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A Moment They Owned
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PrizeHonorable Mention
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PhotographerWen-Yang Liao, Taiwan
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Date of Photograph2025/02/09
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Instagram
In Ahmedabad, a group of children ran toward me, asking for a photo. They gathered in front of a garbage truck—spontaneously, joyfully. A passerby paused, puzzled why I’d photograph them there. I showed him the image; he smiled. I didn’t. I kept wondering: Had I made their world a symbol of poverty? Was I using their lives as visual context? And yet—they stood close, smiling broadly, choosing to be seen. Perhaps for the first time, they were the focus. This image holds both their joy and my guilt. It reminds me: pressing the shutter carries responsibility.