Siblings, a photo from Jammu and Kashmir, North

Photographer's Note

More than 36 years after taking this photo I feel sorry that I cut off a part of the small child's back. I guess I was too intent on not harming the big girl's feet to really notice the small one sitting on the wall. At least, with the smallest margin possible, I managed to save every toe.

This is from Sopore, a town in the Kashmir Valley in north-western India. I was on a tourist tour by bus to be able to see some of the countryside around the capital Srinagar. I didn't enjoy the tour very much because we always seemed to stop at the wrong places, not where I wanted to take pictures.

Here in Sopore I guess we were supposed to go looking for souvenirs, but of course I prefered to go looking for girls :-).

During the unrest that broke out in Kashmir in 1989 Sopore was one of the hot-spots and witnessed lots of fighting between Indian security forces and separatists.

As always I wonder what happened to these children. Hopefully they grew up happily. Maybe the big girl is now a grandmother.

You can see a larger version here. I have added two more pictures from the same place as workshops.

mohammad_H, ourania, Tigerlily, Indrasish, abmdsudi, saxo042, mirosu, nikkitta, jcpix, Sonata11, trevormoffiet, Graal, jhm, danos, kato, COSTANTINO, PiotrF, Glint, macjake, Wanda1, mcmtanyel has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

mohammad_H (10178) 2014-05-14 7:37

Hi
What I find interesting, and I encourage the support of young girl with her hands while looking at the camera, bare feet, it is an artistic picture
Very nice archive
I hope they both are normal and healthy life and have peace
Good evening

ourania (51103) 2014-05-14 8:02

Hello Gert,
the light, the colours and the textures of this picture are lovely and lively, the shadows are very interesting too and the simple scene looks so rich and thorough. I like very much this photo as a portrait because it features a very interesting character who connects marvelously both with the photographer and her sibling (in a secondary role). Both connections are strong and meaningful, this is a smart and caring girl who I hope has faced the hard times in the best possible way. The workshop pictures are interesting too, especially the one with the smiling girl. Congratulations and thank you!
All the best, have a lovely evening,
Ourania

rychem (72179) 2014-05-14 9:13

Very nice double portrait of these children, this girl is now about 44 years old, in the photo we can see feelings between siblings, splendid photo

regards Ryszard

lousat (129957) 2014-05-14 9:21

Hi Gert,the detail of the large version are absolutely fantastic!! Great pic and great memory of this old indian trip,and i like a lot your complete work from there with the 2 magic WS,i wish to see the face of this childrens watching this pic now...ehehe...and you too i think.Have a nice evening and thanks,LUCIANO

Silvio1953 (205719) 2014-05-14 9:40

Ciao Gert, great portrait of lovely girl, intenbse expression, splendid clarity, great light and wonderful colors, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

serp2000 (47063) 2014-05-14 9:46

Thumbs up! Outstanding quality, Gert!
Time has no power over the true values. Excellent journalist work, I like her impressive face, her poor dress looks like a movie prop... Few hours ago I've listened "Kashmir" of Led Zeppelin. It could be good illustration that famous song.
Best wishes,
Serghei

Fis2 (155625) 2014-05-14 9:52

Witaj Gert!
Excellent photo from daily life.
Good frame, colors and depth.
Well done.
Good evening.
Krzysztof

pajaran (102632) 2014-05-14 10:32

Dobro vece.
Interesantan tekst o gradu sa opisom ...
Dobar rad, skeniranjem i lepim fotografijama u radionici.
Vreme brzo prolazi, ostaju lepe fotografije i uspomene.
Prijatno vece i lepa noc, sve najbolje sa lepim secanjem na -1977.
Paja.

