I just received a CD of pictures taken by Patti Gabriel (www.pattygabriel.com) who was with us during our recent trip. Her work has also been published in the most recent Crudem magazine.
On looking at pictures, I always wonder how the photographer captures the soul of the subject. It doesn't have to be by perfect color tone. Some of the most striking photos I've seen are in black and white (think about Karsch or Ansel Adams). Haiti, for all its poverty, is a land of vibrant color. Even run down homes are painted shades of green, pink, or blue. The hospital clinic is accented in an aquamarine shade. Clothes are bright, if worn.
The faces of the children are unforgetable. I am reposting a picture from over a year ago, of a young girl who had lost her leg above the knee. This was at the weekly Tuesday night dance party. If you think her smile was great then, you should have seen her when our prosthetics lab gave her a new limb.
Are we better when our professional pictures are airbrushed, tones adjusted, and lighting controlled - perhaps in some situations that is appropriate to cast one in their best light. Some of us like to pose, whether from narcissism or to capture the joy of a moment with others.
When I looked at Patty's pictures of Jerry Bernard and I, I don't remember her taking them, yet the intensity of our deliberations is captured. I can feel that even now, weeks later and thousands of miles away.
So next time you sense a photographer about to take your picture, try to ignore it. Don't take off your glasses, don't force a smaile. The light will be natural and the image real.
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