My hardest yet most inspiring photograph. Read the story behind.
This photo shares a story. A story that is not so much about color, joy and beauty, but about the truth of life. Last summer I photographed this girl sitting down over the stairs of Doi Suthep, in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
What people often do not see here is the girl's expression. Please, take a look at her pose. Now I'm going to tell you the truth. This girl was alone outside the temple, waiting for tourists to take photos with her, and then ask them for money. What struck me most, is that given her young age, her mother (who was calmly sitting outside the stairs where she couldn't be seen with a beer in her hand) just stood there without even taking care of her daughter while she was forced to make money for her.
The crocodile behind represented what I really saw on this scenery, much more than the pure colors and beauty of the capture instead.
Isn't this some kind of prostitution? Was this kid aware of what she was doing? Shouldn't be this girl going to school instead?
Sad photo, open story.
This sort of thing is not uncommon in Thailand unfortunately, there are a lot of very poor people who are completely uneducated and think of little else but where their drink/meal is coming from, not how their children are thinking. Sad but true.....
I live there and see it all too often, it's hard to come to terms with for a westerner.....