The Grand Matriarch At Work Photo

Photographer’s Note

We went to a neighborhood composed of houses of what seemed like a group of relatives engaged in a lot of livelihood. They have a brass factory, a mango processing business, etc. This old woman was drying up the processed mango. Nearby was a brass factory where soldering and melting were done, thus the smoke was a bit thick. The effect, in my opinion, was very nice.

But I didn't stay long because the smoke was too much for my eyes to handle. (But yes, I had a lot of shots there. So expect more pictures to be posted by me from this setting.)

(Auto-levels and cropping)

cgrindahl, eleparc, andybrook, ChrisJ, jhonny_blue, GrahamB, joannar, nwoehnl, cmartos, sunny, Jeppe, hamiltonl, adamchewts01 has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

cgrindahl (6109) 2004-05-25 3:30

Great image Manny, capturing precisely what you describe in your note. One can almost smell the smoke. This is a nice contrast to your wonderful images of children. The limited depth of field works especially well in a smoky setting such as this. Your composition is as always impeccable. I love the intense colors in the woman's blouse and the mango skins contrasting with the muted tones of the background. Very fine, once again Manny.

olli (2091) 2004-05-25 3:36

Great subject with great framing, DOF and background – as usual. But I´m not sure about focusing – I quess this shot could work better if you had focused on her hands/mangos.
Good shot in any case, Manny.

eleparc (24059) 2004-05-25 4:02

another Nan spot Manny??;-) goes 200% for me. i like this new shot very very much.. you still astonish me with your posts , and i like that...light is spot on and the focus as well... please give me some tech details like the aperture and the speed please to try catch up with you..;-)

a AAA photo from you Manny ( should I say as usual?)

unlike olli( i just read his comment), i think you took the right decision to focus on her face and body rather than the hands...

henrye (3498) 2004-05-25 4:05

I like the smoky effect on the photo. In my opinion it gives the photo a lot of mood. Great composition and nice colors. Great expression on her face too.

yesterday (9787) 2004-05-25 4:09

WOW - Again this is one of the better, excellent compoced moment, great expression, light and contrast + color is excellent.

Great photo Manuel;

andybrook (136) 2004-05-25 4:15

An excellent shot,the smokey background gives it real atmosphere.
The focus,composition and lighting is great.
Excellent work,very well done.

clodreno (0) 2004-05-25 4:16

Great shot Manuel.
like it a lot. The dof is excellent here.
the light very good too.

pridel (233) 2004-05-25 4:19

Belle lumière douce sur cette femme. Un très beau contraste de couleurs entre le fond gris et les couleurs chaudes des tissus. Et entre les deux, la femme au cheveux gris et aux bras dorés. Très bien vu. J'aime beaucoup.

GrahamB (939) 2004-05-25 4:22

Excellent shot. The focus on the face is pin sharp and the shallow DOF works very well. The angle of the line and the way the lady is leaning give the shot a feeling of the action.

Luko (13880) 2004-05-25 4:27

Manny it SHOULD be a nice shot but I'm quite disturbed with some processing you've made.
The arms and shoulders are severely edging, I can't say where this is coming from...

[workshop] [compare] +

ChrisJ (69618) 2004-05-25 4:34

Good dof, pov, & interesting subject matter.

jhonny_blue (4938) 2004-05-25 5:22

Very beautiful portrait of this old woman !
The colours and expression are so great !
Congratulations

jrj (34779) 2004-05-25 5:44

A very fine composition of this grand lady at work. The colours works very good together and the background setting is just perfect for the pix. One of your better I think Manny.

maciekda (19587) 2004-05-25 6:58

hi Manuel, it is a great picture, great moment, great expression, interesting environment. but i don't think your post processing is great here - i clearly see some artifacts around the woman, seems like you worked in PS on the background and the woman separately...
anyway, it is a very nice picture, but the version you present here isn't flawless.

avigur_11 (21271) 2004-05-25 9:25

She looks like she is suffering from the smoke, too. This is a very good shot, taken from a perfect angle, and using excellent sunlight. I like the mango product and the diagonal line of the wire. Very good, Manny.

Darren (6815) 2004-05-25 9:31

Hi Manny. I really like your composition here, you caught this at just the right moment I think. There is more life in this photo I think than many of your (and my) simpler portraits. The action adds a lot. I wish her face was a little more clear, I think the smoke has had some affect, but I think the focus was missed as well, because if you look at the shoulders of her shirt, they seem sharp. Anyways, this is a really nice catch.

joannar (304) 2004-05-25 9:44

An extraordinary shot even by your standards, Manuel. It's very natural even though the smile on the woman's face may suggest she is aware of being photographed. I love the blue blurred background - it's suggestive of the smoke you mention in your note. An excellent moment to capture!

nwoehnl (118) 2004-05-25 12:35

I love her expression and posture, Manny. The sunlight makes the woman stand out very well in this smoky setting and against the short DOF. The diagonal made by the rope on which the mango "sheets" are being hung to dry is a fine compositional detail. Well done.

papagolf21 (56044) 2004-05-25 14:21

Ce que j'aime chez vous Manny, c'est votre façon de photographier les personnes avec votre âme (le mot n'est pas trop fort). L'émotion dans chacune de vos photographies passe et cela c'est un véritable bonheur.
Quant à la qualité photographique : du talent Manny.
What I like on your premise Manny, it is your way of photographing the people with your heart (the word is not too strong).The emotion in each one of your photographs passes and that it is a true happiness.
As for photographic quality:Manny talent.

agpires (0) 2004-05-25 15:03

A beautiful composition, a very fine focusing, a very good light, a well attenuated bottom which emphasizes the old lady busy at its work, that is still a very beautiful image, Manuel, your work makes me think of that of Sebastiao Salgado, still congratulation.

cmartos (6086) 2004-05-26 3:12

A great composition Manuel, the framing is perfect. The light is absolutely beautiful, great DOF also. Congratulations!

sunny (3068) 2004-05-26 14:20

Great capture again, Manny! :-) I am afraid I may repeat myself, but your portrait shots are just magnificent, all made with a certain style and atmosphere, with some very special feelings emanated. Fantastic light here and I love her face expression and her red dress. Excellent!

joseelias (367) 2004-05-28 8:15

The smoke creates a very nice atmosphere (at least in the photo...) by helping to blur the background. The contrasts of the vivid colors of the woman clothes and of the objects she's working with also make her stand out very nicely against the back.

the expression in her face and the body position was very well captured.

Jeppe (18623) 2004-05-29 3:12

Great contrast to your latest post (the girl with waterdrops)
Strange to think what 50 years can do to a young girl ;-)

Very fine ligth/shadow/contrast you got this photo with Manuel, thanks for sharing.

ninadev (5225) 2004-06-01 12:23

I like this one a lot, the expression on the old lady's face (probably because of the smoke, the angle of the shot which enhances the diagonals made by her body and arms, and the subject matter which is quite interesting: smoked mango hey ? I thought these were tobacco leaves.

naxius (16679) 2004-06-02 15:31

Each time there is a new post of Manuel, I am sure that this shot will astonished me once again!!
Manuel, you have a brilliant sense of art and I always appreciate watching at your work.

Thank you so much.

lucasvdb (631) 2007-02-28 6:54