Portrait of a Gypsy Girl
Fergana Valley, Uzbekistan 2012
The village was small, huddled on the side of a busy highway. Women and children were sitting by the wall of the village watching the trucks and cars go by. They sat on the dirt and held their babies while the older children played with their toy: a piece from a machine of some sort.
Torie sailed in, shooting away, somehow ingratiating herself with the gypsies who began to gather and surround us as I followed somewhat reluctantly. The people were poor, the village was poor, the sewer ran down the center of the small open space between houses. A small fire pit with a section of a cabinet to store utensils was a kitchen. Cloth draped over the doors to the small hut-like houses provided privacy, but I peered in anyway and saw a man sprawled on a cot watching television.
I didn’t feel comfortable. I kept thinking that we didn’t belong there. I thought that I would not welcome strangers with cameras if I were living in that village. But I was there. I had my camera. And I shot photos of the gypsies.
Grunge photos are popular now and have been for several years. Maybe because they are different. I know that is why I was attracted to them. They do not make the subject look inviting or attractive. You can ‘grunge’ a portrait by increasing the contrast and decreasing brightness. This causes the skin to go blotchy as this girls has done. She had a beautiful complexion, smooth and fresh. Look what I’ve done to her. Shameful. But with this look, her eyes are compelling. They are the portrait.
To learn about Uzbekistan go to www.uzbekjourneys.com: and if you want to plan your own trip to the ‘Stans’ contact Penelope who can arrange hotels, drivers and itineraries.
I see this girls energy, she has a wild heart that I hope will never be tamed. I can see her outside after dark sitting and running around either drums of fire or small lit fires by the walk side, bare feet even in the middle of the winter, but still the family are close knit and give her the best they can. So many children to play amongst, most girls being tom boys like flowers that are growing wild.
Let know one pull in your reins, go girl.
Selena! You are a poet! I hope you continue your writing…poems or stories. You have a fierce energy that jumps off the page…computer screen, that is.
Thanks for looking at my photos and for your comment.
Best,
Rosemary
She is an Indian blood now thousands of miles away ( like lacs of such other roma gypsies ) from her mother land, innocent and ignorant of this. But seeing her face our heart bleeds thinking she is saying take me back to the mother land out of such exploitation, hunger and humiliation.
Hope that there will be development in human mind that every person on earth belongs to each country and have every right.
Hello, Hamir.
Thank you for visiting my blog and for your comment. Yes, most likely the girl is of Indian blood. I can’t say what her life in Uzbekistan is like as I am only a tourist. She looked healthy and well fed is all I can say. Let’s hope she will have the same opportunities as other Uzbek citizens have.
Rosemary