Seven Year Old Guest Photographer From Kampong Cham, Cambodia

It is very exciting to present the work of my first guest photographer in this blog!
THESE PHOTOS WERE NOT TAKEN BY ME (except the last one) but a seven year old Cambodian boy who became very interested to try out my camera. I absolutely love all his pictures especially the one above.

His photos are so good that it brings up the interesting subject of: what are the ingredients of a good photograph?
The role of equipment, skill, chance, being at the right place at right time, access to intriguing visual material, trust between photographer and subject, open mind and confidence of photographer, innocence?

Rural Kampong Cham is not very touristy so I really enjoyed my stay there … besides getting sick for three days.
But I got through it “in style” thanks to 9 DVD’s of my box set of America’s Next Top Model which was sold for an amazingly affordable price in Phnom Penh.

Kampong Cham is on the Mekong riverside, it has great character and there was a lot to photograph just outside town within a few kilometers (and I do not mean touristy stuff).
I took more pictures in Kampong Cham than any other place during my trip before!

But enough about me let’s talk about the photos of the seven year old photographer! He was following me around in a particularly poor section just outside town and after having his picture taken and watching me photographing the kids and adults where he lived he asked to use my camera.

I thought no problem, it is digital I can just delete the photos later, let the kid have some fun! I showed him how the zoom worked that was about it and he was on his way snapping away.

After seeing his first set of pictures I thought many of the photos were keepers, they were great! It was funny to see how some of the kid’s neighbors reacted (which of course became a unique part of the photo) seeing him walk up and down the dirt road holding the camera like a pro and boldly composing, he was definitely shooting with great confidence.

I let him do his thing just a couple of time advising him to switch from horizontal format for very vertical subjects.

Now I will present the photos of my very talented guest photographer; I did not crop the pictures so they are in their original composition:

The reality of poverty in Cambodia; kids playing, smiling all around but also begging and starving. I bought dinners for some of the kids in the village which is almost nothing, not even close to a fair return for their great photos and kindness or their needs.

Very nice candid photo of a boy “marching” under a colorful clothes line against vivid green background:

Good lesson to all photographers: do not switch positions right way, something interesting might happen again soon.
It is not important how much luck assisted here; the kid delivered a great candid: he did set the zoom range, effective composition, great placement of subject, bright colors:

Here I think the little girl was looking at me while the boy took her photo; curious expression, nice snapshot:

Good composition and choice of subject; spite the busy photo the eyes are immediately drawn to the baby and a moment in a family’s life captured:

Great composition and an interesting portrait of a man on crutches; the boy walking around with a fairly large Nikon camera was an unusual sight to his subjects:

A little boy wondering around on an angled photo. Some photos of my guest photographer were tilted, he got this idea by himself instinctively and used it when he found it appropriate:

Perhaps it would have been better to frame this photo vertically but I decided not to be a backseat driver ever moment; come to think of it in a way the other kid being “cut in half” and being anonymous brings more attention to the boy with the dog:

Great subject matter was found in the form of hungry puppies chasing after their mother for milk:

Using the telephoto zoom a woman is captured here while washing clothes in the Mekong River:

By zooming out a different story is told:

I clearly remember that the boy was happy to discover and photograph the sausages; seemed like he was proud to find people, places and stories and document life in his village with the camera:

The boy loved to use the zoom, many scenes were rendered at two, three or four different zoom ranges:

A great candid photo of a roadside sales transaction with even a lucky shot of a motorbike rider passing by in the background:

It was getting close to sunset so warm light illuminated this portrait of a girl; accident or not but the background is almost studio like and even though the shadow of the boy taking the photo is visible, it is a good picture:

The element of the young boy with the big camera walking down the dirt road causing surprised smiles make this photo special:

As we know my guest photographer is the master of the zoom. This is a great isolation of a crying baby (from the previous photo) who though this picture taking was just too much to handle:

A fantastic composition of a boy and her mom; great cropping, colors and story:

As usual the camera attracts much attention especially when held by a Cambodian boy. Again a great composition of kids and their surroundings; it can be said that Southeast Asia is so visually interesting that these pictures practically take themselves:

A very nice close up portrait by zooming in:

Signature moves of my guest photographer are zooming out and tilting:

It is not every time that monks allow their photos taken; here I cheated a bit and asked the kid to photograph these monks. Who has the heart to say no to a young photographer?
After these pictures were taken I was not allowed to take more photos so my initial feeling was correct:

And finally THIS IS MY PHOTO; it is the portrait of my seven year old guest photographer. Seems like not only an emerging photographer but also a stylist; he pulled his hair over his right eye deliberately “making it look perfect” before I took his picture: