Five years ago, together with my friend Tomek, I had a chance to be guided by local hooligans through Mumbai slums. The boys showed us a hidden side of this city. The lesson I took this day was that people are everywhere the same, only circumstances are different. And the smile of the girl below stays in my mind forever.

Nikon D5000 with 55-200mm | Exposure f/5.6 @ 1/60sec | ISO 800 | Focal Length 135mm
Mumbai Slum Smile, by Ryszard Wierzbicki

Award Winner: Photo of the Day | July 29
Award Score: 65 (Value 12, Clarity 12, Composition 18, Style 12, Skill 11)
Photo of the Day Award Category: Portraiture Photography
Photograph Location: Mumbai, Maharashtra | India

Photographer: Ryszard Wierzbicki (Swindon, United Kingdom) Registered
Ryszard Wierzbicki was born in 1963. Graduated with a Master degree of Social Sciences in Children Care Education from University of Gdańsk in 1992 in Poland. He worked in an orphanage and four other companies, going through positions of Educator, Marketing Specialist and Sales & Marketing Manager in various branches (child care, dentistry, orthodontics and IT). Apart of his regular jobs he continued developing his Scuba Diving qualification resulted of an instructor level in PADI. Emigrated to UK in 2006, from where he started his real traveling & photography experience and exploration of South-East Asia. Volunteering occasionally with Stu and the Kids charity organization of Thai and Burmese Orphans (stuandthekids.org). Established 2 forums for active travelers and photographers named Instant Travelling (instanttravelling.ning.com) and World Around (worldaround.pl) in 2010. Changed an ironed suit and laptop for cargo trousers, hoodie jacket, knapsack and started to manage freely the passion of photography, traveling and scuba diving.

Website: http://instanttravelling.ning.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ryszard.wierzbicki
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ryszard1963