~~~~ A Photographer tells ~~~~

Wild Fruits and Red Fingers

The football match in Chitimba had not yet started. The first supporters were already standing along the field when I saw her standing there: Mery Chavula. Her lips and fingertips were strikingly pinkish-red, a color you wouldn’t expect. I knew immediately where it came from. Mery had just eaten wild almond fruits.

The fruits fall in the tree’s season and the children pick them up from the ground. They peel the fruit with their mouths, after which the juice from the pulp causes the pink/red color on their lips and fingers. The pulp itself has a slightly sour taste, but the real reward is the almond inside the large pit of the fruit. The children crack open the pit and eat the nut.

When I saw Mery standing there, with her strikingly colored lips and fingers, she was calmly looking at the people along the field. She had no idea I was observing her. As I took a few photos without her noticing, she suddenly turned around and looked directly into my camera, a moment I immediately captured.

Cheers,