Sometimes it's the little things..the way an elder reaches for his partner's shaky hand as they cross the road, the way a group of children gathered in the back of a dark alley rehearses what (from the dirt road you're walking along) looks like a play at first glance, the way women, laying amidst brittle bush lining the desert, weave each other's hair while discussing what you later discover are matters of great tribal importance....
I realized recently, that I often capture footage (moments) like this but do little with it since it doesn't make it into the stories that get commissioned and shared in the end.
On their own, they may not seem like much, be swanky, newsworthy or edgy - and at times, even blurry...but they are moments that no matter how little, personal or insignificant to a wider audience, capture what is often most fundamental to any story; namely, that real and genuine "slice of life" that indirectly, and most truthfully reflects the everyday existence, experiences and reality of the people we cross paths with and meet.
Having said that, I will pause, and present you now with this first example...it has nothing to do what you may have read in the news, about Cambodia, its political landscape or the unfolding trau/drama...rather, it pertains to one young man, a nearing teen whose face, profound focus, independence, creativity and smile will be forever be embedded in my mind. I understand that you may not feel the same about him, or this little snippet of raw footage since you weren't there at that particular moment, but I wish that you would, even if for a brief second...
His face is the face of many beautiful people like him in Cambodia..a young person who, like many others, lives in poverty in this beautiful but complicated country; a place where the rich get richer, where the poor struggle, and where the young are the true future of this country.
Future architect, engineer, farmer, academic, or change maker? Will he be given be the opportunity?
EVERYDAY VIGNETTES will get whipped up periodically, to provide you with a glimpse of daily life here on the ground in Cambodia, or wherever I may be. They may not be fancy - but their messages speak volumes to me...
Thank you for reading & have a wonderful day!