In 2015, Dutch photographer Robin de Puy started a three-month road trip. She travelled across America and drove 10 000 km. Her Harley-Davidson took her to Ely, Nevada, where she met Randy, a young boy. Deeply moved by this encounter, she came back to the town several times, from 2016 to 2017, to get to know this child and his expressive eyes. “The first time I photographed Randy and asked him to look straight into the lens”, Robin writes, “I forgot to mention that he was allowed to blink. He stared into the lens until the tears were rolling down his cheeks: he didn’t blink once”. And it is this touching faith, this complicity between a photographer and her model, which transcends the series. With modesty, the boy reveals his personality, page after page of Randy, the beautiful book published by Hannibal editions. A sensitive portrait, centred around the strength of one gaze, into which one reads simultaneously innocence, doubt, defiance and abandonment. This article can be found in our latest issue.
© Robin de Puy
This article is an excerpt from Fisheye #30, available on newsstands or here.