The following was written on March 6, 2017:
In two hours we head to Virat Nagar from Alwar to hand out the photographs from two weeks ago, including the ones from this series. For those of us involved in the two schools in Rajasthan, we present this portrait of one family... all of whose children attend one of the two schools.
On this morning we had finished with photography at the school and were heading out of the village when we were greeted as always by these children, living on the outskirts of the village. We would normally wave as we drove by, and at times stop to say hello... but never stopped for longer than that. It seemed about time that we did, so we did!
We asked if the children wanted some photographs inside the house, and all agreed. The person accompanying me at the time went ahead and began asking the children to stand in front of the camera, as they were when we arrived, for he like all those before him took my offer at its face value. Instead of fully engaging the children and inquiring about their concepts, it was moving forward without much creativity.
Fortunately he is a good man, and listened to my request to allow the children the time to do as they wished for the photography. The results were truly enchanting as the girls went back and forth and put their best clothes on over the next forty or so minutes. He realized at that point the value of including the children in the process, and how in doing so we truly respected their minds and hearts.
The girls, and boy, took it all in and loved the moment... hurrying back and forth thinking that we were also in a hurry. Once they realized that we were there for them, the shyness disappeared and they took fully advantage thankfully of our time in their home. It was an honor for me to have so much of their trust, and we look forward to seeing them in a few hours.
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