Thursday, April 22, 2010

Connected


First of all, I can't take credit for this beautiful photograph. This photo was taken by Adrian while on his trip to Niger a couple weeks ago. He showed it to me when he got back and I was consumed by it immediately. Occasionally a photo will burn its way into my memory. This one did. I love it. I'll have to tell the story secondhand since I was not there taking the photo. Adrian said these girls came up and asked to have their picture taken. After he took the shot he said they looked at it on the screen and then ran off giggling "like little girls do".

My favorite part of the photo is each of their unique expressions (click to see it larger). I'm sure each girl's expression is a small glimpse into her personality. And, there is a beautiful bond in this photo. If you look close you'll notice that each girl is holding onto one of her friend's next to her. They are literally all connected to each other. I hope they continue to hold tight to one another as they grow up, because they will need each other. True friends are a gift.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Second try at posing a comment...

Taking this picture was a spontaneous moment, that I could never have recreated. There are two things that I really love about it. I love what I can imagine about the girls' experience - egging each other on to go up to a random person with a camera. What I also love is that these girls were so happy with the moment and experience. It made them so happy to just see the picture for a brief second while I was trying to capture a great image that I can print and hang on the wall and show people. Their joy in the moment, really created a memory for me and added a dimension of meaning beyond a pretty image. It is about a wonderful interaction that never would have happened without the initiative of these girls, and for that I am grateful.