I have taken thousands of photos in my life.
Sunsets, mountains, events, models, even corporate shots.

But the photos that stayed with me the longest
were the faces of children I met in Nepal nine years ago.

Not posed.
Not studio lights.

Just real moments when they looked up, curious, shy, or slightly puzzled why a stranger was pointing a camera at them.

It was a mountaineering trip,
not a photography trip.
I only carried a basic compact camera.
No full-frame,
No prime lens,
No external flash.

But the children I met along the mountain trails taught me something no photography course ever did …

A portrait is not about the lens, or bokeh, or megapixels.
A portrait is about presence.

I love photographing kids because they don’t pretend.
When they are curious, they stare.
When they are shy, they hide behind their sweater.
When they are unhappy, you can see it in their eyes.

Their expressions are raw.
And raw photos carry power.

Maybe that’s why I still scroll back to those pictures after so many years.

One day, I hope to return to Nepal
not just to take more photos,
but to relive those moments again.