Picture 23 in the Iran series.

I met these street hustlers while I was zigzagging the streets of Qom, looking for something interesting. Despite being less than 4’ tall, they were quiet aggressive. As you can tell from the image, the one in the middle –about to kick the camera – is the ringleader, while the two on either side of him are the followers; the boy in the back is what I would call the antagonist. He was annoyed and frustrated with his peers’ behavior, and he repeatedly asked them to stop being so abusive. After I captured this image, I turned to walk away, but all three were grabbing my bag and shirt, demanding I give them money, or the 5D. First I was angered, then saddened that these kids have to resort to such tactics to survive.

I should mention that aside from basic adjustments in the RAW converter, none of the images posted this week have been altered in Photoshop in any way.

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