Gentle giant, a photo from Pomorskie, West

Photographer's Note

Original note (as posted in Febr.2007)

How close can you get ?
Is it possible to get so close to another human being with your lens, there is no more room for breathing…
So close…To share the wounds with another human being…
So close - to see his/her cavities… The hair in the nose… Read the mind…
Is the lens of my camera so powerful to register that close encounter…?

Let's try once more…

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Photographing celebrities…!
Capricious, with a huge blown ego - celebrities.
Their faces are known to every adult and child in the country, continent, sometimes the entire world !!!
The images in magazines, newspapers, movie posters on the streets, everything is there but the PORTRAITS…?
Portraits! All of a sudden it's a different world. A world reserved for the inner circles.
I have no studio, no connections, no name…It's just me and my PRAKTICA…
Therefore - I bribed, I sneaked, I played dummy (easiest part (:-))), I talked, I smiled deceivingly, I lied, I kissed their hands and their asses, and I was doing my business - pushing that bloody shutter button.
I refused to be a paparazzi. If I can't interact with my medium, I won't do it. If I can't control the situation - I won't do it. They're famous, I'm not…

We'll see…?

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Marek Perepeczko simply refused. He wanted to talk only. I insisted on taking the snapshots. He finally gave up. Just three-four unobtrusive clicks - allowed.
No more than that.

"Did you finish"? - he asked.
Yeah…I nodded my head.
"Good! I want to be left alone now"
He picked up the matchstick from the table and put it in his mouth. Completely unexpected, the next and last click of my camera reverberated like the noisy sound blast of a rifle in the quietness of the room..

"You son of a "….!!!!

Then he smiled. For the first time he smiled.

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Marek Perepeczko died few years ago. Gentle giant (almost two meters tall !) of the Polish movie and theater industry.

This picture is a tribute to HIM.

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You may find your original critique in here or, in here

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daisy-daisy, ninaL, nicol_g, Floydian ha puntuado esta nota como útil.

Critiques | Translate

ninaL (21348) 2009-05-17 11:01

Kliknelam na galerie, i na ekranie ukazala mi sie gora miniaturki wpierw. Pierwsza mysl : to jest zdjecie robione przez jakiegos Polaka ! Takie rzeczy czuje sie z daleka. No i okazuje sie, ze nie tylko przez "jakiegos Polaka", ale przez samego Polonaise !!!
Pamietam.
Piekny, wysublimowany portret, wypieszczony w kazdym pixelku.
...choc ja twarz jego zapomnialam...
Dzieki za odswiezenie pamieci.

Na zdrowko. G.

MrCairo (0) 2009-05-17 13:35

Doskonaly Janosik !! W swietnej pozie - mistrzowskiej. Ogromnie mi sie podoba. A aktora uwielbialem. Do dzis jak w jakiejsc telewizji emituja Janosika - z Synek siedzimy jak zakleci !

Pozdrawiam W.

polter (7239) 2009-05-24 13:30

2007-02-11 było:

"Wspaniały portret. A Perepeczko piękny i jeszcze taki młody...
Się nie będę wymądrzała, bo co ja wiem o robieniu portretów ? Widzę światło ładne z boku od tyłu, że się pięknie układa.
Jak blisko da się podejść ? Nigdy nie wiadomo. Na ile zbliżyć się pozwolą - to znaczy czasem w ogóle, czasem bliżej, niż można przypuszczać. A czasem nawet bliżej, niż oni sami przypuszczają. Bo przecież takie klisze to w jakimś stopniu sens ich życia. I dobrze to wiedzą. Tu masz go tak prawdziwego... Pozdrawiam ciepło i cieszę się, że znów jesteś z nami T."

I teraz tak samo, łącznie z końcówką :))) I może tylko dodam, że moim zdaniem to jeden z lepszych portretów Perepeczki.

I pozdrowienia łączę serdeczne T.

Floydian (30970) 2009-05-29 1:31

One of the best notes i read lately. Never heard of this man, but with your story he comes alive, knowing who is is, how this picture was made, his reaction towards you...must be another great moment in your photographic life.
The hard white background is very good, and that matchstick is just what you needed for something extra. Never seen this photo before till now....a great one, just as i like to see them from you.

Take care,

H