I spent a long time living in Peru, more than five years on and off, with the majority of the time spent in Lima. Lima is a city of huge contrasts, and nowhere is that more evident than in San Martín de Porres. San Martín de Porres is a district in Lima, Peru, located in the north area of the city. Known for its rough edges, and high incidences of crime, most of my Peruvian friends stay well away from this district.

I visited a poor shanty town area of San Martín de Porres while volunteering for a French NGO, who support local initiatives to improve living conditions and education for the children in the area. It was here that I met the bright-eyed children in the following photo, kids from the poor community who brought so much energy and curiosity to the moment.

Peruvian Portraits, Children from the San Martin de Porres District of Lima

This shot, taken on my first DSLR camera, a Canon EOS 500D with a fisheye lens, the set-up and up-close take captured the charm and personality of the kids perfectly. The subtle distortion from the fisheye pulls the viewer in, adding a playful, almost immersive quality to the composition. I can’t recall the exact lens, I think it was some cheap brand from China, but I love the use of a fish-eye lens on a three quarter sensor. It works so well here in balancing the intimacy of the children with the unique perspective. Unfortunately both that camera and lens were stolen a year or so later whilst in Peru, but that’s another story…

San Martín de Porres like many districts in Lima, isn’t an easy place to photograph—it’s raw, unpolished, and often unpredictable place. But that’s what makes these off-the-beaten-track places so compelling. Black-and-white photography strips away the distractions and tells the real story. It’s all about the light, the shadows, and the textures. As Ansel Adams put it, "You don’t take a photograph, you make it." With a simple Lightroom edit, I aimed to preserve the authenticity of this moment while emphasising the curiosity of the children and the spirit of the local community they belong to.

This image is part of my Peruvian Portraits series, a collection that captures the spirit of Lima through a monochrome lens. If the resilience and beauty of these moments speak to you, consider exploring more on my website and Flickr account, and supporting my work by purchasing a print.

Black-and-white photography has always held a timeless appeal, as Ted Grant once said, “When you photograph people in colour, you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph people in black and white, you photograph their souls.” I’ve always like that quote, and it’s true, a black and white conversion of an image can bring so much more emotion and drama to the image. Here is a previous blog I wrote about black and white travel photography. I also wrote this travel blog, a collection of black and white portraits taken in West Africa, take a look here. More recently I captured some very nice black and white portraits at the yearly Pushkar Camel Fair in Rajasthan, India. The following blog highlights some of my favourite images from that trip: Pushkar Camel Fair: A Black and White Portrait Journey.