'Moment' Rwanda, Africa.

'Moment' Rwanda, Africa.

Sitting, waiting for the others in a church in Northern Rwanda, my eyes wandered, taking in the room. To tell the truth I was tired and bored and in need of a day off. Over the other side of the room sat this young man, alone. I’m not sure what he was doing there. Waiting for his Mother maybe? I wondered, should I take a shot? If he saw me it could be really uncomfortable. I mean I was really close and I couldn’t pretend I was photographing anyone else. Anyway I thought, ‘I’ll sneak a shot in.’ So, I raised the camera and started to muck around with the shot. And then he looked up. I cringed behind the lens and just sat there, frozen. He didn’t divert his gaze. For several seconds we stared at each other me on one side of the camera, him on the other. Finally I pressed the shutter. His expression remained exactly the same. I lowered the camera and returned his stare, this time with no mechanical device between us. It sounds corny but something travelled between us. An absolute realisation that we were right there, in the same place at the same time. He didn’t dismiss me or put me down. He stood right on the same level. It was unique.