Leslie Alsheimer

Leslie Alsheimer is a photographer of world renown. She is most well known for her works relating to poverty and the human condition. She has been published in many magazines and was recently awarded at FotoWeek DC 2009 with the Professional Journalism Award of Distinction.

She has exhibited in the Corcoran Gallery of Art and has had work published in National Geographic, Black and White Magazine (which is where I came across her work) and many more.

Her work is a celebration of people and the richness of their lives, no matter how materially rich or poor, which is shot in their natural surroundings, showing their real lives. She works hard to capture the human spirit in her work which shines thorough diversity and hardship, showing the real character of the subjects that she photographs.

The simplicity of this image really works.

Ordinarily you would expect photographs of hot air balloons to be taken in colour. Yet again this image works specifically because it is in black and white. The shapes are highly contrasted against each other and are very clearly distinguished.

Leslie took this picture of a 36 year old widow with four children, Nakanyike Agenina, when she stayed with her for a while in her village in the Rakai district in Uganda, known as the "Pearl of Africa". Her husband died of Malaria after contracting HIV/AIDS.

The sheer level of work that Agenina got through in a day and the little amount of money that she had to live off,  inspired Leslie to take a series of photos about her and her family.

This image is striking in its darkness. I love the way that the small amount of light from the candle gives just enough light to enable you to see the subject. You are immediately focused on the candle and then the rest of the picture starts to come into being.

A cluttered image, this works. The lightness of the centre compared to the darkened edges draws your eye to the centre of the image. 

Your eye is drawn to the eye within the image. However, once you focus on the image in the foreground you then are drawn towards the face in the background, which is also looking back at you.

This picture is taken from the 'Sport' portfolio. Yet again it is taken in Africa and the surroundings are minimalistic. You are instantly drawn into the picture by the rope of the boxing ring. The boxer in the background almost goes un-noticed, as he is in the shadow of the light streaming through the windows.