Maybe the carpenter's son, a photo from North-West Frontier, West

Photographer's Note

Again an old slide (well, not that very old, only from 1986), slightly difficult light and a relatively early attempt at scanning. Here it is anyway, a souvenir from a journey up the Swat valley of northern Pakistan.
I was in Pakistan on a business trip and was invited by a Swedish diplomat and his wife to join them on a weekend trip to this scenic area, the "Switzerland of Pakistan". You can see here what it looks like. In one of the small towns where we stopped I saw this boy outside a carpenter's and furniture maker's shop. I am not totally sure which place this was but I think it was this small town of which you can have a glimpse here.
This was scanned from a Kodachrome slide.

Budapestman, ourania, macondo, patdeph, bukitgolfb301, tyro, bayno, mkamionka, nikkitta, maloutim has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Budapestman (82620) 2012-05-05 12:05

Hi Gert,
a superb portrait with attractive composition and warm lights, excellent details and sharpness, suggestive shot, Tfs! Have a nice weekend! Kellemes hétvégét kívánok!
György

ourania (13085) 2012-05-05 12:09

Hello Gert,
I like this picture very much because it contains so much interesting information, is well composed and captures superbly the atmosphere of the sunny day, the place and time. The boys' portrait is very successful. He is in the local outfit, his posture and glance wonderful, demonstrating his strong character. His eyes hold the viewer's glance as well. I love the lighing, on the boy's face half shadowed, on the textures of the wall and soil, on the elaborate chair and the boy's shoes, where it shines. Congratulations and thank you!
All the best, have a great Sunday,
Ourania

saxo042 (31866) 2012-05-05 12:12

Hej Gert,
Twentysix years ago! Maybe this boy is a member of TE today. Maybe he will remember this occasion, when a foreigner took this picture! He looks very serious and I wonder what he was thinking this very moment. Another very good picture here!
Hälsningar
Gunnar

eldancer1 (17350) 2012-05-05 14:13

Very nice portrait of this young man and you did a wonderful job converting this photograph. Lighting is great and good details. Well done, tfs.

CanmoreKevin (2111) 2012-05-05 15:57

Gert,
Love the slight frown/slight smile expression. Once again your work truly impresses.
Kevin

Nicou (98813) 2012-05-05 20:22

Hlelo

Merveilleuse iamge de ce jeun homme superbe cpatage avec une très belle luminositéf antastique vue et ensemble sueprbe.

Bravo et amitié

Nicou

emka (59040) 2012-05-05 23:17

Hi Gert,
Not very old, only 26 years :) but prehistoric, as from the predigital (and pre-TE) era. Again fantastic document. So you were in Pakistan, too! You made amazing travels. Nice portrait of this serious boy. Interesting details from carpenter's workshop.

Nard (6915) 2012-05-06 1:57

Hi Gert
A nice portrait of this boy with his typical clothes and his proud and strong look. I like the light, the contrast well managed and the sharpness showing nice details. A beautiful TE picture
Regards
Bernard

macondo (17997) 2012-05-06 2:08

Hello Gert.
A superb scan of an old slide.
The first thing which I notice is the intense gaze in the boys' eyes. Then the light and shadow in his clothes and on his face. I like the range of textures surrounding him - the bricks, the timber furniture with the fine carving, and of course the shadowy area behind him to make his face and upper body stand out without distractions. Good note. It's hard to believe from this quality that it's a slide more than 25 years old - a 'vintage' slide.
Regards,
Andrew

mesutilgim (68648) 2012-05-06 7:31

Hello dear Gert,
He must be today around his late thirties and has a family etc.
The capture itself is well composed and ha sgood values but the scan is absolutely topclass !
TFS and best regards
MESUT ILGIM

patdeph (35738) 2012-05-06 9:19

hello Gert
a superb picture of a youg boy in traditional clothes, I guess that this is always the same now.He is looking at you in not such a friendly glance,but I kike how he is standing out the black background, and I like all the details we can see around him.The 2 pictures of the village and the mountains are splendid too.
Regards
Pascale

pajaran (36938) 2012-05-06 9:20

Dobar dan-popodne.
Dobar rad skeniranjem slajda.
Dobar trenutak snimka decaka ispred stolarske radnje.
Dobar rad, moje cestitke na dobrom prikazu.
Proslo je mnogo godina, gde je i sta radi ovaj decko-covek danas ...
Prijatno popodne i sve najbolje sa lepim secanjem na Pakistan i 1986. godinu.
Paja.

Google.

Good morning-afternoon.
Good work by scanning the slide.
Good time boys shot in front of the carpenter shops.
Good work, my congratulations on a good display.
It's been many years, where he does what this boy-man today ...
A lovely afternoon and all the best with beautiful memories of Pakistan and 1986. year.
Paja.

Royaldevon (18393) 2012-05-06 10:16

Hello Gert,

It is a good attempt at scanning and, despite the difficult light, the boy is nicely detailed and stands out well against the darker b/g.
I went to Pakistan in 1997, staying in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. The generosity and curiosity of the people still rests with me. How sad that the regions are so unstable at the moment for they have so much to offer visitors.

My warm regards,
Bev :-)

dkmurphys (37439) 2012-05-06 12:06

Hi Gert,
Very fine portrait. I would be curious how the boy looks like today.
Well seen, enjoy a calm night.

