Belgian photographer shows how American children struggle with their fears

A photographer from Belgium, who temporarily lives in Amsterdam, never held arms and had no problems with the law. The idea of ​​creating the project “My First Rifle” by Ann-Sophie Kestelane came in May 2018, when she heard about the story of a Kentucky boy. He accidentally shot his younger sister with a rifle. His father gave him a gun as a birthday present.

Anne-Sophie Kestelane decided to see firsthand the dependence of American children on weapons. For almost 3 weeks she traveled to 6 US states. She managed to photograph the children with their rifles. Only 15 families participated in the project. Most parents who learned about the purpose of the photographer’s visit immediately stopped communicating with her.

Anne-Sophie Kestelane's My First Rifle Project is a selection of portraits of American children with their own rifles.

Near each photograph there is a piece of paper where the children wrote who they were and why they were afraid. They are sure that all their fears will help them defeat their weapons.

“Parents of photographed children take safety issues very seriously. They believe that if every good person had their own rifle or pistol, they could feel safe, ”says the author.