Gujarati Farmer, a photo from Gujarat, Ouest

Photographer's Note

I met this man on a wander through the fields of a village in central Saurasthra. I'd gone to visit a Dalit family on the edge of the main village and they had then given me a tour of the 'estate'. The government had funded a new well in the village and had insisted it stand on or near their 'property' thus reversing the time old 'ban' on them using the main village well. This man's family and their livestock lived well away from the main village in quite a substantial traditional house, an oasis of trees in an otherwise scorched arrid landscape. Although the monsoon that year had washed away great gulleys through crop fields....if only more of it could be saved.

I had a bad stomach - his wife gave me a sweet drink and my stomach ache disappeared! He is framed by the the doorway of his house.

Thankyou kind family!

jhm, Wolbo trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

bantonbuju (51815) 2005-01-09 4:58

good, sharp portrait with excellent cut off of the models from the background

jhm (211734) 2005-01-09 6:22

A beautiful story, his wife a good doctor for the stomach, Kev, excellent cropped, I like of the sharpness, also the eyes and the beard are sharp detail. Very nice job!
Greetings John.

mugush (2104) 2005-01-09 12:49

Really nice picture! his face telling the whole story! excellent!!!

gsgeorge (764) 2005-02-09 1:10

Elegant portrait. Nice job getting in really close. The focus is great here. Awesome work, great story.

Shakespear (636) 2006-01-19 19:04

The eyes .. slight reddish .. the story !!
Brilliant pic. lovely Inida gallery u have Kev.

-Devjit-

lotis (132) 2006-05-03 11:20

Hi Kev,
I have to agree with you when you say you like this one a lot. This is indeed a well done protrait, and the man's expression is quite priceless. I also like the fact that nothing surrounds the man. I am not saying the photo would not be good had something been around the man (landscape or whatever..) but the black is well suited for this kind of portrait.
I must tell you that when I concentrate on a photo, I look at every detail there is, so most of the things I say may look like insignificant things to you.
There are a couple of things that could be worked on in this photo.
First, the man's right shoulder is completly blurred, and we can distinguish the colors, but that is it. It will not bother everyone, since not everyone will notice it, and no one seemed to have noticed it yet...
Also, if you look closely, you will see that there is a darker line (darker than the background) around the right part of the man's face.
Finally, there seem to be some noise on the right part of the photo, and none on the left.

However, I do not think that what I have said would justify or explain why people seem to "ignore" this fine shot. Most people will not even notice the little mistakes.
But to many people, a portrait is hard to appreciate or really understand. I am actually one of those people, and I have to try really hard to appreciate one. I can say wether I like it or not, but usually I don't know why. It is just wether the photo is technically good or other small detail. I just don't know what to look for when I look at a potrait. But I have to admit that there is nothing better than a good portrait to explain many things about a country or region.

That being said, this is a very nice shot and it definately deserves more recognition.

Best Regards
Louis