Photographer’s Note
*** Following Claire's always excellent advice and Jan's workshop, a re-upload, with the bottle cloned out **
°°°
A serene looking woman, sitting in the cafeteria at the Musée de la Photographie in Charleroi, on a sunny afternoon. She was writing and looking at books, very concentrated. We did not talk, just this, when she looked up.
I love this place:-). With the recent expansion, has become the largest photography museum in Europe.
The museum is hosted on the site of an old Carmelite monastery, since 1987. Truly they have done a very good job, a successful instance of dialogue between different forms of architecture.
The l'Escaut project resulted in reorganisation of the spaces to include exhibition halls hosting a collection of 80,000 photographs and three million negatives, a library, an auditorium, work spaces and a coffee-shop, and skilfully linked the new volume with the existing structure via a glass passageway, establishing a link between the interior spaces and the park.
The outer façade is characterised by unusual metal cladding by artist Jeanine Cohen consisting of thin aluminium profiles mounted vertically to create an intense effect like that of typesetting.
The building is inside the enclosure of the convent, which hides a big garden which has several trees registered with the Heritage Inventory. The park is surrounded by backyards from suburban streets; a public school and a sports complex.
By investing the park, the new building invites visitors and neighbours to inhabit this inner outdoors. The park creates the link between three social functions: culture, education, and sports. Its opening to the public becomes a matter of social dynamics and urban transformation.
In the workshop a couple of pictures of the site, I did not spend time working on them:-), just to give you an idea.
"Site"
Critiques | Translate
jasmis
(50530) 2009-04-15 1:39
Interesting glance, fine model, amazing DOF. Without a bottle this is really much better.
Regards.
ninaL
(19544) 2009-04-15 3:27
Bonjour, Michèle.
Un portrait très chaleureux en toute simplicité.
On sent un courant d'affection entre le modèle et le photographe.
Amitiés, Grazyna.
Dyerco
(9120) 2009-04-15 7:25
Hi Michele
A nice spontaneous portrait using natural light. You caught her with an interesting expression.
Phil
polter
(6118) 2009-04-15 12:08
Hi Michele !
Very nice portrait of very nice lady. Like the way she is looking and smiling with her hand close to her face. And the bottle-problem is well solved ;))
Greetings T.
sayeed_rahman
(2285) 2009-04-16 8:17
Beautiful potrait with the sidelighting Michele..there is a look of serenity about her eyes..such calm..i am just getting mt grip on street potraits..walking around..shooting them..talking to them..its fun i know..its difficult too at times to get the best out of them...We have but one chance..we blow it away and it haunts us..isn't it ?
Cheers
Sayeed
[p.s - my points havent been added up..yesterday's is still showing..what about yours..any clue on this]
wolf38
(12871) 2009-04-16 10:19
Hello Michele. A wonderful and very realistic Portrait. The composition is very interesting. Also the nuances between black and white are in the best way. Very beautifully. Regards, Wolfgang.
Polonaise
(5636) 2009-04-17 8:25
It's not an easy thing to write the critique to such post, Michele.
It's untypical…Very, very - untypical.
We don't have SUCH faces around in here - do we ?
It's not a face of an Indian man or a woman or a child…
It's NOT one of the faces in the crowd…
I's a face standing alone - in a photo !!!
A white, nice looking, elderly woman with a good and intelligent face - knowing that she's photographed.
She does nothing, she's not an ugly face, no drama, no special event…She (probably ?) hasn't been discovered few days ago in some Scottish village with the most astonishing singing capabilities !!!
:-))))
So, why Michele… Why ?
Because… Because she's is UNIQUE on the site with about one hundred million faces posted everyday - for no freaking reason - whatsoever!
And, that's why I'm here - to emphasize that value…
More precious than anything else on any photo site on www.
And that value is: Being unique…!
A face of the older, white woman…
No wrinkles, being sober, neat, clean, with the smart piercing eyes, goodness on her face, motherhood, neighborhood, parenthood - everything is there…
Posing for a strange photographer !!!
Yes indeed, Michele…
Why would you be so fascinated with that woman… Why ???
God bless those among us who bring the sanity to our completely screwed up souls.
Vasa
(5676) 2009-04-20 16:17
Bonsoir Merline,
le portrait qu ia attire mon attention. Comme beaucoup de tes images ici.
Tres conztent de t'avoir revue. Amicalement
Branko
Clairedelune
(4885) 2009-05-02 9:41
Following Claire's always excellent advice
Toujours! :)))))
Bon, j'espère que tu sais que c'est une fanfaronnade.
Mais honnêtement, je trouve que c'est une bonne idée d'avoir fait disparaître ce bout de plastique, après tout!
J'aime toujours autant cette photo. En grande partie grâce à cette dame qui m'est tellement sympathique.
Le reste de ce que j'ai écrit dans ta précédente version s'applique évidemment également pour celle-ci!
Claire
Photo Information
-
Copyright: Michele Gruber Caelen (Merline)
(6578) - Genre: People
- Medium: Black & White
- Date Taken: 2009-04-12
- Categories: Daily Life
- Camera: Canon EOS 40D, Canon 85mm f/1.8 EF USM
- Exposure: f/2.8, 1/200 seconds
- More Photo Info: view
- Photo Version: Final Version, Original Version
- Date Submitted: 2009-04-15 1:09








