About Randy Mont-Reynaud

Click on photo for larger image.

Mont-Reynaud became more interested in photography when her son won a Weekly Photo Contest Youth Award, several years ago.

"I'm always interested in what my kids are doing," she said. "Even though I've been taking photographs for a really long time, ever since the kids were little."

Last year Mont-Reynaud visited rural Haiti, where she took this picture with a point-and-shoot camera that cost less than $200.

"The girl in the photo is nine years old; she's the granddaughter of Minnik," said Mont-Reynaud.

"They're a very well-to-do peasant family, and the little girl and her brother like to make toys out of Coca-Cola bottle caps . . . Here you are, at 1,000-foot elevation, there's no water but there's Coca-Cola because it's cheaper than water."

Mentioning the colors of the picture, Mont-Reynaud said "that's the Caribbean blue that you see all over Haiti, to the extent that they have paint."

"It symbolizes the future of Haiti: here today gone tomorrow. The people of Haiti are hanging on by tooth and claw."

A country that once led world production of baseballs, Haiti is the "most amazing place," she said.

"There's no electricity, there's no water, there's no food."

-- Daniel Velton