Priceless Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

When travelling in Asia, a trip to the market place can be an adventure in itself. You can see all the things they sell…frogs, snake, farm rats, bugs, bats and many more strange creatures that they eat, the sight, the smell can be overwhelmingly exciting or disgusting, and the most precious sometimes is the interaction between people.

This mother and her son, asked if we would like to buy anything? She went on to name the prices, “potatoes 200 kip per kilo, orange 500 per kilo, broccoli 600 per kilo...” Two big happy face and infectious laugh, PRICELESS. And Master Card not accepted. We ended up buying a couple of fruits from her as a token of appreciation for the brief encounter and the opportunity of such cheerful images.

I was too close to get the mother face completely for this shot, see workshop for another shot from a bit further back and a color version.

phwall, rginer, patdeph, eversmile, ChrisJ, avene, Sistercosmo, bakes888 has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

rodgerg (22885) 2009-06-24 10:25

Hello Way,

An excellent dubble portrait with the expression, the glance and especially the smile of the two peoples very well collected. Good framing. Good use of B&W too with beautiful contrast and pleasant play of light.
Best regards,
Roger

emka (21127) 2009-06-24 10:50

Hi Way, Pricelss smile of mother and child. So, you bought only some fruits, and no grilled bats or spiders or skorpions? Asian markets can be awful for Europeans. For me the worst of all were eggs with boiled chicken in it, brrrrrr

Have a nice day

Maggie

yquem46 (7632) 2009-06-24 11:10

Hi way
rather unusual to have a portrait from you and in B&W
Just like when I post landscapes !!
You're doing pretty good, I must say, with these 2 faces in the diagonal. smiles and eyes are expressive and I'm not bothered at all to have the mother only partly
Best to you
patrick

rginer (525) 2009-06-24 11:36

Hi Way,
Very rare to have b & w photographs from you ! But this one is absolutely priceless.
Such a truly and happy laugh ! Interaction between people .... that's it ! Markets are my favorite places where you can really experience the real daily life of the people.
It's not so important that the mother face is partly showed in the picture. the composition is wonderful. ( I do not find any Asian market awful ..... )
Have a nice day.
Best regards,
Roser

patdeph (17308) 2009-06-24 12:21

hello Way
it disturb me not to see only a part of the face of the mothet!I think that it puts the accent on the eyes and the smile and gives a stronger impact to the photo!I love their expressions!The B&W is very nice for this portrait!Superb!
Regards
Pascale

eversmile (5888) 2009-06-24 12:48

Hi Way!

I like your choice of B & W here! It locks our look on their eyes and smiles, the attention being not distracted by the colors. The tight frame is also good, because it does not allow too many elements in the scene. It is maybe a little too tight on the upper corner, near the mother's eye; but that's not a very big problem either... the light is excellent.

For the market, I must say that I have been impressed by the market of Sayaburi, where all what you mentionned was available, plus cockroaches and earthworms!... Even with a lot of kao niao, no way!!!

Regards
Marine

rlrad (1187) 2009-06-24 16:50

Hi Way,

Nice souvenir to bring home - definitely a couple priceless smiles! Excellent conversion to black & white, it really brings out those smiles. I think the placement of the mother is well done - I would have guessed you did it on purpose.

Super job!
Reed

ChrisJ (69368) 2009-06-24 17:31

Hello Way

A good dual b&w portrait from South Laos. Nice to see an authentic smile, too! Excellent tonal range & dof. Tfs!

phwall (5396) 2009-06-24 18:11

Hello Way,
There is no better way to lift one's spirits than to see happy smiling faces.
A lovely portrait.
Regards
Peter

MarcT (20981) 2009-06-24 23:02

Hi Way,
those are huge smiles coming out of their hearts.
Nice eye contact too.
Cheers
Marc

Bartleby (4608) 2009-06-25 0:09

Hi Way,
lovely double portrait. Their expressions are indeed priceless and after all, I like how the mother stands back a little...as her son's guardian. Good job.

Philippe

aadilj (17950) 2009-06-25 0:53

Lovely, refreshing and a very warm scene thats been captured expertly Way. Nice impact and a nice portrait

avene (10810) 2009-06-25 9:45

hello Way,
priceless indeed, and I don't think you should worry about not including the mother entirely in the frame, I actually like a lot the tight framing, feels like I'm closer to them. the point of view works nicely, and the infectious smiles certainly makes this photo great.

best,
Kristine

maximage (13197) 2009-06-25 14:55

Bonjour Way,
Des sourires plus "craquants" impossible!
Ils sont vraiment beaux tous les deux. Le noir/blanc met bien en valeur cette image.
Amitiés.
max

MarianneS (14262) 2009-06-25 22:26

Hello Way,
Smiles, happiness... priceless. I like the title you choose to present these two ones. They look so happy at that moment!
The little boy is lovely, with beautiful eyes. And, personally, I like the fact that you cut the mother's face (although the frame is very close to her right eye), it gives more impact to her eyes I think.
An explosion of joy!! Very well done.
Cheers,
Marianne
PS : I loved your comment on my previous photo:)

Sistercosmo (2477) 2009-06-26 16:08

Hi Way,

terrific portrait of the mother and her son. For me, it's perfect that the mother's head is cut off - she's "just" the background, the support. Those wrinkles she has from laughing!! The son is the important one. At least that's how I see it as a mother....

Very touching and emotional shot! And that strip of light on the boy's forehead is really cool!

You whitened her teeth though, didn't you....

Take good care!
Linda

bakes888 (18045) 2009-06-27 2:00

Hello Way. They say the mark of a good photo is that it will evoke an emotional response, I am smiling from ear to ear so this must be a great photo! ;-) Well timed and well presented. Thanks for sharing.
Have a good weekend, Paul.

baba_flies (7903) 2009-06-28 4:37

Hello Way! I love markets, no matter where they stand, it can be the market in Zuerich "Buerkliplatz" over the street from the lake which takes place twice a week, selling fresh produce, cheese, bread, meat, fish and flowers, a farmers hippie market in Vermont or the night market in Bangkok trying out different foods. This is where it all happens, where our food comes from. And many times you earn these smiles because they love what they do ... and are not frustrated behind a counter in some shopping mall. What cute smiles, it comes so natural, from their hearts. Happy Sunday ... Barbara.

Angshu (33185) 2009-06-30 2:14

Sabaidie Way
I would prefer the B&W post..in fact the close crop gives this more intimacy than the WS post! Like the play of light on the kid's face & also his smile and most of all the deep look in his eyes. Good work!
Best Regards
Angshu

Coolka (88) 2009-11-04 4:00

Hello Way,
When I`m looking at this Photo I do believe they were smiling only to you and they were truly happy at that moment.
Brilliant picture.
best regards
Joanna