Today I went to the class of the adult education college were I took about three weeks ago photos of students for an assignment for language tests. I took photos of 64 different people for a poster. Everyone received a portrait of him or herself as a present for the contribution.
So, today I handed the portraits out and the students were all so happy and excited to see their photos. One girl touched my heart very deeply. When I took the photos she wasn't sure if she wanted to get photographed, she ran out of the room because she was so self-conscious and totally shy. I told her, come back and try it. So she came, but ran again away. Finally I got her to take the photos of her and still after the shoot she though she is so unattractive and nothing worth.
So I decided to develop her photos first and was totally happy about the results. She is a real beauty and has a natural talent for being in front of the camera. I gave her portraits to the teacher who handed them out to her.
But back to the start, when I left the classroom today and was about to shut the door, she ran behind me, shut the door and looked into my eyes and said THANK YOU, with such a beautiful and grateful expression on her face. I told her how beautiful she is and that she should look at her photos and always remember that she is something special and a real beauty.
This girl touched my heart so deeply and when I think of this situation I am still moved and could cry.
I don't know for sure if it did, at least it seemed so, but a simple photo can change someones life and when this happens, this is the most beautiful thing you can imagine, much better than a solo show at a prestigious art gallery.
The photos below are from the project, and this is the girl I talked about.
© copyright all images Michael Werner
