feliz Dia de la Raza, Lorenzo, a photo from La Paz, North

Photographer's Note

Today I have been relaxing at home on a public holiday that is celebrated throughout Latin America: Dia de la Raza. Originally called Columbus Day, in memory of the day when he first landed on American soil (12th October 1492, on the island of Guanahani, since 'renamed' to San Salvador, and situated in the Carribean, in what is now The Bahamas), it wasn't really rocket science to work out that people like Lorenzo don't necessarily look on Columbus as a popular hero.

Lorenzo rowed me around a corner of Lago Titicaca telling me about El Presidente Evo Morales - first indigenous president of Bolivia. He was eloquent on the way his own status in his country has changed since the first election of Evo. The tie is a potent symbol in Bolivia representing a strong cultural divide between Indigenos and Hispanicos (Evo Morales is careful about when and where he puts a tie around his neck) and Lorenzo told me a long story about the first time in his life he had been addressed as "ser" by a tie-wearer, which only occured in the last five years.

So, Lorenzo, Feliz Dia de la Raza. Respect.

BluSimo, chandrapranil, Glint, shevchenko, JCG, yeln, jhm, jlbrthnn, kingpin, jafadabret, Selmik, papera, adramad, quillo, lgir, kordinator, Longroute, siolaw, axiotea, adores, delpeoples, ikeharel, bayno has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

yquem46 (38752) 2010-10-11 13:36

Wow Iain
A superb portrait of a smiling guy
I like his hat and his eyes in half shadow just below it
Excellent quality shot, good choice of b&w
Best regards and have a nice day
Patrick

ciakgiak (30) 2010-10-11 13:44

Hello Iain,
one of the best portraits that I've recently seen! The quality of the b&w convertion is really excellent. Congratulations.
Best regards.
Giorgio

BluSimo (9392) 2010-10-11 13:47

Dear Iain
so the tie is a status simbol such strong?!� But Lorenzo it has got a beautiful hat and the eyes with two stars within, in spite of shadow.:-) it's a magnificent portrait. the personality of your friend seems to exit from the monitor.
thanks for sharing, and say ciao to Lorenzo for me.
Simonetta

chandrapranil (1087) 2010-10-11 14:07

Hi Iain,

This is a great portrait. I particularly like the lines and the character seen on this gentleman's face.

Your framing and close up is very good!

Thank you for sharing

Pranil

AKITA (15125) 2010-10-11 16:50

dear Iain,
a beautiful portrait shot of very handsome man, it is like a poster of movie indeed,
his tender feeling is well captured in this excellent B&W image,
especially his relaxed smiling is superb,
but of course his deep lines of face tell us his age and care vividly,
thank you for your wonderful shot,
Akihisa

Glint (6171) 2010-10-11 18:02

Hello Iain,
this is a wonderful portrait. Deserving of your excellent note and vice versa.I love his smile and they way the shadow of his felt hat passes over his eyes without losing their catchlight.I will save this is my theme 'Favourites 2010' so I can look back on it at a later date-the new year usually sees TE members posting their favourite pictures as a forum thread.
best regards,
Bev

shevchenko (20560) 2010-10-11 19:51

Hi Iain,
Informative note to introduce the anniversary of an important day, nice traditional costume completed with hat, distinct portrait in good color and lighting, good shoot.
Ally

JCG (35153) 2010-10-11 22:01

Hello Iain,

Very good idea black and white to emphasize this smiling face and sympathetic nerve. A light which was not to be easy but brilliantly managed I find. I like this tight framing which enables us to see these sparkling eyes well. A photograph of quality, Iain cheer.

With all my friendships and with soon,

Jean-Charles

JFS (32459) 2010-10-11 22:23

Hola Iain,
Felicidades por este portrait tan expresivo y de calidad fotogr畴ica inmejorable.

