Those trips to Batticaloa were not only work – organising and coordinating the projects, discussing possible improvements, supporting the newspaper at home with reports – but they marked also the transition of my own photography away from a purely private, visual memory oriented one. Soon I started to upload images to flickr, another year later this blog, and the rest is history in 2700+ posts plus the book on ‘Batticaloa Fishermen’.
Project wise I am still connected with Sri Lanka, but meanwhile more on an NGO level, plus, not to forget, some friends I still have contact with. And: I have learned a lot, and with it my view of the world and of man’s role in it has changed substantially.
Two excellent photos. The first one is nice with the human element, but that second one is striking – with the great color of that boat set against the (?)ravens and the lines of the oars – so cool.
The first is a bit of a bull’s eye composition, I hope I can do better meanwhile. Still, the contrast of the rubble and the liveliness of the boys is making it interesting. The crows in the second image – kaputa in the local language – they accompagnied me on all my visits and made it even onto the title image of my first photobook.