Faces of the Minefield

Jet lag has kicked my butt this time.  The adrenaline of vacation makes the time change so easy on vacation and returning to the doldrums of everyday life makes it so difficult after vacation is over. I went to work on Wednesday after having slept from 7-11 Tuesday night---I am so ready to be back on schedule.  

All that extra awake time in the middle of the night has allowed me to make a dent in my photos.  While too tired to be productive enough to clean or cook, editing photos can be done with one eye closed and your head braced up with a hand.  Sort of. 

Cambodia and Minefield Village was such an emotional experience.  More than anything I struggled with constant worry that I when I looked through the lens I stopped seeing people and life and started seeing photo opportunities. It would be an understatement to say I was fixated on not crossing over the line to exploitation.

In the end I can say it really was about seeing people and lives lived and appreciating the beauty that can be clouded by the shocking poverty that initially grabs the eye.   I deleted photos that I thought were beautiful but I would not want shared had they been taken of me--such as bathing in the river  on the Thai Burma border.  If I had profited from the photos I took rather than donating my time, I'd send it over to them.   

Every time I look at these, my soul smiles as I remember each of these people and these moments vividly.  The camera just happened to capture those moments to share with you.