C o n t r a s t, a photo from Yunnan, South

Photographer's Note

Okay, this may not be as sharp as I wanted it to be but personally, I find this shot very different from my usual (and to mention a VERY favorite of mine). Must be my subjects, their emotions, the contrasts shown.

In a village in Diqing, Tibet, we stopped by for lunch. I usually do not eat too much during trips. I don't wanna use the toilet on the road (those who had been to China know why) so I rush my lunch and take the opportunity to explore the village while the rest of the tour group rest.

In a very small pathway, I walked all alone to serach for interesting subjects. Then heard giggles. Three good-lucking Tibetan kids appeared from the thick bushes obscuring the road. The rest was history...as they say.

Why contrast? Emotions, expressions, their soft faces in a harsh surrounding, their vivid and loud colors in a drab backdrop of the farm...I can go on and on. This is a treasured shot; I hope you like it.

BradP, sekl, orme, jhm, arnabchat, hispic, nwoehnl, sunny, ChrisJ, eleparc, Rinie_Hoff, scalerman, rabani, jrj, elroyie, maphoto, Georges, lewiz, kajspice has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

BradP (464) 2004-11-06 21:00

Kids.
Their expressions are universal.
This is the human element at it's finest - kids, candid and happy. Great dof & tone.
TFS - Great shot & one of your best ones IMO.

waskahegan (0) 2004-11-06 21:00

maganda n madumi sa mga muka ng bata! good shot, humoristic.

pridel (233) 2004-11-06 21:00

yes ! i like it very much.
the contrast of the two attitudes is very amusing, the timidity of the little girl and the "panache" of the boy. the smile of him is really a message of happiness.
thank to you
Pascal

MiraNovianti (60) 2004-11-06 21:15

Natural, childish and real! Two tumbs up!

avigur_11 (22553) 2004-11-06 22:12

I like their shy expresssions. A great timng with this shot, Manuel. Great shot.

thebecky (688) 2004-11-06 22:16

Lovely kids and lovely expressions. The attitudes and emotions shine through. Great shot

sekl (2063) 2004-11-06 22:31

Hi, Manuel!
This your picture is very very sharp regarding emotional part of the snapshot. I can distinctly hear gigling watching the photo. Masterpiece of yours.
Thank you!

orme (7219) 2004-11-06 22:45

A great capture, Manny. The boy's 'smile' is wonderful. However, I don't know if the girl is shy, or thinking - "I don't believe he's my brother". I think that the detail and DOF are both great. Your series of shots from China is just excellent. Well done.

purplelights (0) 2004-11-06 23:14

Hi Manny , ang galing mo talaga kababayan! Saludo ako pwede pala magtagalog dito haha... Well captured as if it talks about the photographer's hope and potential...Regards, Flo

jhm (211738) 2004-11-07 2:33

Manuel, another great portrait of those two children, maybe brother and sister, but the boy with the smile she maybe cry, you continue astonish me with the beautiful daily life photograph. My compliments for those.

arnabchat (7233) 2004-11-07 3:00

smile that amaze me and a sad expression beside it. very spontaneous expression of the children. good soft light. quite sharp photo.

bip-bip (1837) 2004-11-07 3:59

For sure Manny, I like this kind of shot which tells us a story with spontaneous emotions.
Thanks for sharing
Bravo!

Bernard (226) 2004-11-07 4:29

Great shot, nothing wrong with the sharpness. I love the colour contrats, with a good DOF, blurred background. Regarding the children's emotions, a moment to treasure like you say. The boy is smiling is heart out while the girl is so shy.

roshangar (1682) 2004-11-07 5:30

his face is full of nuathy,may be he made his sister to cry!
great artistic portrait!

nwoehnl (122) 2004-11-07 6:25

A vintage Manny shot, I would say ;-) Wonderful natural catch of their expressions and emotions, very sweet and genuine. As always the best use of DOF to put full attention to the adorable main subjects, very good work.

maciekda (19895) 2004-11-07 6:42

this is a beautiful picture Manny, i just love those expression, there is so much soul in this picture... and i really like the way you processed it - very interesting effect. beautiful work

sunny (3069) 2004-11-07 6:49

Very emotionally loaded pic, with strong impact on children's postures and expressions, Manny! :-) Love the framing and DOF, as well as the fine colours here. Great one!

marcelo_gomes (517) 2004-11-07 8:05

Great colors. Very good expressions. Youｴve captured the moment.

kikvel (4784) 2004-11-07 8:29

Hi Manuel!

Nice to be back to appreciate your pictures.

The nicest thing here are the kids, one of them joyfully expressing himself and the other timid and covering the face with the hands...

I wonder about B/W, it may have helped to increase this " contrast" in emotions by removing color distractions.

Maybe a tighter crop would also work.

un saludo mi amigo.

K.

