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People. Not my favourite photographic subject to be honest. I tend to concentrate on landscapes, and usually find myself having to make a conscious effort to take a few pictures of the locals during our travels. One reason for this is the feeling of discomfort I get pointing a camera at someone going about their daily business. Another reason is that people's behaviour changes as soon as they seen the camera; it can be tricky to get pictures of people doing as they often start posing or hiding.

During our trip to Cambodia I captured an image that I think incorporates all three of these potential states of the photographic subject—doing, posing, and hiding. We exited the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh to find the street outside lined with school children who apparently had the day off school in order to cheer the Prime Minister of Indonesia on his state visit. They had banners, portraits, flags and flowers with which they could create as much colour, movement, and noise as possible. The excitement seemed genuine and palpable. I choose a random group of children and indicated my camera in a gesture to request their permission to take a picture. Interpreting their return gestures as consent I took a few pictures, including the trick where you act like you've finished and then fire off one more as their guard is dropped. This is the result—children acting the goat, hiding, and posing in the one image, thus turning something potentially dull into an interesting and lively image.

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A day off school, Phnom Penh

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