Black Venus, a photo from Kunene, North

Photographer's Note

I met this beautiful Himba woman in a village after our visit at Epupa falls on Kunene river that mark the border between Namibia and Angola.
In Opuwo we bought some tobacco and sugar to give to the chief of the Himba's villages we encountered on our way. It was an opportunity to take some photographs at this interesting tribespeople.

Kaokoland is home to some 6000 Himba. These friendly people are closely related to the Herero and speak the same language. The Himba are herdsmen, breeding mainly cattle and goats while leading a semi-nomadic life. They migrate with their herds to the different waterholes from season to season.

For the Himba, clothes, hair and jewellery hold a special meaning and form an important part of their tradition and culture. Even newborn babies are adorned with pearl necklaces while older children are given bracelets crafted from copper and decorated with shells.
The proud Himba women spend many hours on beauty care and grooming every day. They cream their whole body with a mixture of rancid butterfat and ochre, scented with the aromatic resin of the Omuzumba shrub. The cream lends the body an intense reddish glow, which reflects the Himba ideal of beauty.

http://www.namibia-travel.net/northnamibia/himba.htm

banyanman, Salil_B, lestans, sleon, saamb, petite, everlasting, devimeuxbe, ktanska, siolaw, MLINES, D4hu heeft deze opmerking als nuttig gemarkeerd

Critiques | Translate

banyanman (7797) 2006-03-04 12:32

A beautiful profile portrait, Luca, capturing fascinating detail in the headgear. The colour of the out-of-focus background complements the colour of your subject well. I wonder if a tiny bit of fill-flash might have helped bring out a little more detail from the shadows though? Cheers . . . David

fijiphil (1355) 2006-03-04 12:36

Agree with previous post. Good shot.

faubry (35447) 2006-03-04 12:56

hello Luca, superb shot, with beautiful background, i like this close up portrait
bravo!:
francine

gaby (19819) 2006-03-04 12:59

Luca bonsoir - splendid Himba woman and superb profile portrait - the background also is fantastic -
Have a nice sunday
Thanks
Gaby

lucski (3691) 2006-03-04 13:08

hi luka
fantastico...
very great shot.
lukasz

Salil_B (737) 2006-03-04 13:11

Agree with David.
An excellent image nevertheless.
Salil

flydragon (0) 2006-03-04 13:14

Hello Lucas
wondefull shot from this woman Himba
beautifull color and blur background.
Lucas since you decided to take also her chest
this is sade u had to cut the curve, in my opinion.
because all in this shot is about curve, dont think we need the
part of sky here.
congrat
••simon••

lestans (17258) 2006-03-04 13:21

Bellissimo ritratto, chissà perchè la ragazza ha questa aria un poco triste pur essendo tanto bella!
Bravo! Livia

jrzufferey (7305) 2006-03-04 14:18

Superbe image elle me rappelle mon voyage dans cette belle région du Kahalari. Amicalement/jr

Keitht (1342) 2006-03-04 14:33

Great notes and a beautifully framed image. More light onto the face would have been nice.

sleon (9402) 2006-03-04 14:36

Hi Luca
Another beautiful portrait, full of detail and I like the melancholy/thoughtful expression on her face. Good use of shallow DOF to focus just on the subject, though I agree with Simon's comment - I would have cropped either higher or lower on the bottom edge of the frame.
Regards, Susanna

saamb (1008) 2006-03-04 14:44

Luca,
Thanks for useful note. i like this nice portrait of a Himba woman. frame, background, figure and colours are excellent. tnk U
SAAM

Ina (2687) 2006-03-04 16:31

Fine portrait of this pretty woman... I like how you managed to bring out her expression so very well... Colors and light are exelent too ...TFS...Ina...

Gerrit (62042) 2006-03-04 16:32

HiLuca,
very imposant portrait of a beautiful woman.
Her dignity and rest are impressive,
Great job.
Thanks and regards, Gerrit

johnhopkins (866) 2006-03-04 18:25

Great protrait Luca with a wonderful light on her hair and an interesting expression on her face. Good dof too.

petite (550) 2006-03-04 20:04

Hi Luca,
Again, what a wonderful portrait. I really like the angle, putting the woman's back in the light. She really seems to glow. A shame she looks a bit sad though. I wonder what she was thinking...
Nice work,
Marie

everlasting (19680) 2006-03-05 3:12

Luca, the serene expression you have captured on her face makes her even more beautiful - the light shining on her back glows - the excellent DOF and the subtle colours therein compliment this beauty. (In my favourites, Luca)

devimeuxbe (58557) 2006-03-05 3:31

Hi Luca
The subject of the picture is fantastic. The frame for the portrait very good. But to be a great picture, it will be better with the light on the face. Fot this; it's not perfect, only beautifull.
Have a nice day.
Bertrand

ktanska (44790) 2006-03-06 8:42

Hi Luca,
Absolutely beautiful, both the woman and the photo. The bright and blurry background works perfectly giving this a silhouette feeling.
I don't think her face needs more light, all portraits don't need to be composed same way.
The shadow emphasizes the bronze colour making her a living statue in a very positive sense.
Kari

tjanze (5674) 2006-03-06 11:00

Hi Luca!
Wow! What a beauty.Fantastic portrait.Very nice body lines.Beautiful.

siolaw (38294) 2006-03-11 14:53

hi!
nice copper color effect on that shot...well done

Jovillard (0) 2006-03-14 7:12 [Comment]

Show Comment

saguzar (862) 2006-03-15 15:50

Penso che sia una bellissima donna, ed è certo può essere una Venere africana. Molto curioso sono le cosmetici che si mettono, non credo che abbiano uso qua.
La foto è ottima e hai preso buoni detagli.
Ciao
Hernán

Polonaise (5802) 2006-03-17 16:50

Stunning portrat,Luca.
The colors, the texture, the background...!
Shall I continue till I drop dead.
Statuesque sculpture of a beautiful human being.
George
I'm stealling it!

hookery (621) 2006-04-04 20:34

Que foto tan impresionante, muy bella y rara, casi irreal.

Gracias!

Yuri

yeno (0) 2007-03-21 5:50

Almost perfect portrait, Luca, I especially like shallow DOF and a bit of underlightnind in the shades. Very nice profile, picture with a sense of mood.
thanks for sharing

baladeva (252) 2008-07-13 20:42 [Comment]