Artist Derrick Higgin's image of an AIDS orphan was intriguing because it differs from the usual depictions of African children solely as objects of pity and despair. I showed the image to a number of journalism students for their reaction without giving them any background. 
“Who is this?” I asked them. Many said it was an African though they could not clearly say why. Some said the image was ambiguous, at points confusing. Is this a boy or girl? There are contradictions here: The soft focus background with bright color palette, the pose is self assured, confident, even jaunty, but the tattered clothes suggest poverty and abandonment. The face seems serene or wise beyond the years of the subject. And what’s up with that raincoat with a plastic bottle stuck in the pocket? 
The image was created from a photo taken by Rachel Robinson, who was a volunteer with the organization Ministry of Hope. Her image is included below. Both the photo and the rendering raise a question that often confounds visitors from more developed countries: How do the orphans of Malawi simultaneously wear a mantle of deprivation and dignity?

Rachel Robinson's photo

We'll Leave the lights on for you

About the only time we ever go out at night to “see the lights” is during Christmas. “We’ll leave the lights on for you” is a series of night photographs of Columbia, South Carolina where artificial light is the compound subject of the photograph.

These images invite the viewer to look at the city in a different light, to see a cityscape we may frequently pass through but never fully appreciate. There are no people or sense of movement in these photos, but they are not lifeless. The lights have been left on and life is on hold, suspended, at least until the sun comes up.

Pillar Of The Night -
Darker than the night sky, the Wilbur Smith building, corner of Gervais and Sumter, appears as a sleek, imposing obelisk. It rises up out of a concrete mote guarded by a ring of laser-like lights.

Light In The Darkness
Shot from the same location on the same night as the previous photo, the steeple of First Presbyterian Church warms the damp sky like a comforting night light whose bulb never seems to burn out.