Juan

cargus (14004) 2010-10-11 22:37 [Comment]

Show Comment

wolf38 (30) 2010-10-11 22:49

Hi Iain. A strong portrait in the classic black and white. The light and contrast are excellent. Even the subtle nuances between black and white like it very much. Compliment for this masterful shot. Regards, Wolfgang.

tusharkmandal (3173) 2010-10-11 23:43

A superb portrait. The smile of the face is making it more happening. Nice use of exposure to show the face with the hat. A nice PP in black and white.

Have a nice time
Tushar

Juzo (2151) 2010-10-12 0:52

HI Iain,
Quite a detailed portrait, and a character in his face that makes him a worthy subject indeed. It is like a shot from a classic silver screen era film. Perhaps a western character. Beautiful.
Cheers
Justin

yeln (11516) 2010-10-12 0:55

hi Iain
dobra izbira je B&W stil. padajoča senca od zmečkanega klobuka je izjemna, kakor je tudi ta portret. bravo! TFS!
lep dan, vojko

dta (98848) 2010-10-12 1:55

Hello Iain ,
What a strong and beautiful portrait ! And a wonderful smile , for sure .
Well done

jhm (211738) 2010-10-12 3:58

Hello Iain,

I am no great fan of black and white, these picture is extraordinarily through the shine on the face of these man.
Nice composition and sharpness are perfect. TFS.

Best regards,
John.

Waylim (25436) 2010-10-12 11:49

Hi Iain,
great portrait, black and white make it even more compelling and timeless. Great control on the light and shadow, I can see sparkles in his eyes. Great sharpness details and the soft background makes it seem 3 dimensional.
Way

chris04stop (6805) 2010-10-12 14:55

Lorenzo doesn't need a tie. His face is sincere, he has a innocent smile. He is a beautiful person. No tie!
So a great portrait, Iain!
Anna Paola

jlbrthnn (76043) 2010-10-12 15:05

Hello Iain,
It is a quite exposed portrait for which the black and white are appropriate perfectly. The expression of the features of the face is well captured. Thank you for the useful note, and to remind this birthday, of a so important event. Cheer.
Cordially
Jo�l

John_F_Kennedy (43797) 2010-10-13 5:55

Hello Iain,
Very fine man and a good portrait. Interesting. Nice lightness.
best wishes,
Achim

jafadabret (56501) 2010-10-13 7:10

Bonjour Iain,
Ce portrait est une r騏ssite. J'aime l'expression du visage avec un regard et un sourire qui r騅鑞ent la personnalit� de l'homme. Le B&W est bien choisi pour mettre en valeur le portrait.
Amicalement
Jacques

xavshot (69835) 2010-10-13 12:05

Bonsoir Iain
content de d馗ouvrir ta galerie et notamment ce superbe portrait. Le n&b est superbe et la lumi鑽e sur le visage donne beaucoup de relief � ce visage. Bravo.
Xavier

Selmik (3641) 2010-10-13 21:05

Good evening Iain,
very nicely executed portrait, excellent choice of black-n-white, joyful and smiley eyes.
Great!
Mike

izmirli (3989) 2010-10-13 22:52

merhaba dear lain
wonderful portrait picture.lovely model.well done.
best regards.
g�rkan ak軋kır.

maria-v1981 (10966) 2010-10-14 13:13

Hi Lain,
A beautiful potrait, i like the smile of this man.
Good choise of B&W.
Very good work,
TFS.
Maria

papera (14372) 2010-10-14 13:24

hello Iain,
let me tell you that this portrait has the word "classic" stamped all over it. to me, it almost feels like coming straight from the great Hollywood years ('40s, '50s...) what with the strong contrast, the light, the dense b/w tones and, of course, Lorenzo's face and smile.
I think most of us Europeans can hardly understand certain cultural changes taking place in continents like Latin America because it's been so long since such social gaps were felt so strongly here in Europe.
so it's even more important to be reminded about it - thanks for sharing this great note.
c.

adramad (73410) 2010-10-15 15:30

Hola Iain.
Me encanta esta foto, el personaje y su visionado en B&W le da un aire atemporal.
Su sonrisa, el brillo de sus ojos.... has captado una expresion muy bonita. Un buen trabajo, en el que la gran nitidez es tambien muy importante.
Pasa un buen fin de semana. Saludos.
Luis.

quillo (11858) 2010-10-16 14:43

Hola Iain :

La sonrisa de Lorenzo llena toda la composici,
es un retrato muy bueno con excelentes detalles
de luz y contrastes ..................
enhorabuena por foto y por la nota.

