Photographing Beauty

Millions of photographs have been taken of women, many to exploit her beauty, some to show her needs, few to show her strength and dignity. The outward beauty of a woman is alluring and often draws the flashes of cameras wherever she appears. Cameras follow celebrities in hopes of capturing a momentary glimpse of this beauty. Once the beauty is captured, it quickly appears on the covers of magazines or flashes across the television screen. Photography is quick to celebrate the outward beauty of a woman and show her face at her most glamorous moment. Often the celebrity will know that the camera will be waiting on her, and she prepares herself to accentuate her most flattering features. There is beauty in these photographs, but what happens when there is no anticipation of a camera to inspire this preparation?

In developing countries beauty often appears without warning, without preparation, without an audience in mind, and without a camera to capture it. When a young woman gets up at sunrise to walk five miles to gather water for her family and pauses to smile and chat with friends at the water hole, her beauty appears. When a mother waits in line all day to have a doctor diagnose her sick child, her beauty appears. When a woman’s husband is slaughtered in a tribal war, and she walks for miles with her baby on her back to find refuge, her beauty appears. When she pauses to rest under the shade of a tree and turns to kiss her baby on the nose, her beauty appears. When a young girl tries on her bright yellow dress that she and her mom spent all day sewing, and her eyes glance at her father for approval, her beauty appears. When a woman labors all day in a field under the scorching African son with her son on her back, her beauty appears.