Yeah, Russ, you're right - the colour on the face does look a bit odd, but that's the way it was in the moment. It's not make-up or painting. There was a lot of flashing light going on from other stalls at the time, the sun was very low in the late evening, the blouse probably added its bit and the overall scene was difficult anyway. It must be a combination of all those.
Let's take this as as an example of what happens in the field. I thought I had a reasonably good shot. I was using a Fuji X Pro1 which is not noted for its focussing abilities for fast action like this. I was putting it to yet another test. That's why I was in the fun-fair in the first place. Incidentally, the camera worked ok, but you have to get to know it intimately, and the good thing is it concentrates the mind.
When I came to the image in Lightroom, it never dawned on me that the face looked strange. It's the difference between being there and not being there - the yawning gap between subjectively and objectivity. These are two different worlds. Gary Winogrand knew all about that - the rush of the physical act of shooting the picture as against its merits a year later!
As an aside, I have a big problem with photographing children in the modern internet world. I particularly love to shoot kids, especially in the street, in the prime of their innocence and exploration of life - surely the purest condition of humanity. But the longer I live, the more I hesitate. When I press the button, I feel like a Catholic priest who is afraid to pick up and hug his nieces and nephews for fear of being suspected of malicious intent. And I'm a Catholic myself!
