By Scott Shephard

Last Sunday I posted something from 2004 and I'm doing the same today, this time from another trip Deb and I took. Our son Brian was teaching English for a year in Japan in a program called JET and we spent a week there.

One of the schools he worked in was a pre-school and our visit is one of the more memorable travel experiences I have ever had. It was fun to watch the children as they went about their daily activities. But it was also fun to see how they interacted with Brian, whom they adored.

Their reaction to me and my camera was also interesting. In the US I think that our children are taught to to be suspicious of strangers. And strangers with cameras taking photos of children? Don't even think about it!

But almost everyone I encountered in Japan, including children, we open and comfortable with my camera. In the US, a typical reaction to the candid photographer is a frown at best. But in Japan I was regularly greeted with smiles and peace signs.

In the case of this child, there is a cautious curiosity. It is one of my favorite photos from our wonderful week in Japan.

Canon 5DII 1/320s f/4.0 ISO400 145mm

(If you want to see another photo picturing fascination and curiosity, here's an Instagram post from yesterday of a young boy looking out his window as our plane rose above Minneapolis/St. Paul.)