Old Man, a photo from West Bengal, East

Photographer's Note

He is a bagger and his name is Maila. He can not speak nor can hear and can only communicate with his hands. No one know who is he and where he came from. No known relatives and never seen him smile. He must have a very bitter past and may be he can speak but pretending to be deaf and dumb so to avoid questions. Like one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent.

tomescuc, Jakab, pelin, jusninasirun has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

poulinp (4528) 2008-04-29 10:27

A great portrait, but a bit dark for my taste.

crhieatt (5347) 2008-04-29 10:40

Lopshang,
A slightly unusual angle for a portrait, but it works really well here, really adding to this picture's impact.
Nicely done.
Regards
colin

tomescuc (3291) 2008-04-29 12:35

Excellent portrait and expression of immense life hardship. Very well presented.
tfs,
CT

trekks (14348) 2008-04-30 6:50

hi Lopshang

Very nice portrait shot. Powerful front eye contact and well composed with a head tilt.

tfs, bill
later

Clementi (52514) 2008-05-01 14:27

Ciao Lopshang,
fantastic portrait. he reads in the face all the effort of his life. excellent definition and beautiful light .
nice work
Giorgio

Angshu (56760) 2008-05-03 21:41

Hello Lopshang
I am revisiting your gallery because of this portrait. Looks a bit dark in thumbnail, but in the full frame the light appears perfect. Like your compo. with the tilt of his head, the details of his wrinkles & white strands of beard & the piercing look. I don't think this calls for any improvement, but I might be tempted to try a bit on the skintone & lightness & maybe the BG turned to black. Just an idea! Thanks for sharing this good portrait!
Regards
Angshu

alford (4063) 2008-05-06 19:44

Hi Lopshang! Very sharp shot. I like the lighting on his face and his expression - very natural, very candid. rgds.

Jakab (3867) 2008-05-08 15:33

Hello Lopshang,
a sorrowful story - and an excellent portrait. Since you ask for tips in your intro I send you a modified version in WS. I tried to make the eyes (the most important parts of a face) more visible and decrease the disturbing brigthness of the cap since it is part of the portrait and not of the (bright) surrounding. I am not sure about the superiority of my version but it is definitely good enough for thinking over.
Best whishes
Laszlo
P.S.: In my town we had a similar but in two points different case:
1. The old man was able to speak but nobody was able to understand him.
2. We knew that he had been an every day man until a heavy rail accident near Szolnok in 1964 when he lost his wife and two young daughters. Could we survive such a stroke of fate?

[workshop] [compare] +

pelin (2789) 2008-05-12 9:31

Hola Lopshang! Thanks much for comment on my sunset. Im gladu like it.
I like your portrait as well. You took a really good shot.
His face is really interesting and in some way 'mysterious'.
Good perspective.
Well done,
thanks
~pelin

jusninasirun (17529) 2008-05-19 20:18

Hello Lopshang. Excellent capture of the image. Very clear facial expression of this portrait in good sharpness and clarity. Well done and best regards. Jusni

ericfarge (914) 2008-11-15 11:23

Hello Lopshang,
What a strong shot. Expression of this guy is incredible and you capture it very well.
Regards, Eric.

NickPavlakis (562) 2008-12-13 13:40

Hi Lopshang, this man's face wants to tell so much about his past and present. Well captured and presented. Off centered framing makes the composition even more effective.
Take care
Nikos

pajaran (117201) 2022-07-23 11:40 [Comment]