Karen

[alfredo]

[Mira]

1. Oh my. I feel like saying she is

in her mid seventies after an eventful life. Her glance tells me she isn't all that happy to be photographed but likes you, so she goes along.
She doesn't know what you'll do with the picture, either. She looks a little nervous under the trust.
What do I know? Nothing.
Tell us about her.

[alfredo]

3. She's a very shy person who has spent her life with a very

outgoing person. She is happy working around the house, working her garden, and furthering her art.

She is an excellent pro level photographer. Most likely she is more comfortable behind the lens. I know I am.

[Elfin Yeti]

2. I dunno...

I would not be happy if that were a photo of me. This lady's face is full of character but I think you can reveal that in a more flattering way. The flash is too harsh and the result makes me squirm rather than want to linger. I toyed with it a little... what do you think?

[alfredo]

4. Vanity is not one of her traits. I considered soft focus, but

that is not her. She is very real, very grounded and might take offense if I tried to show her as she is not.

The flash was one reason I went sepia. It softened the glare (but not totally), but didn't soften the mixed messages she is sending.

[handmade34]

5. I think alfredo has it

the character comes through in his picture

[alfredo]

6. Thanks. She's a woman in her natural state. That's why

I love her so much.

[NV Whino]

7. It's an uncomfortable portrait

... for the viewer. But that's what makes it good.

Dorothea Lange would not have used soft focus.

[alfredo]

8. Any reaction is good. BTW, Lange is one of my heroes.

In rejecting the pretty, I hope to find the beautiful.

[hippywife]

9. And that is

a notable and noble quest, 'fredo. Your portraits have been very soul-filled and soulful. This last one is of a beautiful woman, even if not in the worldly definition of the word or concept.

:hug:

[alfredo]

10. Growing old is not a disease. I see no attempt in hiding the fact that

she is getting old. That makes her even more beautiful.

[Elfin Yeti]

14. I stand corrected!

It wasn't the age that bothered me, just the harshness of the light. Knowing the subject is the secret and you've obviously hit the mark.

[alfredo]

17. But one shouldn't need to know the subject to understand what the

Photo is saying.

[handmade34]

11. a nice one by Lange

http://johnedwinmason.typepad.com/.a/6a0112791cb10528a401310fa40ff5970c-500wi

[hippywife]

12. That is beautiful.

Even in such dire straits as they found themselves, they are genuinely smiling and not just for the camera.

[alfredo]

13. It was people like Lange that truthfully told the story of America.

[HarveyDarkey]

15. Everyone you've photographed makes me wish I knew them

I've never tried portraits, maybe I should.

[alfredo]

16. I'm new to them too. I worry about invading a person's privacy.

I am making myself do it.

[handmade34]

18. my worry also

I have started by asking people if I can get a shot of their dog, cat, etc... It is becoming easier to approach them and ask. I still am shy about some. I wanted to get a shot of a group of day laborers at a street corner the other day and I was very uncomfortable about asking. I am just trying my hand at portraits/people


Mr. Patel, the innkeeper at Cuero




Lunch on the deck (my son)




on my desktop

[alfredo]

19. Mr Patel looks like a very powerful man. On and what is

a naked man doing on your desktop?

I like the way you caught your son. Very at ease.

[handmade34]

20. I dream of creating powerful portraits...

yours and others that are good provide a story of the person, but often a desire to know more.

--Mr Patel owned the small hotel I stayed at in Cuero, TX. He was a very slight man, soft spoken, with a very heavy Indian accent. I chatted with him often and he always gave good satsang about happiness and healthy living. He had been a chemical engineer a decade ago and seemed very pleased to be running the hotel now (mostly oil workers, Haliburton people and truckdrivers stayed there). I wanted to keep his arms in the picture as I thought they told quite a bit about him. Very solid, sweet man.

--My son is a certified character, a runner and cyclist, very intelligent and a true artist. He is presently living in the Green Mountains leading a group of young adults working on the Long Trail.

--Oh, I happen to like naked men, and the one on my desktop tolerates my craziness!

[alfredo]

21. Leaving the arms in the image was a good decision. Look

at some of portraits by the masters. They use the arms and hands to tell something about the subject. The hand in coat pose by Napoleon was a common way to show strength.

A woman with folded hands is a sign of virtue. There's other's but I don't remember anymore.