The Boat Man II, a photo from Uttar Pradesh, North

Photographer's Note

There are many boat men along the Ganges river in Varanasi waiting to ferry people to their destinations, or to give tourists a gentle ride along the river to observe the daily activities on the ghats (stairs leading to the water) and the river.
You can see a close up portrait of this hard working man here

Scanned from neg
Iso 400

InasiaJones, macondo, Longroute heeft deze opmerking als nuttig gemarkeerd

Critiques | Translate

yquem46 (38752) 2010-07-30 10:18

Hi wanda
Yes many and i do not know this one !
IMHO excellent choice to turn it to B&W, rather strongly contrasted, since the sky in the BG was probably very white and maybe even overexposed
I like his attitude and the sandals as the FG
Well done
have a nice WE
Patrick

brandstaetter (15915) 2010-07-30 10:21

great one , Wanda, perfect proportions, even the shoes are on the right place. Wonderfully balanced.

Compliments, Chris

LOOOK13 (19046) 2010-07-30 10:25

Salut Wanda.
Very beautiful photograph, the format is ideal, and which original choice for this black and white which gives a beautiful dimension to your image. J' like much.
Cheer.

jonathan_hart (21276) 2010-07-30 10:44

nice texture of the wood and i like the sandals presence in FG
a good contrasted B&W
jc

tusharkmandal (3173) 2010-07-30 11:35

A nice one. The black and white was a nice choice due to some strong exposure I guess. I find the picture good inspite of the fact it has some grains in it.

Regards
Tushar

InasiaJones (31566) 2010-07-30 20:14

Hi Wanda,

You would have omitted to mention the close-up portrait you have made of this man, I would have referred to him anyway because I remembered his face from your gallery, a very special portrait of a unique character.

This is a brilliant shot with a very strong composition.

I couldn't think of a better place where to position this rower, off-centered horizontally and vertically. His sandals offer a great foreground element, telling a story about this humble man.

The textures of the wood and cracked paint are rich and contribute to the pictural quality of this black and white shot, with the excellent contrasts that they bring.

I like the fact that the man is looking in a far away direction and the motion suggested by his body. I also like the way light is drawing a contour line around him, particularly around his face and right arm, helping to detach it from the background boat. The effect of perspective is also a key feature of your image, with the side of the boat converging towards your subject.

Varanasi, your favorite city... It most have made you feel good when you've edited this photo... :-p))

André
XXXXX

bmukherjee (1516) 2010-07-30 22:22

Hi Wanda,

A very unique shot - excellent POV. I especially like the sandals in the foreground - very creative composition! Good clarity too...

best wishes,
biswaroop

Giorgio (11279) 2010-07-31 0:02

- Nice composition Wanda, very artistic and even poetic portrait, two good ideas, sandals on the foreground and the choice of B&W, anyway, bravo!
Have a nice weekend.
giorgio

macondo (20449) 2010-07-31 4:23

Hi Wanda.
Superb study in b/w, with contrast just right. I love the composition, with that good area of decking in the foreground, and the subject just into the top right corner. And of course, the sandals make the picture so well balanced. Wonderful sharpness, and perhaps a tiny bit of graininess which is often so pleasing in a b/w shot. The textures of the timber and the concentrated expression on the man's face are so well captured. Great work.
Regards,
Andrew

eldancer1 (36343) 2010-07-31 10:11

Excellent capture of the life of an ordinary man trying to make a living. It's even more real because it is in B&W with great tonal range. Good POV and sharp details. Well done, tfs.

AiresSantos (56155) 2010-07-31 23:06

Hi Wanda
Great black and white work !
Excellent quality taking in consideration you scanned it
Fine composition and POV
Have a nice Sunday
Aires

samratrayc (438) 2010-08-01 9:22

Hi wanda

this is a v strong composition indeed. the posture of the man indicationg motion .. the way he looks away in the distance .. the sandals in the FG, the cracked old wood, the choice of Monochrome over colour .. all add 2 the charm of the shot.
very well done

was just wondering if this shot cud have been improved had u shot it with a wide angle lens .. say with a 10-22 mm !!!
Just a thought

Regards
Samrat

tomescuc (3291) 2010-08-08 18:43

Ah, the beauty of film .. I'm jealous :-)
Moreover, very carefully put together starting with the shoes. Tonal range is superb, and there are plenty of graphical elements to make this a classic photograph, imo.
cheers,
Cristian

Longroute (19600) 2010-08-09 0:54

Really a masterful composition and W&B. Lovely portrait of the man but also lovely textures in the dresses and the old wood of the boat. Good that you have included the shoes too, it's a detail which seems coherent with the scene. I like the pose of the man and how the two rows match the shape of the boat.
A very expressive work.

Best regards,
Donato