Strange coat, a photo from Uttar Pradesh, North

Photographer's Note

After the colourful photos of the last few days I thought I'd post a quieter one......
Very early in the morning on the ghats at Varanasi I saw this man who didn't say anything or acknowledge me in any way - he just stood there looking at something across the river.
He was wearing a thick coat, almost like a carpet, like Joseph's coat of many colours. And just standing there staring, watching the boats go by. What was he thinking? Why was he standing there?

Another scanned slide, so not the best quality.
Adjusted levels and colour balance, and cropped to remove a boat from the left. Finally added a frame.

robiuk, kajspice, rafelito, arnabchat, gp_pl has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

robiuk (10807) 2006-05-02 17:05

Indeed a strange character in this man wearing most unusual coat of a colour that actually go well with other colours within the frame.
Very good composition - kind of shot I really admire!
Robi

naxius (16685) 2006-05-02 17:08

Hello Brian,
Indeed a very interesting compo with the diagonal made with the man and the boat..
Though I think the man is too centered within the image.
But you found a very simple scene to catch and you did it well.
Alex

anibal1285 (142) 2006-05-02 17:13

Very nice composition, I love the tones on thte water, it look almost unreal. The DOF is not well at all, and the men that appears as the 1st visual objective is quite noisy and blurry... thinks that coul be fixed on postmastering... overall a good work.

Homerhomer (4080) 2006-05-02 17:36

A succesfull image Brian, the oddness of this character shows through your image. i definetely enjoy the composition, the stairs create a nice triangle from where the king is looking at his kingdom, boat is a nice touch.
I am not sure about the pinkish cast I am seeing (perhaps my monitor), just not sure if I like it or not, not saying it's good or bad;-)
Very pleasent image Brian.
Peter

rafelito (3648) 2006-05-02 19:34

Hi Brian, nice composition and pos edition work.Regards, Rafael

kajspice (4542) 2006-05-02 20:30

Hi Brian...

you know how I love your scanned slides...so dont bother justifying it to me anyhow...

A very strange presence this chap has here...he does not look real actually...

Not the type of work I expect from the average (middle-aged?) white brit :) so I am watching on to see some more of your archives and learn about your thoughts... edit...its always nice to throw stereotypes away.

perhaps not the most striking image, but I would be happy to have it in my archive as a memory...

thebecky (688) 2006-05-02 21:03

Well despite quality and the stragely pink tones there is something rather pleasing about this shot. The diagonal beach which mathes the mans coat (though possibly because they are both pink) works well and and the boat balances out the shot nicely.

Sherrish (0) 2006-05-02 21:08

I really like the simplicity and minimalism here. Could tell any number of different stories depending upon the viewer. Wonderful!

arnabchat (7233) 2006-05-03 0:55

Brian, this is a classic in its own, a style which is commonly forllowed in various compositions, and all of them look great!
good job!

gp_pl (1394) 2006-05-03 2:16 [Comment]

Show Comment

jinju (14265) 2006-05-03 3:41

Excellent image. I love the look of this photo, the strange coat man, all alone, looking beyond the frame. That boat in the corner helps balance this shot.

ramthakur (1559) 2006-05-03 12:36

The image of the man gets me in this picture.
His posture, shape, size, clothes and the dark outline of his face all contribute towards evoking an uneasy feeling.
Could he be the prototypical man standing at the edge of his existence and staring at the nothingness of it all?

Polonaise (5802) 2006-05-03 20:54

This is rather unusual photo, in every aspect, starting from the shape of the head of the loner, to his weird legs, than comes brilliant composition, and finally...the color. This is not the most appreciated color of the light spectrum (righteously so), but in this case it adds some mystery to already mystic image. The picture, for some reason seems more African than Indian subcontinent, but that is yet another surprise to it..
Combined - extraordinary work of well executed idea, brilliantly served on a silver plate for us.
Thanks, Brian. I believe it was my debut on your site, and the pleasure was entirely mine.
George

Luan (12971) 2006-05-22 3:57

Hello Brian,
I don't understand why I have never seen you picture gallerie before today. this picture is really awesome, the perfect position of each elements on the frame, the atmospher is really mystic. A well balanced and a beautiful picture.
Luan