All rights to this photograph is reserved the photographer

This image was taken while I was working on assignment with a charity called the International Aid Trust. I was working documenting the orphanages, holiday camps and drop in centres for homeless children they support in Ukraine. This particular image was shot whilst visiting the homes of children that had been taken away from their parents, because they were unable to support them for various reasons. But once they were in a position to provide them with a stable home the children had been returned.

When we arrived at this particular home the boy in the photograph, who must have been 14-15 years old, was in charge of his three younger brothers and their assortment of dogs and chickens while their mother was at work. Making sure that everyone plays their part in doing their chores, collecting eggs, grinding corn to make flour etc… The part of southern Ukraine that they live, is probably one of the poorest in the country, where the only real work is working in the fields of the vineyards where, if you do the work of two people, you could make about $7 a day. And living in an area abundant in cheap strong wine alcoholism and problems stemming from that, is one of the main reasons that children in the area are taken into care.

Why did I choose to shoot with a Leica ?

I suppose what first attracted me to the idea of using a Lecia range finder was the reputation created by such a quality of engineering that the camera seems to last forever. Being told by photographers I was assisting for when they found out I was thinking of purchasing one, that they had bought these 30 years ago and were still going strong!

Also the plethora of world renowned photographers like Garry Winogrand, William Eggleston, Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson and many many more all prove that the Leica camera is a real work horse that excels in what ever type of photography you use it in.

After un-teaching myself the ways of using an SLR and really getting to grips with using my Lecia, I can’t really see why I’d ever go back to using an SLR. The simplicity of the fully manual camera gives you back so much control over the images you are creating, and the speed and ease of focusing combined with the quality of a fixed lens, I feel gives you a far superior outcome than other types of 35mm cameras.

Visit Mattews personal website: www.mjt-photography.com
or his Flickr photostream

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