My name is Lil Steinberg, I am a Belgian/Israeli photographer shooting mostly street photography, although I can not refrain from shooting kids at the same time.
I love digging their emotions through their smiles, their tears, their expressions and words.

The one thing that fascinates me the most with children is that they have no inhibitions at all! 1 single word, 1 smile, nice eye contact and the child will immediately be your comrade!
Photographing kids today are getting more and more difficult due to paedophilia, which makes it sometimes tough as it is not always appreciated!

Talking about children brings me to define what is a child:
A child is an individual who starts life as a totally dependent being
Innocence is part of childhood, as it is a tool for dealing with the uncertainty and insecurity of life when one is rather helpless, as children are.
Children must rely on adults for the nurture and guidance they need to grow towards independence. Such nurture is ideally found from adults in children’s families, but when primary adult caregivers cannot meet children’s needs, it is up to the State as the primary bearer to find an alternative in the best interests of the child.
Thus the actions or inactions of the government impact children more strongly than any other group in society. In many countries, children are unfortunately still abused!
Despite remarkable progress in poverty reduction since 2000, children in developing countries remain exposed to many risks that compromise their development and well-being and prevent them from reaching their potential; lots of them have limited or poor access ( sometimes no access at all)to health services, adequate nutrition, positive early learning environments, quality education and other protections.
There is a lot of child mortality due to low birth weight, malnutrition overcrowded conditions, poor hygiene …..

Many of the kids I photographed during all those years are printed in my memory, as their expression or smile or huge expressive eyes touched me immensely; some of them were sick or born with a disability and knowing that those kids could have been helped in the Western world literally destroyed me. I often dreamed of adopting dozens of them during those trips, which of course is neither possible, neither legal.

All those kids have one thing in common though: no matter where they live, they manage to play like all the other kids in the world maybe not with lego or a real doll, but with a stone or a piece of wood, and they keep on smiling.

Travelling around the world and mixing with the local population opens up your mind, reminds you how lucky you are and helps you to see the glass half full!

Last but not least I will end this with a quote from Oscar Wilde, author and poet:
The best way to make children good is to make them happy.”

China, Japan, Israel, Romania, Cuba, India, Vietnam, Burma

I am a self taught photographer traveling around the world with my camera. My purpose is to express my emotions through my lens.

NEVER NEVER LAND

Second star to the right points the way
Then it’s straight on ‘till the break of day
The road begins wherever you may stand
And it leads you to never never land

And it seems just a little bit strange
There’s no logic to convince you or explain
But reason slips right through your hands
For there can’t be a never never land

And all the grownups call it fantasy
An island in the sky can never be
Only dreamers would ever raise their sails
And set a course towards a fairy tale

And we all agree
Such a land cannot be
With no liars, deceivers, or thieves
Where there’s no need for war
No saints or heroes to adore
It really is a never never land, Never land

It’s not a play on words, or an invention
It’s not a great misapprehension
For you need only to believe
Just nd the road and follow where it leads

Yes I agree with you
It sounds too good to be true
No cops, no robbers, no law
And there’s no need to run
Living under the gun
Maybe that is never never land, Never land

Second star to the right points the way
Then it’s straight on ‘till the break of day
You can’t go wrong, for now you understand
That this is your never never land

Let them tease, let them taunt
Let them say what they want
But don’t give up.
Just keep pushing through
They who’ve gone off the track
And laugh behind your back
Just might be crazier than you