Sunday, June 15, 2014

Photo Story: Scared Street Boy With Dog Laughing, Kathmandu Nepal 2013

This photograph was part of a series I did last trip on Street Kids in Kathmandu Nepal. These kids were rather hardcore and a bit hard to deal with (always asking for money) as some did drugs (glue sniffing). For the most part they were nice kids who were living in really desperate circumstances. I wish I had spent more time with them than I did. If I go back I will photograph them again and try to spend at least 1 week with them everyday. In the future if I spend extended time in Asia I might do long term projects like this, where I spend many months hanging and really getting to know and understand the lives of my subject. It would be so great to spend 3 or 4 months just living with the people I photograph, getting really really deep into their lives.

The boy hugging the dog in this photo was very friendly, always smiling and laughing. He had been in a fire at some point in his life and had heavy scaring around his neck and also was missing parts of his fingers on one hand. The pic was made early in the morning just after they woke up with a Leica M6 and  28mm  (35mm?) lens on Tri-x (200). The dog was a stray the 10+ street kid boys (2 girls also) took care of. They loved to hug and play with this dog who obediently put up with all the attention. These kids would sleep in the open on a street corner near 2 busy roads, they had an open fire to keep warm. Initially the fire is what attracted me to them, I noticed it and came on over to say hello and make pics. A few days later the police came and kicked the kids out of this area and they were forced to sleep on the concrete sidewalks near the back packer hostels and hotels. The boys hustled money from tourists (mostly backpackers) to buy food and drugs.

Scared Nepal street boy with dog laughing, Kathmandu Nepal 2013