Prize-winning works in the “Photo and Essay Division” for high school students of the 31st Yomiuri Photo Grand Prix

afro rainbow / Mana Julia Neuhauss （UK）

Message from the photographer

Since I have my SLR camera, I carry it around wherever I go. Wherever I go, Nikita was with me. At school he rarely concentrated on his work, and people might have thought that he is just lazy. However, I got to see sides of him that you would possibly not imagine; when he is doing something that he loves doing ,e.g. playing music, he does not look around or talk at all- he is a completely different person. He is one of those people who comment on silly things in class and can naturally make everything laugh without trying hard. He is the perfect example for someone who chooses to enjoy life by doing what he truly love. His bright clothes have made the photographs more colourful than ones of other people. Yet, most importantly, I hope that through those photographs you can see that he as a person is even more colourful than all his clothes put together.

About the subject

When Nikita came to my school 2 years ago, he was quickly known for his big “aflo” hair and his funky clothes. At first I did not talk to him a lot, because I thought he is just an attention-seeker. However, we started to spend more time together since the beginning of 2008, and now after more than a year, I think I am one of very few people who know him this well. I am glad I had the chance to get to know him, because you are not always this lucky to actually get to know someone inside out. Through those photographs that I have taken, I wanted to show that there is so much more to him than just the “Afloman.”