The Romanian Way (13)
05.07.2007 - www.maartendors.nl
This photo was taken on July 5, 2007.
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Comments and faves
jjlk35, tanalahy, hvala23, ello lovelyy, and 73 other people added this photo to their favorites.
John H. Skaggs: Walking Tree Photography [deleted] (64 months ago | reply)
That's about the age I started smoking ... wish I never had
RO-BOT [deleted] (64 months ago | reply)
So Flippin Awesome
TheTravelinMan (64 months ago | reply)
Light em if you got em...
javierdelarosa1988 (63 months ago | reply)
Hola, soy el administrador de un grupo llamado Proyectos Kid y nos encantaría agregar tu foto al grupo.
omalingue (62 months ago | reply)
It's quite a strong image. I don't think it's promoting cigarette, on the contrary.
I read a lot of the comments in the discussion and argument about it, and thought one particular person was being quite arrogant about it, actually whining about people who try to discuss strange actions taken buy yahoo. I guess they want to make sure it doesn't show at the front page of the site, but I agree with many people : they should have first warned you and ask you to remove the public setting.
It's actually good publicity for you, and I'm glad you have a copy of that striking image.
oldboy08 (61 months ago | reply)
Ya same here John Skaggs
WUNDERFOOL (60 months ago | reply)
Ben 3 jaar cleam maar nu heb ik zin in een peuk!
hvala23 (60 months ago | reply)
This is a great photo, and I don't believe it promotes smoking. Kids all over the world smoke. It is interesting that you got a picture of one. In Russia, boys this age smoke and drink beer. If I took a picture of them doing such; I would not be promoting smoking, or drinking.
Andrea Boulala [deleted] (60 months ago | reply)
I love how people look when they are smoking, but I dont even smoke myself... it's something weird.
But your picture is great, and i agree with hvala23, i dont believe it promotes smoking at all.
mikebaird (59 months ago | reply)
I found this photo from a related news article about your troubles w/ Yahoo Flickr and having this photo removed due to TOS.
patoadam (59 months ago | reply)
Great photo. I looked for it after reading the news article mikebaird mentions above.
afu007 (59 months ago | reply)
great story
rchrdcnnnghm (59 months ago | reply)
I saw the article where this picture is written about. Great Picture.
Judithart (59 months ago | reply)
Also in Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA, they know your name by now. One thing I don't understand, why deleting your picture of a smoking kid? Type 'Smoking kid" in the search and you have 6.000 pictures of smoking kids on Flickr.
mariusparaschiv_12 (59 months ago | reply)
This photo represents just another form of propaganda against the new states in the EU (Romania and Bulgaria). There may be many reasons for this: one could be that all the older members just want us to be a market in which they can sell goods, but not an active participant in the EU economy. Nobody wants to give his part of the cake to a new comer now do they? The second reason mite be the level of nationalism and maybe xenophobia that we can find in countries we consider evolved today (aka Italy)... It is so sad that after all we have suffered from 2 world wars and a dictatorial regime that lasted about 50 years, we still haven't learned anything. The third reason would be simple media mockery. It is "fun" to mock a country that is not as economically advanced as the one you live in... There can be many reasons, but the idea that this kind of news propagates about Romania is not only fake, but it is an insult to 22 mil people.
If you think this is how Romanian people live, come to Romania, stay here for 5-6 years, then talk... I'm 20 now, and i understand that my country still has a lot to learn, but to say that Romania's children live in poverty and start smoking, and begging and stuff like this is a clear form of denigration. In every society there are poor people and there are rich people and there are middle class people. Same here, and the percentage of poor people is not way higher than in many so called "evolved" countries... I've traveled to the US, France, Italy, Germany and the UK, and frankly I like my country more....so spare me with your pathetic photos taken who knows where, claiming to tell "the truth" about Romania....
Maarten Dors (59 months ago | reply)
@marius: Here we go again ..... I've travelled trough Romania many, many times and I love that country. If it was possible for me (and your winters weren't that cold) I would love to stay there forever!
Your statement that there is as much poverty in Romania as in other European country just isn't true, but ofcourse I don't know in wich part of Romania you are, must be the happy, rich part.
What I photographed is very normal for that part of Romania and I see it every time I am there. Ofcourse there are some brand new BMW's, shiny mobile phones and Bjorn Borg clothing, but why would I want to photograph that?
My Romania photos are not manipulated, so it has to be the truth.
eazy (59 months ago | reply)
@marius: Somebody (Maarten) takes a great picture of a smoking street kid, and that's a conspiracy against Romania? You have to be kidding, that's blatant paranoia.
@Maarten: Vanwaar deze hernieuwde aandacht? Ik zie het overal verschijnen. (TC/tub, DAG, NRC...etc)
nickel.media (59 months ago | reply)
This article is also printed on the front page of CNN.com
Hopefully you get even more views and more discussion. What a great avenue for exposure to your work!