Kenny10pin (19301) 2004-11-07 10:00

What a great pic, with opposite emotions, the crying vs happiness, very good focus, well done and great timing too

Xalkida (11744) 2004-11-07 11:40

Εξαιρετικά πορτραίτα! Οι εκφράσεις των παιδιών είναι καταπληκτικές! Ιδίως αυτό το "πάλιωμα" των φωτογραφιών που κάνεις μου αρέσει γιατί δίνει "ειδικά" χρώματα στα θέματά σου!

eleparc (24063) 2004-11-07 16:26

i really like the expressions of those two kids;-)) you really made them laugh ! not so sure myself about the harsh contrast, but this is me only... i like soft colored photos usually, but i know people here tend to like contrasts. just a matter of personal taste..

Rinie_Hoff (9340) 2004-11-07 18:47

Hi Manny, great to see these kind of pictures from you, every time I look at it, I have to smile, Thanks for that! That is one of the important things on this size, that you can be touched by the pictures you see. The different reactions o these kids, on you, are so funny, and you captured them so well!!!
This one goes into my 'favorite' box!

scalerman (26900) 2004-11-07 19:16

Manny, what I would really like to know here are your post-processing maneuvers in PS. Give me a clue. I have not book? Btw, wonderful and candid.

christina (2040) 2004-11-07 19:47

What a wonderful spirit you have captured here. The DOF here is very effective focusing on the kids and their different and spontanous reactions are fabulous.

kinginexile (2598) 2004-11-07 23:33

Funny, these 2 kids together, one totally extroverted, and the other hiding with her face. This happens often with kids, all these little personalities bursting out of the frame for the moment it takes to take the shot. Very succesful, Manny, and you even got a bit more improvising than in thailand, which enlarges your palette of shots.

ChrisJ (172440) 2004-11-08 6:08

Hi Manuel

Excellent use of selective focus to isolate the subject from the background. I think you've succeeded in capturing their "emotions, expressions, their soft faces in a harsh surrounding, their vivid and loud colors in a drab backdrop of the farm" Well done!

katsuhiro (479) 2004-11-08 6:30

I love this photo....going straight into my favorites. Nice framing, good DoF and as the title states, the contrast. Great!

femkevdh (2633) 2004-11-08 7:45

incredible portrait of the children. Indeed the difference in their behaviour makes a great subject. I've noticed the same in nepal. Some kids jumped in front of the camera, some didn't want to pose. The boy's smile is so lovely! great use of DOF too. Congrats!

jrj (34843) 2004-11-08 8:03

Filled with emotion, and backed by the strong colours and powerful light. A very fine contribution in your series Manny

elroyie (2750) 2004-11-08 15:56

Excellent picture with great colours and very contrast between those two kids, well done!

everlasting (20040) 2004-11-08 16:14

Too late to add any intelligent additional comment. But I like this very much, the contrast of the expressions, the strong clours against the background. Very well timed.

sn00zie (2384) 2004-11-09 6:07

a candid shot Manuel..totally love the expression..

piozac (2065) 2004-11-09 11:49

Moment makes the picture... You have great ability Manuel to catch it in the right time. I admire this.
Superb image!

rabani (9645) 2004-11-10 4:46

While I find beauty and expression of Nature, you find beauty and expression of people. And I can see and feel the expression that you have captured from your subject Manny. As well as their environment. You should travel more often.

maphoto (8082) 2004-11-12 17:56

Excellent portrait Manuel, great DOF and beautiful moment your sharing, the smile speaks for it self, great caprture, well done.

Mrg (825) 2004-11-14 13:47

Fantastic piece of work here Manuel. Those two kids are a great subject and you catch the moment really well. I like also the colours and all the post- processing. Just a question, what was that sharpening method youｴre talked about? I like the results!

udijw (392) 2004-11-18 14:12

A great shot. Happiness is shouting from this picture. The colors are good and so is DOF.
What I like most about this picture is the feel it gives. Kids just being themselfs.

Georges (11185) 2004-11-20 16:13

Je trouve sur cette prise des visages plein d'expression avec un sourire communicatif en plus il a vraiment une petite t黎e sympathique ce mome.
Je ressent aussi de la tristesse dans l'expression de la seconde personne une image gaie et triste a la fois.
Joli portrait bravo Manuel

hztrekearth (0) 2004-12-22 5:46

My favorate of your portraits of kids with dirt on them. In addition to the social meaning an image such as this one conveys, it stands as an art piece on its own. Boy and girl, red and blue, face up and face down, reserved and communicative, laugh and no laugh, hair-covered head and bold head ^_^ ... Indeed it's a portrait of contrast!

overcome (1109) 2005-05-05 12:13

Yes, this is truely a fantastic shot. It goes straight to my favourite. The contrast of these two kids show the happiness and unhappiness.

Ken

ingridasgard (58) 2005-05-05 16:33 [Comment]