Girl in Pokhara Photo

Photographer’s Note

This little girl was riding her bike while I was talking to her neighbor near a bunch of rice fields*. She was awfully cute, and awfully curious about the strange foreigner passing through her town. I think her curiosity kept her close. Before we said our goodbyes, I took their photos** (which I later sent them via email). She was so excited to see herself. She immediately ran down the road and grabbed her elderly, hobbling father. She dragged the poor guy a hundred meters or so, but when I showed him her photo through the LCD screen, he couldn't believe it. He was so happy. It's amazing the joy and LCD screen can bring!

*The rice fields in Nepal are some of the greenest I've ever seen. They look almost surreal.

**See workshop to see another shot.

UlfE, gelor, Mistral, sined, rshrestha has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

fjufju (335) 2006-08-21 8:41

James,
so fresh-green background is so unusual. really great colors. could be a bit sharper.

Polonaise (5638) 2006-08-21 8:51

Hey guys out there.
Watch out this girl when she grew-up.
Many broken hearts will follow the path of her life.
And...Good for her!
Good for you James (that's for the picture)
g.

UlfE (9238) 2006-08-21 9:03

Hi James,

An absolutely wonderful portrait. The little girl's eyes are so full of curiosity. Superb colors. I guess that the girl was moving and the this was the reason why the portrait is not sharp everywhere. But it is extremely sharp where it should be sharp. I love the photo and I think you have done really great job.

Cheers,

Ulf

gelor (3224) 2006-08-21 10:29

Bonjour James,
Bien jolie cette petite ! Belle netteté mais je suis un peu surpris qu' 400 ISO le grain soit déjà assez sensible. Cela ne gène en rien la qualité d'ensemble de la photo.
Merci pour le partage.
Gérard

stevekhart (41) 2006-08-21 11:57

Great portrait, lovely colours - very striking! She looks cheeky! Make sure you're sharp on the eyes - looks a little like it's focussed on her forehead.
Steve.

iGirl (1223) 2006-08-21 17:36

Hi James, this is a beautiful portrait; she is so full of life! The colors are really amazing. It looks like the shot was a little blurry and then you sharpened it on the computer? To me it looks like the sharpening brought out a bit of grain that might be removed. Other than that, this is really great, and the lack of sharpness in some areas does not bother me. Nice depth of field.

Thanks for sharing!

Erin

rewshearer (682) 2006-08-21 18:09

Beautiful sharpness and DOF, colours are amazing! TFS
Rew

Mistral (13846) 2006-08-22 17:40

Hi James,
I love her natural joyful sight as well the sharpness of the image.
Very well done!
A smile
Luca

yeno (0) 2006-08-27 14:46

Just beautifull. Picture and the story.
Regards,
Borut

scalerman (25787) 2006-08-29 12:12

interesting work with the flash here; it's an unusual light... regards, c

kinginexile (2440) 2006-09-20 1:09

I think the father saw, in a weird way, the realization that his daughter is beautiful to all the world, not just to him. And maybe the green rice fields of his village too. When people look at the LCD, they can have the fun to recognize themselves instantly, but sometimes, there is an approving look on their face, and usually, and they may know little between snapshots and cartier-Bresson, it happens when we have also done ourselves pride with the camera. I think your shot is one of those, nothing but what was in front of you, and yet, it glows with her primeval beauty against the incredible green bokeh.

sined (4483) 2006-09-24 3:52

wonderful portrait and story James!
your picture make me happy for the day !
have a good day too !
denis