a special girl Photo

Photographer’s Note

(NB : the mother is not sitting !) This girl was very much the attention of a group of friends in the streets of Old Havana. When I arrived there, she asked to pause for me in the most surprising way with a pink-red lollypop, rather provocative but amusing too : the best sort of models of this kind I ever had, unfortunately night was falling and light was getting scarce.

She also stated very clearly and proudly that she was a homosexual, while eyeing at the other girls who seemed very fond of her. Her voice was not girlish but not that male either ; surprisingly tall, here I like her very large and masculine hand on the left and the contrast with the diminutive woman she called her mother (who was accompanying her for a visit from a provincial town).

She also wanted to know how the lesbians (a term that she used too) were treated in my country and in Europe in general. Anyway, she did not seem badly treated at all and acted very freely - a real star among her friends from the capital !

holmertz, bostankorkulugu, ninaL, Clairedelune, MrCairo, broglia, Prometheus, Traczewska, specialist, Polonaise, Silvio1953, Vasa has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

jasmis (50094) 2009-03-28 11:06

Important photo with many difficult questions. Not a snapshot, without a doubt.
Smart composition of this splendid shot with proper background.
Regards my dear friend.

faubry (32265) 2009-03-28 11:34

Heureuse de te revoir ici Cath, tu me manquais, ce site est plus facile en lecture que l'autre! ton noir et blanc est très bien contrasté et lumineux, la position de cette fille envers sa mère est très protectrice, ( en effet une main très forte en comparaison avec sa taille menue!) photo émouvante;
Bonen soirée
je pars mercredi matin en Yakoutie pour un mois
amitiés
francine

fkostas (426) 2009-03-28 13:07

Hi Catherine,

That is indeed a large hand! Both interesting models, but the young girl is rather extraordinary. I think the light is just right. I would like to see the one with the lollipop, too. There may too much space on the right, I'm not sure, but it's a minor quibble anyway.

Farah

emka (21179) 2009-03-28 14:49

Hi Kath, Strange photo indeed. She has strange proportions - big hands, tall but very thin. I like her look, very impressive. Nice attitude to her mother, so protective. pleasant compositio n, nice contrast with this dilapidated wall.

regards

Malgorzata

holmertz (9496) 2009-03-29 7:19

Hello Catherine,
A rare but welcome contribution. Indeed a very special girl and a nicely captured tender moment. Somehow the rough background seems to be just right.
Best regards,
Gert

amazon (10579) 2009-03-29 11:46

küba'dan nefis bir portre....
copmact makinanin geniş açı lens etkisi cok dikkat çekici,
tebrikler,
iffet

bostankorkulugu (33508) 2009-03-29 11:56

what an interesting couple, such characters... and what a hand indeed... it doesnt seem to belong to her... a beautiful double portrait this is cath with a perfect light management i think... loved the note and loved to see you around:)... all the best... K.

ninaL (19446) 2009-03-29 14:12

Bonsoir, Katarzyna.
Une très belle image, chaleureuse, directe...
A la voir, rien n'indique que la fille est homosexuelle, elle a un charme tout-à-fait féminin malgré la voie que tu évoques.
Un beau noir et blanc. Amitiés, Grazyna.

Clairedelune (4885) 2009-03-29 18:22

Allo Cath!
Quelle modèle, cette jeune fille! J'avais vu tes photos d'elle dans Flickr, mais comme je suis silencieuse dans Flickr (bien... encore plus que sur TE, t'imagine!), je ne t'ai pas laissé de mots. Alors, j'en profite ici. Ce sont d'excellentes photos, celle-ci inclus.
Quel étrange "couple". Sa mère? C'est presque incroyable! Si petite comparée à sa fille.
Ta conversion en N&B est, encore une fois, excellente. J'aurais peut-être coupé la petite partie à droite où le mur a pris fin, mais vraiment, c'est sans importance.
Bravo Catherine pour ta capacité à entrer en relation avec les gens que tu rencontres dans tes voyages. Et de nous les faire aimer.
Claire

kensimage (8539) 2009-03-30 0:23

Hi Cath--Like Claire, I saw these photos on flickr, and they are a wonderful display of humanity. The love shows between the two of them. I'm sure Cuba has its tolerant people and its bigots, like anywhere else, but it's good to know the culture doesn't "marginalize tolerance" the way some do. Regards, Ken.

MiguelP (14322) 2009-03-30 23:10

Hi Cath... Quite a tender portrait, they have and special gesture, a very Caribbean gesture I would add... The background, as simple as it is, tells me also about Cuba. Thank you! A pleasure to enjoy you work again.

Greetings from Bruxelles
Miguel

MrCairo (4643) 2009-03-31 4:58

Great mood - they are so close to Us.

Superb frame.

BR
Wojtek

broglia (3341) 2009-03-31 9:50

Fine portrait Cath, and a good choice to show it in B&W. There is obviously a strong bond here. The very masculine hand seems so incongruous on the mothers shoulder. Excellent piece of reportage.

Warm wishes, Roberto

Prometheus (824) 2009-03-31 10:30

merhaba Catherine ,
cok etkileyici bir fotograf
guzel bir calısma
selamlar
Levent

delnaja (7708) 2009-03-31 10:36 [Comment]

Show Comment

baba_flies (7951) 2009-03-31 10:50

Hello Catherine! Our Councilwoman that has been elected by the Zuerich citizens as our Town President (hard to translate but something like that) last weekend is a lesbian and this makes me truly proud to be from Zuerich. Nobody cared but they cared what she can, and this is how it should be. What a wonderful portrait of the two women, she is so pretty, so fragile, but yes her hand is the hand of a man, her mother seems so tiny and yet she stands her woman. Something like that :))) Beautiful work, I like it a lot. Best regards, Barbara.

mirabai77 (107) 2009-04-01 13:11

Hola Catherine, una imagen simpática de las dos mujeres en un abrazo de cariño, una escena que me gusta, enhorabuena.

E

specialist (773) 2009-04-06 7:16

technically speaking, this is a real success Cath. everything is there to the extent that it is needed. eline sağlık.

as to the note, it's really an interesting story to read about and I can say as the traveller -I guess you'd call it photographer- goes deep into life and explore it s/he is bound to come across very different stories of people from every quarter, of which 'Ürgüplü Vişne yengehanım' is a good example. ;)
selamlar

kamil

Polonaise (5634) 2009-04-06 11:25

There are certain levels of photography ( usually very high level) which is very difficult to discuss about...
You just simply adore the scene, the presentation, and the most important - adore the photographer who's done this miniature masterpiece.

Cath...It doesn't matter what street of what city you walk upon...
You are always in the right city, on the right street at the right time...

Miracle...?
Well... Something ore like selling your soul to a devil for some extra power !

Love it... Tremendously.

................

Silvio1953 (41390) 2009-04-09 6:14

Ciao Caterina, bel dopio ritratto in bianco e nero, ottima nitidezza e fantastiche espressioni, brava, con Amicizia Silvio

Vasa (5332) 2009-05-12 15:52

Bonsoir Catherine, chere amie,

je lis rarement les reactions des autres, mais cette fois-ci je n'ai pas pu resister a la reaction de Polonaise. Apres lui on n'a rien a ajouter, on a envie de copier le texte et d'approuver les mots.

Pourtant, j'ai le droit de demander ou sont disparu tes formidables couleurs. Et rien ne m'empeche de parcourir ta galerie. Elle est toujours la, genereusement offerte.

Avec les compliments pour ce doux portrait je me retire pour ce soir. Amicalement

Branko