Good evening.
An interesting article on the town with a description ...
Good work, scanning and beautiful photographs of the workshop.
Time passes quickly, stay beautiful photos and memories.
Have a nice evening and night, all the best with beautiful memories of -1977.
Paja.

mesutilgim (0) 2014-05-14 12:03

Hello dear Gert,
This couple is also very nice ! The elder sister must be today around her fifties !
Again a perfect capture of your archive with many interesting notes.
TFS and have a nice evening
MESUT ILGIM

Tigerlily (3381) 2014-05-14 12:16

Hi Gert,
Lovely writing up, enjoy the story very much.
Beautifully captured image by all means.. the colour and the detail are excellent.
I'm slightly lucky than she is.. I went to school,and learnt to count, I counted her toes, yes! They are all there, 10 all together. Well done you! All saved.:-D
Regards,
jasmine

carlo62 (81265) 2014-05-14 15:26

Ciao Gert
gran bel ritratto, considerato anche gli anni e lka scansione, è di eccellente qualità.
Bellissima la naturalezza con cui si è lasciata fotografare.
Saluti
Carlo

Indrasish (2943) 2014-05-14 20:46

Hello Gert,
though I am an Indian, but your notes have lot of thing to learn or know something new.. Excellent shot by you.. Also I like the composition and vertical framing.. Superb image quality and nice color tone too.. I also like the character's impression.. Very well done..
good morning and best wishes from Kolkata..
Warm regards,
Indrasish..

abmdsudi (88561) 2014-05-14 22:32

Hi Gert
A touching tender and really warm natural moment as the elements of affection, bonding, caring clearly visible in the face of the elder sister towards the little one. I love the fact what it may look like this was no attempt at a pose just a grab shot, her perplexed look on her face is priceless & a huge plus point here, showing the unbroken bonding and body contact in between the space! Really love this pleasing composition, the placement and superb use of dof. This truly is a memorable capture, to me "Enchanting" doesn't do this image justice, Gert. A very, very touching portrait, a meaningful shot of a very special moment. The longer I look into her face the longer I .......!!
Bless!
Warm regards

Apurba20 (984) 2014-05-14 23:14

Hi Gert
I too miss the small, looks like a girl to me. But the girl with tattered clothes is a gem by itself.
As for people of Kashmir, you can just pray!
Great!
Apurba

saxo042 (38078) 2014-05-14 23:26

Hej Gert,
En mycket fin bild av dessa barn, synd att den lille inte kom med i sin helhet. Men vad gör det, de är båda väl placerade med huvudena mot den mörka bakgrunden. Den ljusa muren framhäver färgerna i kläderna.
Hälsningar
Gunnar
PS i morgon åker vi till Oslo

fabbs99 (17179) 2014-05-14 23:54

Hello Gert,

Fascinating composition of the little girl with great exposure, splendid light and wonderful warm colors.I love the simplicity of your composition.
Excellent composition, good presentation too. Very well done, TFS.

Cheers
Farhat

emka (152194) 2014-05-15 0:03

Hello Gert, Nice portrait of the two siblings, liking very poor or begging for life. They are now adult, is the life better for them now, specially for the girl?

I am so busy, walking from early morning tll late evening, blue hour is at ten p.m.

Warm regrads from Sevilla

MAlgo

Kamilutka (8107) 2014-05-15 2:32

Hello Gert,
I agree that the picture would benefit from the little kid not being cropped that much but I still like it a lot. There is something touching about the girl still holding a hand of the small brother while posing for this picture. As if subconciously she didn't want to let it go. Good portrait and with some emotional loading.
Thanks for sharing
Kind regards
Kamila

photographer_sg (6059) 2014-05-15 3:07

Hello Gert
Yes, definitely the picture would be perfect with the small boy - who appears to be crying - included wholly within the frame. The Kashmiris have had more than their share of misfortune and we can only hope that these two children saw better times.
The picture, as always, is of excellent quality in every respect.
best regards
Satya

mirosu (16313) 2014-05-15 6:52

Hi Gert,
Excellent photo, even you have cut a part of the sitting child it is an excellent capturing of local, rather poor children. Your POV is perfect and the light very good. I like the choice of fine selective focusing. Who knows how was their life during past 36 years.
Very well done.
Greetings,
Miro

