Sunday, June 15, 2014

Photo Story: Baby Held By Grandmother Tool Kok Slum Phnom Penh Cambodia 1999

I might have done a photo story of this pic before, if so here is version two! : )

This photograph was made way back in 1999 in a slum area of Phnom Penh. The photo was made with a Nikon F5 and 20-35mm zoom F2.8 on Tmax 3200 film rated at 800. This image I sold to a collector in California, a lawyer who was looking to support the work I was doing. It was and still is a great honor to be part of that collection as it also includes work by the great Sabastiao Salgado (his Indian people train shot).

What I remember about making this photo was the poverty the Cambodian people lived in. The pic was shot on at the front of a home facing a very busy dirt road. The road had big trucks travelling on it day and night, that kicked up tons of dust which got over everything. The baby boy was being held by his grand mom, the rest of the family was nearby and watched as I shot. I also have some photos I like of the larger family group, and a color shot made on 120 of the same child and grand mom. I wish I could have given the family a copy of this picture. I wonder if I went back to that area now if anyone there would recognize the baby, maybe its worth a try, I can go back 15 years later and hand out the pick to the teenager!

This photo was the main inspiration for me to return to shooting b/w 35mm.

Baby held by grandmother Tool Kok slum, Phnom Penh Cambodia 1999