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My Father Can't Afford Me Shoes

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vincent filomena said:
Pictures LIE- Street shooters double down on the lie...

I taught 32 years in the South Bronx, NYC...I've seen that picture a hundred times...Kid's coming from Gym or the ball field carrying his shoes; changing his clothes, so he put his shoes down; wise asses took his shoes and threw them in the trees (Or their favorite, up on the telephone lines).The PICTURE tells you nada...
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There's a huge difference to the Bronx and a 3rd world country...HUGE!
vincent filomena said:
Did the photographer ask the kid ? If the kid told him what the caption claims...

then the OP embarrassed the kid by taking the picture..He was obviously in the midst of the kids...For the rest of that kids life, all the other kids will be laughing the day HE HAD NO SHOES...

If a kid DID tell me that....I would find the teacher, adult, someone to take $10 to buy him shoes... NOT TAKE HIS FRIGGEN PICTURE ..
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Have you actually been to a place like that? Sometimes taking a picture (of something out of your control) helps the subject or many others in the same position much more than just buying that one person a pair of shoes. Many people might be inspired to donate to charities when they see this kind of pics...
vincent filomena said:
Sincerely Vjim
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--
It's not the size of your sensor but how you use it that counts...
 
As I have promised in my previous post, I will supplement this thread with the pictures of the classroom's condition.

Here is a global view of one of the classroom. Don't be mistaken, it's a real classroom, not a store-room, not an abandoned building room, it's really a functioning classrom



A closer look. Here's why the company I've been working for decided to purchase them new desks and chairs.



--
http://iwannugroho.fotopic.net

E-five Ten, EfEl-Fifty, ZeeDee twelve-sixty, ZeeDee forty-one fifty, OhEm fifty one point four
 
tux96 said:
Your picture tells a story without exposing the kid. Simply great.
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But there are other reasons why this works so well :
  • the distribution of white/grey/black tones, with grey for the bare feet and ground (they are very much linked together), white for scraps of paper that almost create an aura, and black for the shoes of the more fortunate ones;
  • also excellent use of DOF, where you nail focus on the bare feet, and the shoes in front are OOF.
--
Roel Hendrickx

lots of images : http://www.roelh.zenfolio.com

my E-3 user field report from Tunisian Sahara: http://www.biofos.com/ukpsg/roel.html
 
spinrahardjo said:
And, yes, when I reviewed the pictures taken on that day, I paused longer on this one. When I think about it, I think I should agree that we, who can purchase expensive equipments, should be very thankful that we are a lot luckier than those, and we should always remember those who still can't enjoy all of the comfort we had.
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I can live with that.
--
rayjames
 
funny, so I laughed. You don't have to take everything as serious here do you or am I doing it wrong? My appologies go out to the person who took the shot.
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And now for something totally different
Tim
 
the point, the laughter was at the reply and I don't think the photo was lacking anything at all. The comment " ...and..." was what hit me as humorous, maybe there was a lack of desription about the shot. Once again I apologize.

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And now for something totally different
Tim
 
The proper context in which this photo was created is required in order to evaluate the image's potential messages beyond technical and artistic merits.
 
Well earlier I said that the pic in itself was strong, but the point brought up is that it is lacking context. Just like I tell the ladies at the printing kiosks, we can't zoom out anymore to show the top of the head or any other information outside the frame. However, an artist has options in presentation. Maybe it doesn't have enough context on it's own, but showing it with other pictures (like the two of the classroom you showed) provides a more overarching narrative.

In my drawing critique this year, everybody agreed that it was more useful and insightful to view ten of the artist's/student's works at a time.
--
Evshrug

 
BigScooter said:
the point, the laughter was at the reply and I don't think the photo was lacking anything at all. The comment " ...and..." was what hit me as humorous, maybe there was a lack of desription about the shot. Once again I apologize.

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And now for something totally different
Tim
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Tim,

It was clear (for me at least) that you were laughing about the comment. I still don't know what was funny about that (other than saying "And??" is unexpected, and if I was in a silliness mood surprise can be laughter), but personally I don't see an insult to the OP. Don't worry about it, you apologized and explained your intent :)
--
Evshrug

 
Shrug,

By the way did you apologize for quoting "SO" instead of "AND", or do you get to slide in your 'self righteousness'.

Love Vjim
 
in Europe as the general level of wealth was so much lower than it is today. And then you had a second round of this post WWI, and another post WWII.

luckily most kids today can afford shoes at least in Europe among other rich regions.

but it's hardly something that's so old, or so exotic.

plus, kids generally loved it - that's based on first-hand accounts.
 
Pardon me for saying this. I like the idea but boys dont wear shoes for different reasons and in Indonesia, kids play football barefooted at times. I feel you need to reframe it to give me more context. I am not sure what you had there, school bags. other children in distant background in school uniform? This is just a though, so take it with a pinch of salt.
 
OP, I like the photo. One of my best friends grew up in Pune, India and has told me about not being able to afford shoes, being in schools where they all had a uniform, etc. As often as my friend has mentioned that his family could not afford shoes when he was a child, it was something that made a very big impression on him. And so this is a like a photo for a scene that is already in my mind's eye.
 
Thanks for all of the responses.

I've never expected such great response to this photo.

And yes, I greatly appreciate all the critics. Just like I said in one of my previous reply that somehow I myself feel there's still something lacking on this photo. And indeed the responses show that its true. For some, the context is missing... And it explains the various response to the photo.

--
http://iwannugroho.fotopic.net

E-five Ten, EfEl-Fifty, ZeeDee twelve-sixty, ZeeDee forty-one fifty, OhEm fifty one point four
 
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