Daniel

bukitgolfb301 (30433) 2012-05-06 16:35

Hello my dear Gert

Yes another shot from your precious stock.
May I undesrtand the present Afganistan is same as Pakistan 25 years ago? So well considered framework and composition. His serious and also severe eye is so attractive.
Thanks for your sharing with your good job and have a good start of week, best regards,

Takero from Tokyo

tyro (13595) 2012-05-07 3:27

Hello Gert,

You have given us so much information here, what with your interesting note and the other two fine pictures to which you have added links. I can see the similarity to Switzerland, but the scenery does look considerably harsher and more arid than Swiss landscapes.

This is a very fine portrait of this young boy even though He doesn't appear to be all that keen on the idea of having his photograph taken. We see him clearly amidst the work which he and his workmates have been producing and the colours and contrasts are excellent considering that this has been scanned from a colour slide. Excellent detail and sharpness too.

Excellent!

Kind Regards,

John.

agjika (4103) 2012-05-07 13:09

Hi Gert,
Another one of your classics. I like the intense look and the serious expression of the boy. Also I love that chair very impressive design. I wish I could see more of it actually.

I see the boy has a thick woollen hat on, is the hat to keep warm or is it just a traditional wear?

Thanks for sharing

Aleks

Glint (5591) 2012-05-08 6:19

Hello Gert,
I love to be taken on armchair journeys through place and time. As other have said, there are lots of interesting details.Something that no one else has noticed or remarked on is that the boy has a redness under his left eye.Is it a "black eye" as we say here in the uk, brought about by violence? or is it what was called a sty -an eye with an infection similar to a boil.Either way, perhaps all is not what it seems.
best regards,
Bev

abmdsudi (27148) 2012-05-08 8:49

Hi Gert
Another old stuff but still good in quality. You have caught the terrific expression very well in excellent lighting despite the harshness. A matural child portrait with instense eyes and the expressions are intriguing. Those eyes have lots to tell and lots to find out too. It is a great upload especially with his nice visual appearence in that attire. Timing and placement are perfect as you've caught that look, Well done, TFS
Warm regards

batalay (32930) 2012-05-08 20:20

Hello Gert,

The 26-year old photo is old enough. It's a penetrating portrait of the young man who must be 38-40 years old by now. The carvings in the wood and the leather work on the chair attest to the high resolution. Thanks for sharing a personal and engaging note.

Warm regards,

Bulent

yquem46 (32857) 2012-05-09 11:09

Hi Gert
A good portrait of this teenager who must be forty or so by now !
Thanks to you on TE we travel not only in the various countries but also in time
TFS
Best regards
Patrick

bayno (16431) 2012-05-09 23:17

Hi Gert,
I saw two of your links, I was not exactly in those places but I know the Himalayas area very well , I also had the pleasure to visit Laddak, is a pity that the areas of which you speak now we can not visit anymore, too dangerous, you have been fortunate to be able to do when you still could.
Your portrait is excelent, even though the light was difficult you could manage it very well, good job as always...have a good day...
Valter

serp2000 (29642) 2012-05-10 4:28

Hej, Gert,
I take off my hat. Excellent quality (impressive sharpness for a scanned photo), I'd like to read these your reports. But I just can't image Switzerland in Pakistan. I think, this was a typical journalist cliche and no more...
Best wishes,
Serghei

TopGeo (38000) 2012-05-10 12:43

Hello Gert.
Again an old slide (from 1986), Swat valley of northern Pakistan.
amazing little boy became men, but the picture froze at the age of the teenager! This is the greatness of the shot! An idea from the past! Remembering a snapshot or nostalgia
best regards
Georgios

Graal (89462) 2012-05-12 0:17

Hi Gert,
good photo from Your archive. Nice portrait. Well scan and quality. An interesting comment in note.
Have a nice day.
Aleksander

wolf38 (28314) 2012-05-12 9:08

Hello Gert. A Pakistani - that shows us the clothes and headgear. The photo is above all an excellent person study. The dark background is ideal. Together with the two links in the text, the photo is again very instructive and informative. Well done. Rgds, Wolfgang.

mkamionka (24808) 2012-05-13 0:12

Hi Gert,
amazing portrait. It seems to be taken ages ago although I believe not much possibly changed in some places around the world. The boy has a very interesting expression in his face. Everything seems so exotic here.
Great capture!
M

nikkitta (6152) 2012-05-18 14:03

Hola Gert,
How very interesting capture of 20 years ago, he must now be a carpenter and also a father
Like portraits of working people with suitable clothes and this has all of this with great color and a dark BG to add contrast
Well done , congrats
Maria

maloutim (8750) 2012-08-09 5:07

Hi Gert,
This is a great photo, probably better than it would have been if it had been digital. These old argentic cameras produced some damn good images, and your scan is of top quality !
I like the bright colours on the boy against the dark background.
He looks very serious, but very handsome in hiss traditional clothes. It's nice that they don't all turn to jeans and T-shirts, the international uniform !
Mind you, this was nearly 30 years ago. I suppose it has changed a lot since then.
Anyway, you did well digging into your archives and sharing it with us.
Kind regards.
Marie-Louise.