De Kempen #2: Two Content People

Posted by Illuci (Hurdegaryp, Netherlands) on 17 January 2008 in People & Portraits.

Shared Joy is double joy

My brother Wessel with the statue of "The content man", in Dutch "De contente mens". The statue figure is a symbol for the traditional attitude of the inhabitants of the area "De Kempen": poor (not anymore) but happy with their sobre lives. I shot this one during a break in our tandembike-tour through the area last Sunday. Contentness is a general trait of people with Down's syndrom. Wessel is a cap-freak and has a collection of at least a hundred. Of course he had to wear one for the picture, although his eyes disappear in the shadow. But what the heck!

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Comments (13)

Sujit Sudhi from Hyderabad, India

A cap freak? Have never heard of that kind of people:):) How many does he have?
Great shot. The statue is cute.

17 Jan 2008 1:18am

@Sujit Sudhi: :) I think everybody has his freakness, e.g. I am a blogfreak. Thanks for your comment (he has at least 100 caps and always wears the last one he acquired).

Steven from Montreal, Canada

Love the statue and the shpe of the tree behind it!

17 Jan 2008 2:49am

@Steven: Thanks Steven!

Michael Skorulski from Cigel, Slovakia

And down syndrome people are also so affectionate. You tell us so much here Erik. I'm happy to hear about your life. That bike tour sounds wonderful. The statue is modest but interesting. I like the tree and that interesting church behind. Lovely shot.

17 Jan 2008 3:06am

@Michael Skorulski: Thanks, Michael. Fortunately we had one day with sun (after 12) in a whole period of rain and wind. Wessel has 6 brothers and sisters who visit him according to a calender schedule more or less. He needs personal 1 to 1 attention all day so it's very difficult to give him a normal family environment in one of our houses. Our parents died a few years ago which was quite shocking for him, but he managed to overcome. He is very happy with small things, and by visiting him in his coached living group or letting him stay overnight for a couple of days he is a great contribution to the cohesion of our family.

Japanalia from Yokohama, Japan

Good choice of tonality! I like the statue and the naked branches behind.

17 Jan 2008 3:36am

@Japanalia: In the colored version the skin tones were too flat, so I turned it into B&W with blue (digital) filtering which gave more relief and shadow on the skin. I also noticed that the many different colors gave a somewhat messy impression, the B&W version is more "quiet".

eddy from Tehran, Iran

cool :)

17 Jan 2008 4:10am

Lorraine from Gatineau, Canada

wonderful photo and text, I really enjoyed it :)

17 Jan 2008 7:18am

@Lorraine: Merci beaucoup, Lorraine!

Wolfgang Prigge from Canada

I like the photo and also the background info about it and your family. Merci d'avoir partagé avec nous.

17 Jan 2008 8:28am

Porcsin from Debrecen, Hungary

What a special picture! Carry on!

17 Jan 2008 4:26pm

the lightwriter from oosterwolde, Netherlands

Hi Illuci, for the ones who want to know : 178 caps. (a few months ago i counted them). Wessel looks very content here besides this statue. I am sure you have had a great cycle tour. 26th januari it's my turn again. I hope the weather will be ok also. Great picture, btw.

17 Jan 2008 4:27pm

MadScientist from Düsseldorf, Germany

A very amicable and enjoying portrait of a friendly character. Very enjoyable!

17 Jan 2008 4:44pm

ajoeh from Mataram, Indonesia

Nice BW and I believe he has caps from any places he has visited.

18 Jan 2008 8:18pm

Rabbit from Richmond, United States

awww - a lovely portrait. A collection of caps wow - i have a collection of ribbons :) i wear them all the time.

18 Jan 2008 11:59pm

sithenah from Greater Manchester/Cheshire, United Kingdom

My Downs son absolutely hates anything on his head - he WILL wear a cap in cold weather so long as it sports Man United but as for paper hats at parties, he freaks out at the very idea.
I do love the "content man" - why can't there be more - perhaps there are but we never hear because they don't shout.

21 Jan 2008 3:52am

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