Nicou (193806) 2014-05-15 7:11

Hlelo

quelbeau portrait de cette jeune sueprbe quel regard et iamge sueprbe fantastique avec le mur ces habits colorés sueprbe iamge et compo
Bravo et amitié
Nciou

eldancer1 (36343) 2014-05-15 14:35

Just like most 3rd world countries the older siblings takes care of the young ones as I did growing up in the Philippines. The image is very sad but hopefully this young lady grow up to be successful, we can only hope. I like the use of the dark background, it brings the subject out and wonderful colors. Well done, tfs.

nikkitta (17070) 2014-05-15 16:39

Hola Gert

Top quality of this scaned file and quite touching scene of the litle boy, may be afraid of..you, so, with his hand in contact with the girl, may be his sister

Good portrait of the serious litle woman, the protagonist
The missing back of the boy if of not importance, this is an historical document
Well done, regards
Maria

jcpix (14030) 2014-05-15 19:07

Hi Gert,

I highly doubt anyone is going to find fault in the composition when it's the personal connection and main point of focus that was captured here. :) I was immediately drawn to this young girls stare, almost completely without expression, but still very emotional none the less. Considering the family aspect, with that extended arm to her younger sibling, it's a fantastic link, both figuratively and literally. It would indeed be very interesting to know what has become of them since this was taken. As with so may of your pictures in this regard, you do a terrific job in making that felt and consciously considered. Great work as always. Have a good day ahead. All the best.

Friendly wishes,

Jason

Sonata11 (34119) 2014-05-15 19:58

Hello Gert,
very beautiful composition and wonderfully executed. Perfect management of colors, light, sharpness, clarity. Fantastic work. Love it.
All the best, Barbara

trevormoffiet (3112) 2014-05-16 3:14

Hej Gert,
Eftersom mindre barn titta bort det spelar ingen roll (för mig) att barnets rygg är beskuren. Hela bilden berättar en historia. Den unga flickan har en självsäker luft om henne. Bra bild.
Hälsningar,
Trevor

Graal (103040) 2014-05-16 23:31

Hello Gert,
interesting series of portraits, here and in WS. Amazing documentary slides from 1977. Good colors and quality of scan. Nice natural poses and smiles. Well done photos.
Have a nice WE.
Aleksander

jhm (203003) 2014-05-17 7:52

Hello Gert,

Again a wonderful image of this little child, what would this child are become!
I look every time with a small teardrop in my eyes, children are innocent!
I am father and grand father and maybe next year great-grandfather.
Excellent composition and good presentation.
Very well done, TFS.

Have a nice weekend,
John.

danos (110407) 2014-05-17 12:09

Hi Gert,
nice the view of the little girl from your archive as now must be a masture woman.I like her portrait as the good presentation.

Have a good WE,Danos

kato (11630) 2014-05-17 22:21

Hello Gert,

You're capturing well this daily life in India by a good composition and excellent tone/clarity, so it's interesting and impressive to see regional two kids around the rock. They are bare feet and looks like shabby clothes, but her eyes are purely. And, the spectacle in which the younger brother has grasped her hand is darling.

(p.s.)
Thank you that you gave me a workshop "The lady who likes a rose" spending your precious time. It seems that the original yellow color of kimono which the lady wore has changed, although I don't mind.

Kind regards,
mikio

COSTANTINO (104159) 2014-05-17 23:08

Good morning my dear friend
as always another sensitive and delicate
shot I liked very much this photo
with the little girl in a different role
in my opinion this girl faced hard
moments during her life
I liked your phrase given another
thought as following as always
I wonderf what happened to these
children Hpefully they grew up
happily
thanks again for your photos
a real treasure for you an d for us too
regards
have a nice Sunday
Costantino

batalay (41261) 2014-05-22 19:05

Hello Gert,

It is always a pleasure to see photos from your archives. This photo is 37 years old, and the child may indeed be a grandmother... It had to be a sharp, colorful and beautifully preserved negative (Kodachrome most likely).

