Pixeldawg Loc: Suzhou, China

Previous to this year, I was a high school teacher and taught 3D animation, photography, graphic design, video production. Anything visual. The past two years of that were here in China in a community on the boarder of Shanghai called Kunshan. The school was an "international" school and was quite expensive. A boarding school and most of the kids came from millionaire families (I had one student whose father was head of Microsoft for Asia..). Anyway, the students, to help their socialization skills, were required to join an after school club that met one day a week. And you guessed it, I ran the photography club(s) for the high school and middle school students. One day the weather was beautiful, so we went out to the courtyard area and were making photos of the flowers, birds and anything else that would pose for us. There were some of the students who were giving one of the gardening ladies a difficult time, and were disrespecting her. "She's a weed picker..." one of them mocked. I scolded them sternly and sent them into the building to sit and think about their actions. I went back to the woman and apologized to her for their stupidity and pettiness, and also asked her if I could make a photo of her. She was happy to pose, and here is the image I made of her. Now, I DID NOT show her this black and white image because in China, a black and white photo is supposed to be yourself in death. So, you never, ever see any photos of people in black and white here. But, I had planned to show it to my friends in black and white, so processed it that way. The next week in club, I showed the students this photo, and they loved it. I reminded them that this image that they thought so much of was of the lady that thought so little of and reminded them of their disrespect. I made it a lesson for them and told them EVERYONE deserves our respect, particularly when they work so hard to make our lives nicer. It was fun to watch the light bulbs turn on, one by one. Weeks later, we went back to the same area and the students were asking the grounds staff to pose for photos. You'd have thought they were rock stars. It was good to see and I was proud of them for their change in attitude.

Another thing that is unusual here, teachers at "international" schools are highly respected. I have had people read my name tag and pat me on the shoulder and say thank you. Opposite of what I experienced in American schools. So, when I was hired by my university, my wife's family was wondering why I was "demoted". Hahaha! :-)

Hope you enjoy this shot and apologies for such long posts. I just think that if you understand the story, it makes the photo even better.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Nice one!

A10 Loc: Southern Indiana

Love the story. Great B&W portrait. I wish that I could see more of her and the garden.

Don W-37 Loc: Bangkok, Thailand

Wow, Mike. Another great shot; another great story. You are very professional, and I look forward to seeing your postings. Please keep it up.
Best regards,
Don

ELNikkor

I also taught in Asian International schools. One thing I noticed about the photo is how the woman's teeth are still strong and bright. Many of the villagers have much better teeth into their old age than we do. My wife says it is because their diet is mostly plant based, as meat and sweets are more expensive and they are just scraping by most of their lives. Excellent photo, and great story on how you taught these privileged kids to respect the "common" folk.

photophile Loc: Lakewood, Ohio, USA

Fine image and I appreciated the back story.

fourg1b2006 Loc: Long Island New York

That is a beautiful portrait.

Rashid Abdu Loc: Ohio

Thank you for the beautiful photo, but more so for the words of wisdom you passed on to those kids. You made a positive change in their lives.
I often wonder if it was not for those minimum wage janitors, what our hospitals, schools, hotels, and eating facilities would be like. I always greet them with respect, comment on their good work, and show them how much they are appreciated. You, yourself, felt good when a student patted you on the shoulder and said "thank you".
Thank you for sharing the story and the beautiful photo.
Rashid

dreamon

Black and white is associated with death? I bet that put a crimp in Tri-X sales! Beautiful photograph.

Cwilson341 Loc: Central Florida

Beautiful portrait. She has a wonderful face! I loved you narrative and the lesson it shares.

Pixeldawg Loc: Suzhou, China

I noticed her teeth, too. But they were bright white, which as you know in China can be unusual. Thanks for the comments, folks! Your interest and words are greatly appreciated!

GED Loc: North central Pa

Excellent story and image, thank you

RLSeipleSr Loc: North of Boston

[quote=Pixeldawg]... I just think that if you understand the story, it makes the photo even better ...\\Quote

Great portrait and I really enjoyed reading your back-story on the photo! As an aside – for some time I have been displaying some of my favorites on my wall as 8x10s in narrow 11x14 frames … I noticed that the back side of these frames are, for the most part, just a frame … I have now begun to add a “back-story” to the back of the framed print … not that anyone sees it but it makes the print special for me … !

Your back-story is wonderful and adds a great deal to the portrait … many thanks for sharing.

Bob S

UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

Another great post - photo and story!

ebbote Loc: Hockley, Texas

Very good B&W Mark, beautiful teeth.