Enigma, a photo from Bagmati, Central

Photographer's Note

Another picture in my "People of Nepal" theme, this one taken in Patan.

Patan, also known as Lalitpur ("City of Beauty" in Sanskrit) was once an independent city state, but now has been almost absorbed by Kathmandu, separated from it only by the Bagmati river.
Patan has its own Durbar Square (just like Kathmandu and Bhaktapur), with its own set of magnificient hindu temples, and is also popular with diplomats and NGO workers who often reside there.

This old lady was sitting inside Taleju Temple, and for a small tip agreed to have her photo taken.
I have never been able to decipher her expression: at first she seems to emanate a resigned sadness. Then, looking better, a sort of resolute strength somewhat appears beneath the surface.
Looking even more, sometimes I seem to see a tiny, barely visible, sparkle of a smirk.

One of the most enigmatic portraits I have ever had the luck of capturing.

Nobody has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

ACL1978 (5789) 2012-09-04 17:22

I see what you mean about her expression, Albert - I wonder how much of it is a reaction to having her portrait taken? There might be suspicion there alongside everything else you mentioned! It is certainly enigmatic and colorful, and a nice capture.

Two quick suggestions: first, I'm not sure what it is or how it got there, but there appears to be a black line on her right cheek that looks more digital than anything else. Second, the resolution on the shot is pretty small, and results in a loss of detail - if you used the full 300kb I think the shot would look much richer and clearer. This one is only using 130kb, which is pretty small, especially for a photo of this size.

Andrew

pajaran (36270) 2012-09-04 22:35

Dobar dan.
Lice, koje je mnogo reklo ...
Zivot je ostavio trag na licu gospodje.
Dobar snimak, lepe boje.
Dobar tekst.
Sve najbolje.
Paja.

Good day.
To the person who said a lot of ...
Life has left a mark on the face of Mrs..
Good shot, nice colors.
Good text.
All the best.
Paja.