South America - All the Children of the World

      You know the song, "Jesus loves the little children, All the Children of the World . . ." That is the inspiration for my new series of Flickr photos (from other photographers) called "All the Children of the World." The idea is to collect a photo of one child representing each country in a particular region. Obviously, there are many sub-cultures in every country and the photo I pick may or may not accurately represent the features of the majority of children from that country. It should be interesting to see just how diverse our world is; yet, the Love of Christ goes out to all the world!
      This first series of photos features kids from South America!

Argentina:

Argentina Boy, originally uploaded by Phil @ Delfryn Design.

Bolivia:

Bolivian kid smiling, originally uploaded by mmac72.

Brazil:

Brasília e Seus Contrastes, originally uploaded by Levistrauss.

Chile:

ALI-MONADO, originally uploaded by naranjetin.

Columbia:

Colombian school boy, originally uploaded by natejames325.

Ecuador:

Boy with Parrot, Ecuador, originally uploaded by anst89.

French Guiana:

3 | Timide | Shy, originally uploaded by Erick Loitière.

Guyana:

Just a boy. Guyana, originally uploaded by IRINA SURGUND.

Peru:

Peruvian girl child.. (On Explore; 2 / 07 / 2009 ), originally uploaded by nature photographer..

Paraguay:

Brilliant smile!, originally uploaded by yryvu_py.

Suriname:

THE EYES OF AIDA, originally uploaded by h.nijssen5 IN SURINAME NOW.

Uruguay:

Tomás, originally uploaded by Remco Douma.

Venezuela:

A boy in Choroní, Venezuela, originally uploaded by Peter Buitelaar.

I hope you enjoyed this visit to South America!

All photos copyright (C) to their respective owners; used by consent.

Flickr Friday - Top Children's Portraits

     There are many photo-sharing websites and each one has its particular benefits and shortcomings. I've been using Flickr and really enjoy it. The great thing about Flickr is the Photographic community and the interaction between photographers. It is very easy to mark other's photos as favorites or add them to personal galleries. You can also add your photos to similar interest photo groups. The only problem with Flickr is that any one can upload photos of any quality. That is why I like to browse high-quality photo groups like "Top 20 Children's Portraits."

     Top 20 Children's Portraits is a sort of Child Portraiture competition that is open to everyone. This group is unique in that there can only be 20 photos in the group at one time. The point to this group is that when you add your own photo you delete one other photo from the group (the portrait of the lowest quality). The newer photos are at the top of the list and the older photos are at the bottom. Therefore, only the photos that everyone agrees are the best make it to the bottom (winning) position. The winning photos can then be placed in the discussion thread for the winning photos of that month. It is so much fun to browse the winning photos to get ideas and inspiration for future photo shoots!

Here are a few of my favorite winners!


     Note that although Flickr has a content filter, strong discretion is advised. By no means to I endorse all the content on Flickr or any of its groups.

peek-a- boo, originally uploaded by sarah in pisces water.

Portrait 1, originally uploaded by Melgo2K.

point, originally uploaded by Sinong Tatay Mo?.

.. through the eyes of a child .. #EXPLORE, originally uploaded by bravekn1ght.

Who Needs A Smile......, originally uploaded by espressoDOM.

Noor Eats Paper.., originally uploaded by Ronald de Bie2009.

my wish for you, originally uploaded by Sinong Tatay Mo?.

, originally uploaded by Drea001.

All photos copyright to their respective owners.

Flickr Friday - Black and White

      I love good Black and White photos but there is so much more to a truly great B/W portrait than just hitting the "Desaturate" button! Beyond the obvious subject matter, orientation, and general composition, a good B/W has great contrasts, range, and lighting along with a host of other complexities.

     Here are a few of my favorite Black and White from other artists on Flickr; each one exemplifying excellent artistic quality.

Pout. - Day 7, originally uploaded by Eileen Bruce.

An Ancient Mariner, originally uploaded by Franco Ferri Mala.

by RuthieMae Photography

Freckle boy, originally uploaded by gunnisal.

Schoolgirl, originally uploaded by gunnisal.

Will You Play Ball with Me?, originally uploaded by dphock.

      All photos Copyright to their respective owners.  All rights reserved.  Used by Permission.

     Please note that I do not necessarily endorse these photographers or their other photos.  I have found these portraits alone to be of highest quality and so have posted them here.