Sri Lankan Smiles

“When we are children we seldom think of the future. This innocence leaves us free to enjoy ourselves as few adults can. The day we fret about the future is the day we leave our childhood behind.”
― Patrick Rothfuss

The portraits above were of a group of curious young boys I’ve briefly met in Sri Lanka asking about the camera I had. The last few weeks have been pretty rough for me and looking back through my photos, these lads reminded me that the world only stops being magical if you allow it to.

Thoughts on “Sri Lankan Smiles”

Saturday, 30 March 2013 at 6:48 AM cindy knoke says
Indeed precious~
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Wednesday, 6 March 2013 at 11:42 AM the drunken cyclist says
Wonderful!
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Tuesday, 5 March 2013 at 3:15 AM West Mill Photography says
awh, what beautiful smiles, infectious!
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- Tuesday, 5 March 2013 at 3:55 PM mariaprecioso says
  yeah, these were pretty lucky portraits of each of them.
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Monday, 4 March 2013 at 11:48 PM Pranav Dadarwala says

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Monday, 4 March 2013 at 5:35 PM janethilton says
Heartwarming way to start my day! Thank you.
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- Tuesday, 5 March 2013 at 3:57 PM mariaprecioso says
  these smiles HAD to be shared. thanks for visiting the blog!
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Monday, 4 March 2013 at 4:46 PM scott2608 says
Wonderful!
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Monday, 4 March 2013 at 1:48 PM greenlightlady says
Sweet faces and wise words!

Blessings ~ Wendy
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- Tuesday, 5 March 2013 at 3:57 PM mariaprecioso says
  Thanks! It’s the little things that matter in life.
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Monday, 4 March 2013 at 6:14 AM Amy McPherson says
Agree!
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Monday, 4 March 2013 at 3:37 AM Animalcouriers says
Can see why those smiles could alleviate difficult times
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- Tuesday, 5 March 2013 at 3:58 PM mariaprecioso says
  They are super cute right? I know I shouldn’t play favorites but I absolutely love the chocolate smeared smile in the first photo!
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Monday, 4 March 2013 at 2:13 AM Tahira says
Simply lovely. They do put things into perspective, don’t they.
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- Tuesday, 5 March 2013 at 3:59 PM mariaprecioso says
  Children always do (this might be my ovaries speaking).
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Monday, 4 March 2013 at 2:11 AM Jude says
Lovely!
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Monday, 4 March 2013 at 1:34 AM Harold Green says
Beautiful quote. So true. Keeps everything in perspective. Thank you for capturing our future with your lens.
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- Tuesday, 5 March 2013 at 3:59 PM mariaprecioso says
  Truly lucky shots. Thanks for the positive comments.
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Sunday, 3 March 2013 at 11:52 PM Linda @ spiceboxtravels says
Love the photos and the perspective.
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- Tuesday, 5 March 2013 at 4:00 PM mariaprecioso says
  Thanks Linda. Writing this short post actually helped my mood.
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Sunday, 3 March 2013 at 11:48 PM Ewa says
I just came back from Sri Lanka two days ago. Children smile there and the beautiest smiles I saw on the north, were they are mixed with shyness and curiousity. I have also set of such photos I will put on my blog soon
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- Tuesday, 5 March 2013 at 4:01 PM mariaprecioso says
  Ooooh! Do post the photos! How do you find Sri Lanka?
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  - Wednesday, 6 March 2013 at 5:47 AM Ewa says
    I will surely let you know when I will For now I write (in polish) about Sri Lanka, but didn’t add to many photos of people. But there is one photo which I really like and which is published already: http://fotshot.wordpress.com/2013/02/15/local-shop-in-jaffna/ For more you can observe this or my polish blog: notjustthedreams.wordpress.com. But I hope I will remember to write when I will post something more with nice smiles
    And how do I find Sri Lanka? I have mixed feelings… I loved north of the country. People there are not spoiled by tourism, they are honest and natural. In more touristic places, especially Kandy, I’ve met many people who just cheat to gain something and I hated this. I know there are such people everywhere but it was just too much of them there. I’m really happy I had a chance to visit north, othwerwise I would have more negative feelings about people there. And how about you?
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    - Wednesday, 6 March 2013 at 12:16 PM mariaprecioso says
      Oh my goodness your photos are amazing!!! (people, check out Ewa’s blog) I just needed to say that.
      I actually had a bit of credit card trouble when I visited Sri Lanka. Long story but basically involved overcharging. Could’ve been easily resolved but it wasn’t. Ugh. However, life goes on. I haven’t had the chance to go up north because it was flooded the week that I was there.
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    - Wednesday, 6 March 2013 at 2:09 PM vagabondwithfamily says
      Hi, Ewa. I, too, experienced quite a few aggressive touts in Kandy, really pressuring me to follow them to their store or buy their products. It was probably the most aggressive sales approaches I’d seen outside of India, in all my traveling. Otherwise, there were some lovely folks in the places where tourism isn’t as prevalent.
      
