One life, one story, a photo from Baucau, East

Photographer's Note

Well, this time it's not a landscape, but a portrait.

This one means a lot to me. Me and my friends were in the middle of a dangerous trip to Tutuala, a spectacular place with stunning coral reefs, when we met for a brief moment this man in Baucau. The expression in his face condensates so much about East-Timor people that I cannot put in words... so I can just look at the photo and remember. I hope it "speaks" for itself, so you can have a glimpse of what I feel.

Next time I'll upload a portrait of a young child. They're the future of this young nation and they have a very valuable legacy to uphold.

PS: please remember that East-Timor was part of Portugal until 1975, so most of their people have a "look" that is a mix of european and asian.

zeus, Paolo, benkrut, natc, kwazireal ha puntuado esta nota como útil.

Critiques | Translate

benny (631) 2005-02-11 7:13

Beau portrait, regard parfait, belles couleurs.

maciekda (19895) 2005-02-11 7:15

this is very nice, simple but effective, nice classical composition, sth in the eyes.. very nice portrait

Luko (14000) 2005-02-11 7:16

usually I don't like close centered portraits, but this one works very nicely, I think this is because the composition is very simple and strong with the hat which forms like a cross shape.

Strange to see he's an Asian, he could look like a brasilian too...

hispic (9658) 2005-02-11 7:46

Wonderful portrait to feel a story. Powerful aged face in the beautiful light.
Simple blur in the background is also very effective!

tournesol (54) 2005-02-11 8:03

Very nice portrait. So much expression in the eyes. The background is also perfect.

ttmountainman (2279) 2005-02-11 8:46

Excellent portrait!

zeus (1462) 2005-02-11 8:50

Linda foto...fundo borrado, nitidez extrema no rosto do velho homem, uma pessoa que com certeza tem uma expressão interessante. Talvez pudesse ser ainda mais interessante se de alguma forma o homem não estivesse tão centrado no quadro.

puister (570) 2005-02-11 9:15

A good portrait. You can tell the years.

bboss (3578) 2005-02-11 9:28

Excellent portrait, the centred head works well (disproving the rule of thirds nicely). One can only imagine the horrors this old guy has lived through (and in some ways our responsibility for it). I find it hard to believe that you think the Portuguese have there own set of expressions - in what way would you say his expression is more portuguese than asian?
I love the photo

jocke71 (566) 2005-02-11 10:24

You're right about the expression, it speaks volumes. Very well done Joel. Looking forward to the child-photo.

kabe (2011) 2005-02-11 15:17

Beautiful photo Joel:)
Great portrait of an intersting subject.
Regards

Ebbe (9625) 2005-02-11 15:38

And a great portrait at that. Great skin texture and tones. Fine eyecontact that matches the smirky smile.

maurazos (0) 2005-02-12 3:48

One of your always impressive pictures, full of power, detail and impossible to imitate textures. Regards.

Leonie (8809) 2005-02-13 4:51

Great portrait! He nearly looks like a statue! I love such kind of hats! Well done,

Léonie (pts tomorrow!)

Amandine (1072) 2005-02-13 8:18

Very nice portrait, very sharp, well contrasted. this man seems to be both sweet and unhappy, i love this brown colors, it's once again very well done

cqnguyen2 (168) 2005-02-13 18:46

Beautiful picture! You've captured the soul of this man through his eyes.

joseelias (0) 2005-02-14 9:15

Excelente retrato. O olhar directo traz intensidade à imagem mas é o que se sente que existe naqueles olhos que dá a verdadeira força à imagem. O olhar vivo (com mais vida que a maior parte das pessoas com a idade dele na nossa sociedade) e uma espécie de sorriso contido que torna a expressão difícil de interpretar (esta do sorriso quase parece a gioconda, eheheh…) fazem com que o nosso olhar se fixe na imagem com muita facilidade.

Tecnicamente está também muito boa. O uso do chapéu preenche uma parte da imagem que iria ficar demasiado vazia sem ele ao mesmo tempo acentua a importância do olhar ao fazer os olhos sobressaírem da relativa penumbra em que se encontram. Excelente profundidade de campo, cores, texturas e detalhes.

MiguelP (14470) 2005-02-17 15:34

Qué retrato Joel! Es espectacular, lo que tiene que ser. Veo asomarse su alma por los ojos. Bella, bellísima.

Aymeric (553) 2005-02-23 4:36

Nothing to say, everything is in his eye !

alainh (33209) 2005-03-03 10:36

hello Joel.
a great shot. just the good light in this man.
very well framed.
congrats
alain

hamster (104) 2005-03-09 18:12

Fanstastic photo! Especialy, I like the man's eyes. Good work, Joel.

Paolo (41258) 2005-09-13 12:04

What a great portrait Joel!!!!
it is ...so perfect!
the composition, the colors, the light, the focus...and also that fantastic full of wires face...all perfect!
thanks, ciao

silycat (611) 2007-01-11 17:02

Hi!
This photo has been chosen by me to represent country in which it was taken in thema "Around the world", it is a very good and sucesful capture and excellent photo!

natc (315) 2007-03-07 17:10

well this man's face definitely "speaks for itself" as you said. he seems to have seen, know & undeerstood so many things. thanks a lot for this shot, will be one of my favourites.

KateinDenmark (1634) 2009-05-24 10:18

I really like the rich brown in this photo as his skin seems almost as much leather as his hat. The glint in his eyes is perfect. I'm not sure if I know who his is, but I sure would like to. Wonderful post!

Sincerely,
Kate

flatwin (2181) 2009-05-24 11:04

bonsoir

excellent shoot de cet homme au visage buriné et tres expressif. LE gros plan est parfait pour cette photo
Arnaud

mrehill (0) 2009-06-11 4:35 [Comment]