Warm regards,

Bulent

PiotrF (52330) 2014-05-28 15:28

Hello Gert,

This is a wonderful portrait of little kid
This is an extraordinarily picture.Wonderful colours and great picture.
Congratulations!
Regards
Piotr

imageme (1790) 2014-05-31 14:31

Hi Gert, What a lovely moment of these kids. The girl shows great care to her sibling as one can see she never let go of the boy's hand as she is afraid that he might fell off from the rock even though her attention is kept by your camera......her first priority is her sibling's safety. There is no problem of missing the back of the boy, the scenery has told the story of the moment and that is what it counts. Beautiful captured moment with affection and I like its original mood. Best regards
Anna

Royaldevon (75378) 2014-06-02 23:16

Hello Gert,

Your walk back into history is fascinating for us and, probably, for you too. It is impossible to study these shots, knowing what has happened to the regions since, without wondering how these people fared. These are the sort of reflections and recollections that inspire books and films.
This child shows strong character. The interest shown by you is totally reciprocated. Apart from the little defect that you mention, this is a wonderful shot. You use shallow dof well and there is a very unstaged, natural link between the two youngsters.

Have a lovely day,
Bev :-)

Glint (6171) 2014-06-16 22:53

Hello Gert,
a quite charming image. I like the connection between the children shown by the way the older reaches out a hand to the younger. I'm glad that you did not chop off her toes, she has pretty feet. Interesting workshop images too.
Bev

macjake (96157) 2014-06-17 4:35

Hi Gert
yes, you point out the exact same thoughts as I do.
what happened to all these young boys and girls in all your photos...because you have so many of them i'm sure some stories are happy, some are sad, and some are probably even tragic - that IS life i guess.

and as for tours, that why they are such a double edged sword. Tours keep tourists safe and organized, but often take us to places we don't wish to see! how strange is that! Yet we KEEP paying for them all the time!

good for you to break away a bit and capture this moment. too bad about the boy at the top, but you were focused on this girl :)

cheers
craig

kasianowak (15818) 2014-06-17 11:17

Hi Gert
What a lovely portrait! The toes are very important and if anyone asks why you cropped the other child off so mercilessly, just say it's... postmodern style. ;-)
It's exactly what I don't like about organised tours (it takes several days even when there is only me and the guide/guides to explain that I want to take photos in least expected places and at least convenient times) so glad to see you managed to escape and get some very nice street photos so we can enjoy them almost 40 years later. :-)
Kasia

adidas5nb (5743) 2014-08-11 8:00

wooow.. 36 yr old shot from kashmir.must have been a very different kashmir from what it is now.nice one.
regards
dwaipayan

Wanda1 (15142) 2014-09-09 9:04

Hi Gert,
Even though you have cut the little child's back, I still find it an intriguing photo, showing sibling love and I like the way the young girl is posing. I also always wonder what happens to the people that I photograph especially the children, and indeed one hopes that they grow up happy.
Regards
Wanda

Matyas (0) 2015-03-29 5:14

Hello Gert! Wonderfull children. Amazing scene. Superb scenery and background. Good shot. Fine quality. Very good contrast and sharpness. Sophisticated colours. Regards!

Cricri (176) 2016-04-07 9:33

Hi Gert
J'aime le regard doux de la jeune fille, sa main tenant le petit enfants, une image pleine de tendresse ......superbe couleurs et détails bien rendu
amitiés
cricri

jmdias (102900) 2018-11-15 5:57

gert

I didn't visit this region, a pity, but india in so big to know in a only trip.
nice portrait of the girl taking care of the brother, i presume.their clothes, as I can see in WS, are different of the regions I visited in india. excellent quality of image and a precious document of a part of the past.

take care

jorge

mcmtanyel (58830) 2019-12-09 21:39

Hello Gert,
I hope the girl is still alive, happy and a grandmother, indeed. Very nice photo of the girl. 👍🏻👍🏻
Regards,
MT