      By the way, I knew an Ewa once from Poland, who lived in Colorado, USA, as a nanny. You’re not the same person, are you!?
      
      I’d like to share my blog’s pics of Sri Lanka, which I just posted yesterday!
      
      Best!
      
      http://vagabondwithfamily.wordpress.com/2013/03/05/a-selection-of-photos-from-sri-lanka/
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Sunday, 3 March 2013 at 10:46 PM milesloveswords says
this is great
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- Tuesday, 5 March 2013 at 4:01 PM mariaprecioso says
  Thanks!
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Sunday, 3 March 2013 at 10:35 PM John says
love the statement up top, so true!
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- Tuesday, 5 March 2013 at 4:02 PM mariaprecioso says
  Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional!
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  - Tuesday, 5 March 2013 at 11:43 PM John says
    We’ll,sometimes I don’t act 52…..
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    - Wednesday, 6 March 2013 at 11:53 AM mariaprecioso says
      yes, you act as if you are 51. how immature!
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Sunday, 3 March 2013 at 9:58 PM kenben says
Excellent
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Sunday, 3 March 2013 at 9:37 PM pleisbilongtumi says
Children are always beautiful all over the world, great pictures. Thank you for sharing
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- Tuesday, 5 March 2013 at 4:03 PM mariaprecioso says
  That’s very true! A friend always teases me that I only take photos of either children or old people– only because they’re the only ones who are always photogenic and camera ready!
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  - Wednesday, 6 March 2013 at 5:49 AM Ewa says
    So true… Old people and children always look interesting. But there are some situations when it’s really worth to take a photo of the rest. For me it’s always difficult to take a photo itself. I feel like they loose their privacy that way. I try to ask if I can take it, but then I loose the possibility to take photo of their nature, posed photos are usually not that fascinating.
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    - Wednesday, 6 March 2013 at 12:25 PM mariaprecioso says
      When I first started taking photos of people, I did it on the sly and the photos never really came out right. Probably one of the best advice I’ve read about taking portraits came from Steve McCurry (one of my idols since I was a kid). It basically says that you should take time to converse with the person even for a minute. It does sound daunting but it reminds you that we are all people with feelings– not still life. The link is below:
      
      http://erickimphotography.com/blog/2011/10/one-minute-masterclass-advice-from-steve-mccurry-dont-forget-to-say-hello/
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      - Wednesday, 6 March 2013 at 2:11 PM vagabondwithfamily says
        Indeed some good advice on people photography, MariaP! Thanks for sharing that link and your three photos in the first place! Splendid job of capturing the innocence of youth.
        
        Yesterday, I posted my own photos of Sri Lanka if you’re interested in taking a gander!
        
        Best from Taiwan!
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      - Wednesday, 6 March 2013 at 2:11 PM vagabondwithfamily says
        Oh, here is the aforementioned link!
        
        http://vagabondwithfamily.wordpress.com/2013/03/05/a-selection-of-photos-from-sri-lanka/
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Sunday, 3 March 2013 at 9:36 PM Dance Tog says
aww
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Sunday, 3 March 2013 at 9:26 PM jacquelinemhadel says
nice quote
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- Tuesday, 5 March 2013 at 4:08 PM mariaprecioso says
  Yeah, I google quotes randomnly. My phone is full of quote memes. :/
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