Well deserved.
Maarten Dors (59 months ago | reply)
@eazy: De hernieuwde aandacht komt omdat Associated Press het verhaal heeft opgepikt en er een artikel over geschreven heeft. De DAG heb ik helaas nog niet gezien. Ben zelf wel erg blij met de twee pagina's in NRC Next.
eazy (59 months ago | reply)
Boekarest, Roemenië Yahoo haalde deze foto van een straatjongetje direct van de fotosite Flickr, omdat het roken zou stimuleren.
smackgirl79 (59 months ago | reply)
I just read a full page article in my hometown newspaper, in Nacogdoches, Texas about the picture and I wanted to check it out. I understand why it had gotten deleted, but I also understand why it was taken in the first place.
claudiuvpopa (59 months ago | reply)
Maartens, I pretty much agree with your point, there is poverty anywhere so you could snapshot it. But it seems that you were out of inspiration titling it "The Romanian Way". I agree with the smoking at young ages, but I totally disagree with you in using this problem (worldwide, btw) to a region or a local matter.
It's like shooting paparazzi style! It's no honor to a paparazzi!
mariusparaschiv_12 (59 months ago | reply)
@ mikelens - this has nothing to do with smoking...
@ Maarten Dors : "I don't know in wich part of Romania you are, must be the happy, rich part." - There is no happy rich part. We don't put poor people in ghettos like i saw in the US....
"What I photographed is very normal for that part of Romania and I see it every time I am there. Ofcourse there are some brand new BMW's, shiny mobile phones and Bjorn Borg clothing, but why would I want to photograph that?" - I'm not saying "go to the best looking part and take pictures" but showing a kid smoking, and saying it's the "Romanian way" is pretty simplistic. Most people will think that this is all that Romania stands for...
ssmith619 (59 months ago | reply)
@Marius:
Daca nu poti sa acceptezi faptul ca in tara noastra sunt mai multi tanari care ca asta fumeaza decat in alte tari din Europe (si din toata lume), asta-i problema ta. Dar te rog frumos, don't make us all sound like defensive assholes who can't see the faults of our own country.
But also, to you, Maarten, I was only in Romania for about a year, and granted I didn't stay for long in the shitty parts (villages, Rahova, etc.), but I only once saw someone who was clearly under the age of 16 smoking...it's not exactly "the Romanian way."
ssmith619 (59 months ago | reply)
"We don't put poor people in ghettos like i saw in the US.... "
Da, ca-n tara noastra nu exista tabare de tigani...
Yolande... (59 months ago | reply)
Heel mooi oogcontact.
eazy (59 months ago | reply)
The photo is nr 13 in a photoset called The Romanian Way, which shows an array of pictures from life in Romania.
Maarten Dors (59 months ago | reply)
@marius: I believe that people are smart enough NOT to think that every kid smokes in Romania just because I posted one photo of a Romanian child smoking. I am very sorry to hear that you think people are really that dumb!
Liana_16 (59 months ago | reply)
You're such an ignorant person just like every other racist West European! I am Romanian and you offend me! Romania isn't just about smoking and poverty! Romania is all about the culture, society! Yeah, poverty exists, but only in remote areas!My country is not a 3rd world country! My country is as good as any other in Europe!
So yeah, don't you dare say that this is the Romanian way, when you're ignorant, racist and have no idea of how Romania is truly like! I was born and raised there for 13 years and Romania is my favourite place. I only left because my parents got accepted in universities in California, otherwise, I would have still lived there in my favourite place of all, Bucharest(aka the capital).
Maarten Dors (59 months ago | reply)
Last time for me to react on Romanian people calling me ignoarant, so if you are planning to call me that ... please read this comment first!
Before you call me ignorant (or worse) please make sure you've seen all 28 photos in my serie The Romania Way and please tell me if I really only show the sad side of Romania. I honestly believe that there are some beautiful photos in this serie wich show the most beautiful things (people, sunlight, waterfun etc) of Romania. And once again I apologize for not shooting any BMW's, new huge shiny buildings and young people walking around like there some superstar!
concreationist (59 months ago | reply)
Congratulations on making the first page of Slashdot! Your view count will surely go through the roof...
Sorry to hear Flickr pulled your image. Companies should respect artists' right to express ourselves.
Maarten Dors (59 months ago | reply)
@concreationist: Woeha, Slashdot! Now I'm officially 'news for nerds' :)
laurentziu (59 months ago | reply)
Hello, Maarten
I found out about this photo from the local press
I'm from Romania too, but I think that's too much noise for nothing.
It's not about the photo, that in my opinion is excellent
It's about the title "the Romanian way"
You should put yourself my place to understand why some people react like that
If you visited Romania, maybe you noticed that most of Romanian are nice decent people, well educated, with respect for the law and for the other people. And that's the way I'd describe myself.