Un abrazo.

marcocig (781) 2010-10-16 15:03

You caught a priceless expression full of humanity, and the BW treatment is really super, what have you done on this shot? Can you explain the technique?

M

lgir (7363) 2010-10-17 9:29

Hello Iain,

I love this portrait in black and white:
the character is a superb on this composition very well done
Good work
Regards
Laurent

s_lush (16602) 2010-10-18 8:15

Hello Iain,
This portrait reproduces the character and mood of the man very well. At that, the black-and-white is better than color mode. The high-quality capture and comprehensive note tell us a lot about this interesting person. Perfectly good work!
Best regards,
Sergiy

kordinator (8738) 2010-10-19 0:43

Hello lain
Excellent b&w composition.
A superb portrait of this man.
I like his hat and his eyes in half shadow just below it.
Sharpnes,contrast,clarity are all fine.
Excellent quality shot.
Great job my friend
Regards
Sa啾

Atousa (7131) 2010-10-19 5:48

Salam Iain,

A fine portrait; really impressive.. like his friendly face n the choice of B n W.. very well captured.. tfs
congratulations, Atousa

Longroute (19600) 2010-10-20 23:59

A classic close up portrait, incisive and expressive.
I like your tight framing and the slightly tilted position, but what makes the photo great is the open and nice smile of the man and the light in his eyes. Very good W&B conversion and an excellent sharpness.
As often your note is interesting and nicely on the personal side.
TFS,
Donato

siolaw (38294) 2010-10-21 9:21

Hi Iain
The direct eye contact creates a strong connection with your subject, who has a friendly expression. Black and white works well on the textures.
Greetings
Laurent

ruisc_pt (11594) 2010-10-22 10:33

Retrato fant疽tico.
Detalhes luz e sombra.
Fabuloso o brilho nos olhos do homem
Parab駭s Iain
R

jemaflor (148124) 2010-10-24 9:46

Hi Iain,
Very good portrait, interesting result, sylmpathic smile and good effect with this brithgness on these eyes, perfecy focu and mood with the b&w version.

kiasari (62) 2010-10-25 9:21

Hello Iain,

Very impressive portrait shot! I like the B&W tones of the photo. Well done!

Regards,
Abbas

Fis2 (171823) 2010-10-26 13:20

Witaj Lain!
A very interesting portrait.
Good frame and light.
Well done.
Greetings from Poland.
Krzysztof

baddori (20341) 2010-10-28 6:31

Iain
http://www.stangroundstjohnsschool.co.uk/page_viewer.asp?page=Art+-+Escher&pid=90
Esher, il mago dell'impossibile ...il mio favorito..in casa ho alcune stampe.
Il tuo "pampero" un giorno : io, tu ,Fidel, El Sottomajor, il Che, Pago Pegna e Gianni Mina.
Splendida Argentina...
Un abbraccio dalla Sardegna
Stupendo fotografo
Gianfranco

claudeD (47754) 2010-10-28 8:18

Hello Iain,

excellent picture showing us this pefect portrait.Perfect sharpnesss and b+w is a very good choice for this image.Very well done.TFS.

WIth regards from Luxembourg

JC

sacavem (18620) 2010-10-28 9:06

Ol� Iain Pearson,

This is one great portrait.
I like your sharp and god job for your PP b/w.

