Cotton Life... Photo

Photographer’s Note

Looking from his age.. I would suppose that he was doing something else before coming to the cotton industry... Un like in the western world, there is no social security such as unemployment benefit etc in India, you have to work to earn you bread (ok rice).. Sometimes that forces or more facilitates conversion of people from one to another job... At least in Europe people are just too picky when it comes to job..

For this man cotton is the life...

aralda, oochappan, don_narayan, rbcy1974, AmiBe, kajspice has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

oochappan (22036) 2005-11-06 5:59

A pleasant portrait of this elder man growing cotton all over his body in this more modern equipped factory, indeed there is no protection for laborers neither there in India, nor for the employer, everyday it is a question if all the laborers are showing up as they can change work from day to day, no contracts in this unregistered industries.

Furachan (0) 2005-11-06 7:48

Another superb cotton ortrait from you, Bala. This is a magnificent series. here, the 24mm is just the right lens to separate subject from background with just enough bokeh but not so much that it hides what is behind the man.
A++ ecellent work!
Francis

don_narayan (2014) 2005-11-06 9:33

Hi Bala. nice one, I am sure I have already commented on it in your Pbase... but I like it, the centered composition works well. good job.

Narayan

crhieatt (5145) 2005-11-06 9:34

Great portrait Bala, and perfect depth of field for this shot. Beautifully done.
Regards
colin

mrcrow (3989) 2005-11-06 12:12

this seems a down to earth shot of life as it is
the cotton mills of lancashire were death traps for the workers...injury and sickness abounded with low wages
in india who knows...its a mill

good personage shot with complementary figure amplifying the subject matter and by using limited depth of field you have put him out of focus..although 4.5 on a 24..hmmm you must have used the focus to throw him out

i did a w/s on cropping just to emphasise the gentlemans pose

[workshop] [compare]

ishai (4093) 2005-11-06 14:03

He has a good expression here . Bala
And together with the background and the note it becomes a sensitive subject
Because in my opinion it will get to Europe one day too
No more social security no more nothing
It’s going to get here just like over there

But with out political statement the survival is written all over him
Nice catch

rbcy1974 (20748) 2005-11-06 20:07

Hi Bala
Excellent Portrait and note very insightful I like the whitish background and the details of the man's feautrues.
You are up early !
A+
Daniel

AmiBe (6042) 2005-11-07 2:40

Hello Bala,
beau portrait, bien net celui-ci.
Il est un peu trop centré, le regard est beaucoup plus fort dans le WS avec le format carré.
Un bon reportage que tu as fais à cet endroit.

Mingfang (1415) 2005-11-07 9:48

hi Bala,
this one also be a cotton portait series.
the guy's eyes are very special, if you focus it more it will be great.
I also like mrcrow's workshop.
nice job!

dolin (15647) 2005-11-08 7:33

Salut Bala.
Tu avais un peu de flou sur tes précédents portraits et là la qualité et la netteté sont parfaites !
J'aime bien ton choix d'ouverture et même si l'homme est un peu trop centré, je trouve le cadrage sympa avec ce 2ème homme dans le bord de l'image.
Beau piqué et belles teintes.
Joli
fred

aralda (1240) 2005-11-18 9:27

Very nice work, Bala! I think you managed this portrait very well. The sharpness is just right, the color saturation is good, the other worker a needed element, and the cotton on his body hair well shot. In Favorites,
Raluca

Photo Information

Copyright: Bala Nallama (bnallama) (3755)
Genre: People
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2005-09-06
Categories: Daily Life
Camera: Nikon D70, Nikkor 24mm f/2.8 D
Exposure: f/4.5, 1/8 seconds
More Photo Info: view
Photo Version: Original Version, Workshop
Theme(s): Cotton & Textile in Madurai & Surroundings -India [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2005-11-06 5:37
Favorites: 1 [view]