I traveled a lot abroad and not only once I've been treated not so well, just because I was a romanian. And that hurts.
So please understand us and just think twice before putting the label romanian on a photo with such a message.
Thank you and best regards
Maarten Dors (59 months ago | reply)
@laurentziu:
Thank you for your comment. I totally understand you.
I've travelled to Romania for every year since 2000 and I totally love the country. It is so widely with nice town, very kind people. Love the language and music. But what I photographed is what I saw and see every year, can't blame me for photographing it.
The title fits the serie perfectly and I wouldn't change it. For example: if you would come to the Netherlands and shot a 28 photo serie about what you saw in Amsterdam and there were photos in that serie of people smoking weed, visiting a whore and other ' typical Dutch' things and you would call it ' The Dutch Way', I wouldn't be bothered at all. I know it's there, but I know people are smart enough to know that there is more to do in the Netherlands then weed and whores.
imarsman (59 months ago | reply)
Things have changed in Canada too, but in living memory my Dutch immigrant parents' generation were allowed by their parents to smoke - but only if they bought the cigarettes themselves. Would this have been deleted when Flickr was in Vancouver? Perhaps if it grew big on its own and felt the need to protect us.
Mulling it Over (59 months ago | reply)
Romania doesn't have the market cornered on kids smoking. I was lighting up when I was this kid's age, in the good ol' American midwest. Yee haw.
Dude, flickr is lame for deleting this picture btw. Stupid cogs.
steveparkinson (59 months ago | reply)
This picture reminds me of River Phoenix in Stand By Me.
This pic, in fact:
jb68321 (59 months ago | reply)
I saw a kid this young smoking on a train platform in Luzern, Switzerland a few weeks ago. Of course it's not just poverty that leads to smoking... it's the nearby culture that does!
Bravo for the picture--brings up a valid problem in many societies.
trimbulindu (59 months ago | reply)
yo maarten! dude, chill! its a great photo describing real reality and u should be proud of it. i got a nice feeling when you said you admire romania. thats good! i admire holland too. especially for your football team. as for the dumbheads criticizing you, including romanians: this is not about how or what we are, this is about respecting the other for what he thinks. offtopic: the kid looks like robben in his childhood, dont you think?
DG B (59 months ago | reply)
Hi Marteen!
I'm romanian! You must understand us! About Romania all this years appeared only negative news!
Ok! A kid smoke! Is bad, of course, but you can find such situation all over the world! It's not "romanian way"! I think the problem is on the title!
That' all!
Moosehp (59 months ago | reply)
I seen the whole album, I consider it a great set of photos.
Lots of the comments here remind me of the 3 blind men and the elephant story, as everyone is saying how this photos may or may not reflect what they seen about Romania.
Photos capture only a tiny faction of reality, they are allways partial, but they fulfill their job to replect not only an image, but a feeling reflected in them.
@Maarten Dors: Congratulations, this is indeed an awesome set of photos.
idjordash47 (59 months ago | reply)
I have seen the entire album and all it says relates to poverty. For another face of Bucharest see picasaweb.google.hu/g.paripa/Bukarest_2008jNi us?authkey=1...
Cliodne (59 months ago | reply)
I'm so sick and tired of all you people coming here to romania with you "civilised" way of thinking. All you do is take pictures of gypsies or some anomalies and say "Look at these poor people, they have nothing to eat, they are savage and they live on the streets". Don;t tell me that in other countries there aren't poor citizens, homeless people or children that smoke! If you claimed something like that, meant that you are nothing but a hypocrite
ionutz_stoicaa (59 months ago | reply)
Good PICTURE, bad TITLE.
meellus24 (59 months ago | reply)
Hi Marteen!
Unfortunately Romania is poorer country than most of other european countrys....one of the reason is that we didn' conquer or been pirates like GB Holland France or other countries.
songbits (59 months ago | reply)
Very powerful, very beautiful. I was always surprised by the amount of smoking that goes on in Europe.
ttohono (59 months ago | reply)
Powerful? Yeah right. Just another dipshit with a cigarette in his mouth.
Escapista (59 months ago | reply)
btw, love the way flickr is treating it...
schoschie (59 months ago | reply)
It's a good photo, smoking or not.
The Romanians commenting here, although I understand them, are not exactly underlining what they are saying about Romania (which I'm sure is true) by reacting as piqued as they do.
maddy_ro_00 (59 months ago | reply)
mariusparaschiv_12: please man take a chill pill. i am Romanian too and i`m not offended by a smoking kid. if you are worried about Romania`s image abroad then instead of posting 100 comments on flikr and annoying people, just be civilized when you travel abroad so you can prove to people not all Romanians are gypsies and thieves. there you go, problem solved.