Cumprimentos,
Filipe

axiotea (21651) 2010-10-29 2:14

Hello Iain
An informative note to go with that authentic portrait! The light gave strong contrast and revealed nicely the details. I also appreciate the tight framing and the blurred BG giving more impact to the smiling model.
Cheers
Marilyn

tchefi (1841) 2010-10-29 10:14

Bonsoir Iain,
Tr駸 sympa, ce portrait o� tu as magnifiquement su g駻er la lumi鑽e et o� on sent une complicit� avec le photographe.
Superbe!
Amicalement
Jo�lle

jmdias (116341) 2010-10-31 11:14

iain

very nice portrait, the smile is very natural and the light and your option for black and white are very nice too.interesting how these cholos and their old clothes ever made me rememeber my grandparents from Portugal.
I can't understand what mean "dia de la raza", we don't have this in Brazil despite we have a day celebrating the indians or people with african origin. can an argentinian who has an spanish or italian blood celebrate this day like his ? it is this a celebration only for those who has indigenous blood ?
in colombia there was a monument paying homage to "la raza" I couldn't understand its meaning..what means La raza in a country where people is a mix of many races ? it is colombian, chilenian or bolivian a race ?
I can understand the worth of a president with indian blood ruling a country like bolivia, anyway this don't make him better than white ones before him, his acts will be part of his history, not his blood.

hugs

jorge

adores (46979) 2010-10-31 13:50

Hi Iain!
I really like this type of portraits! The wrinkled face, the eyes almost hidden by his hat. A great and genuine expression for sure! Good focus, light and conversion - the b&w is great here!

fds (9963) 2010-11-01 1:37

great portrait from south america
best regards

delpeoples (60342) 2010-11-01 2:23

Hi Iain, firstly to your Note, it's fascinating. I can well understand the sentiments of the indigenous South Americans towards the Latins. Much the same are the sentiments of our aboriginal population towards the British, where instead of Australia Day it's called Invasion Day. So your Note is relevant to the history of many indigenous people around the world. Now to the photo, I love most of all the light. You chose B&W well, giving the man a sense of timelessness and I love every wrinkle on that beautiful face. Excellent job, just what TE needs. Have a good day, Lisa

eldancer1 (36343) 2010-11-05 9:42

Very nice portrait of this gentleman and great capture of his smiling face. Good dof with good contrast. Well done, tfs.

SnapRJW (31631) 2010-11-06 2:44

What an excellent portrait. Very good definition on the skin and I like the way the man's eyes seem to twinkle

clic (76) 2010-11-09 5:25

Thanks Iain
This portrait of "Honest Lorenzo" conveys a wholehearted expression!
Cheers!.
Robert

juliango (2) 2010-11-09 5:28

Perfect framing for a portrait very strong emotions. It's just a pity that the eyes are a little behind the scenes. Best regards.

Nard (6972) 2010-11-09 11:12

Hi Iain

I had a look on your galery and there are some pictures I really like. Generaly I like color pictures when the lanscape or the people are realy colorful but when I see B&W pictures with a high contrast I find it too much;
Well done, good picture and very nice light

ikeharel (114477) 2010-11-18 3:55

Nice face expression taken here, Lian.
Good in B&W , clear details as well.
Ike

DRAKOLIMNH (1224) 2010-11-20 10:41

hello friend,
great portrait here with great choich in b//w and many nice detail-congratulations

Petros

foozi (7101) 2010-11-21 19:23

Hello Iain,
a very lively portrait! the originality is very well seen here. how the texture and the mood of this guy is well seen and felt. The strong and tough, rugged personality is well presented.
a very successful portrait presentation.

Regards,
Foozi

zoomer (6) 2010-11-28 13:02

Hello Iain,this is one natural looking and immediately engageing portrait.Excellent work,greetings Wolf.

bayno (18348) 2011-11-10 8:42

Hi Iain, beautiful portrait, excellent choice for the BW, well done with the strong contrast between whites and blacks, I like the expression of this man with his eyes under the brim of the hat still full of vitality, i like the note too, hope you do not mind if add to my theme of the, have fun, valter

kato (11630) 2012-03-04 18:50

Hello Lain,

This is a good portrait, so it's always impressive for me to see an attractive expressiton of native old man. He is wearing the good face peculiar to those who have gained experience of life. In particular, a smile is good. Good composed and excellent B/W tone.

Kind regards,
mikio