Saturday, December 19, 2020

Young Girl + Shadows, Uttar Pradesh, India, 2020


Over the past seven years it's been my honor to photograph students in a dozen schools within Shamli District, thanks to Imdadullah and his connections. This girl and her sister both attend one of these schools. For the time being it is strictly a religious school, but the headmaster would like to expand the school and include a full curriculum as well. 

Both of the sisters have light eyes, and the headmaster allows us to photograph to almost sunset to allow us to photograph them. In the back of the school there's a space with a slit of light squeezing through two walls. We usually begin with the other girls, and as the sun nears the horizon these two girls come forward for their portraits. 

That's exactly what happened for this image, and she began the roll with her gaze down to the ground. Slowly she raised her eyes to the lens and the shutter was released the entire time. Just this week this print was made in the darkroom, bringing that moment from six months ago to the present.

Note: this image was printed onto Ilford 11x14 fiber paper, and toned in Selenium for permanence. 

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