ishai

sebinho342 (19329) 2006-04-01 10:42

She is so pure ! (the pic and the girl)
She touches really full in the heart !
This is a masterpiece

Art in a way

Sébastien

semra (141) 2006-04-15 7:51

perfect
very nice girl
colors,compozition..
regards

ropetko (0) 2006-05-09 14:31

Well this is really an excellent portrait David! Wire fence makes excellent frame and this girl totally reminds me of Lorelei - one of the best models of Manny (and you can see her on TE too).
Too bad the photo isn't a bit sharper, looks like the focus was in between the fence and her. Still, the composition is very good and powerful, especially her fingers that makes good balance to the photo.
Great work, TFS!
Regards

patriik (1935) 2006-05-17 4:48

This girl is a beautiful model indeed.
Fanstastic light, good compo, nice colours and great sharpness make this shot very very good!
Well done!!!!

Patryk

yigalco (372) 2006-06-30 4:37

Hi David,
Great photo, I think that the girl eyes and expression makes the photo
I like the colors and the use of light
Good composition and note too

Regards,
Yigal

banyanman (7797) 2006-07-23 10:42

A lovely portrait, David. I like the soft light and the framing in the barbed wire which complements your information note. I have no qualms about giving these kids 50c. It's the only way their families can make a living. They can support a family on $1-2 a day, and I'd rather see kids do this than become beggars. David

ngythanh (8458) 2006-07-23 11:21

David:
You must be happy with this capture since you cannot make any better portrait of such a lovely Cambodian girl — not to talk about the composition with the barbed wires.
The photo speaks for itself. I wish to see this on the front cover of a book... This photo promises more intelligent and creative artworks to be shared.

Thank you. I am saving a copy into my theme, Cambodian children /1/.

Have a good day, my friend.

huckool (96) 2006-07-26 15:33

Wow, I also saw this girl and got a picture of her begging outside the Killing Fields, and making the same hand gesture (three middle fingers up). I'm guessing she asked for money after you took this photo.

I just posted my own shot of her here. She's the one in the middle... (Even more scary, I took her photo four days before you put it on TrekEarth, though a few months after you initially took it)

xuaxo (6854) 2006-08-07 10:17

Hi David
What I see here is that there is hope for a better future and the barbed wire will be over for next generations. That's the dream in the girl's eyes.
Francisco
>> My points are off; see my Intro/Profile for details.

ayobami (1353) 2006-09-07 3:44

Beautiful face - wonderful light captured and colours and detail. Great POV seen through this fence, a reminder of the terrible past they have had but evidence of the hope and optimism they seem to keep with them everyday.

I wonder is she making a symbol with her left hand - a certain gesture to mean something like hello or is it just coincidence how she is standing?

sothy81 (9646) 2006-12-01 1:01

Hi David, excellent picture from Cambodia with this face. Great focus and colorful. A great see thru picture. Sothy

vesalius (861) 2006-12-20 1:39

WOW David, this should be in NG. Nothing else to say. The barbed wire is haunting and set up a real dichotomy. Don

sowhat (1004) 2007-03-14 10:17

Superb portrait! The girl seems to have a lot to tell, she has wonderful eyes and a face expression that you cannot overlook! Great light, colours and composition.
TFS
Ioana

InasiaJones (31566) 2007-03-29 10:03

Hi David,

Very nice portrait of a well-chosen subject. Your note is accurate and compelling.

I like how the sun light up her hair and the fact that you have used the barbwire to reinforce your message.

Cheers!

André

karinegl (172) 2007-04-19 0:25

Nothing to add... you just have to read your note and look at the picture everything is said.

Thank you for sharing

Karine

dareco (17136) 2007-08-16 0:24

Another wonderful portrait. The barbed wire really gives an added touch. A beautiful little girl, so well captured. Also found your note very interesting. I will be visiting Cambodia in December :)

Tango7174 (0) 2007-11-22 6:37

Excellent composition of this lovely young girl portrait. The wire fence underlines your very detailed note. The hand sign and half smile of the girl are symbols of hope and life resuming after years of horror.
Congratulations David!

Thành.