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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Eighty-two: A city portrait -- impressions of Havana, Cuba. > Shy child, Elementary school, Havana, Cuba, 2012
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11-MAY-2012

Shy child, Elementary school, Havana, Cuba, 2012

This young boy seemed fascinated by my approach to photography. He could see that I was not photographing the kids who were pointing, waving, and laughing at me. He watched me intently as I searched for an alternative subject, using the door between us a partial shield. He was obviously shy, and he made a perfect subject for my purposes. He represents many of the children in this school were not yet sure about their own identity, and who remained cautious about their relationships with others. There is honesty to him that that is disarming. I also wanted to express how vulnerable he seems – unlike most of his classmates, he would not dare to walk out into the hallway to face my camera.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5
1/100s f/2.3 at 7.5mm iso80 hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time11-May-2012 07:41:27
MakePanasonic
ModelDMC-LX5
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length7.5 mm
Exposure Time1/100 sec
Aperturef/2.3
ISO Equivalent80
Exposure Bias-0.66
White Balance
Metering Modemulti spot (3)
JPEG Quality
Exposure Programprogram (2)
Focus Distance

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Phil Douglis30-May-2012 19:21
Thanks, Celia, for seeing the directness of the contact here, and the sense of openness deriving from it. And yes, in his own way, he is welcoming me into his life, even if passively. I feel that connection.
Cecilia Lim29-May-2012 22:50
What is wonderful about this image is that despite him being very shy, he gazes directly into you, allowing you to connect with him. There is a beautiful sense of openness as he welcomes you into a moment of his life.
Phil Douglis27-May-2012 21:51
And that is because the shy ones are asking nothing from us as photographers. They are simply observing us at work, instead of acting out for the camera. The results are predictable -- the acting out pictures are almost always cliches, while the pictures of the observers can usually tell us something about the child behind the mask.
Carol E Sandgren27-May-2012 18:59
The shy ones always seem to be the best subjects for candid photos.
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