Devotee, a photo from Cebu, Central Visayas

Photographer's Note

I'm taking a short break from landscape color photography. For a change I'm posting one of my early photos ... this was from a print and I just scanned the image. Had to use B&W to hide the noise.

The person in the photo was one of the Sinulog Festival devotee. Sinulog is one of Philippines premier festival ... the atmosphere is similar to that of Mardi Gras very festive with music enticing you dance along with the celebrants. Wikipedia describes Sinulog as follows;

The Sinulog is an annual festival held on the third Sunday of January in Cebu City, Philippines. The festival honors the child Jesus, known as the Santo Niño, patron of the city of Cebu. It is a dance ritual that commemorates the Filipino people's pagan past and their acceptance of Christianity.

The festival features a street parade with participants in bright-colored costumes dancing to the rhythm of drums, trumpets, and native gongs. Smaller versions of the festival are held in various parts of the province, also to celebrate and honor the Santo Niño. There is also a "Sinulog sa Kabataan", performed by the youths of Cebu a week before the grand parade.

The Sinulog celebration traditionally lasts for nine days, culminating on the final day with the Sinulog Grand Parade. The day before the parade, the Fluvial Procession is held at dawn with the Santo Niño carried on a pump boat from Mandaue City to Cebu City, decked with hundreds of flowers and candles. The procession ends at the Basilica where a re-enactment of the Christianizing of Cebu is performed. In the afternoon, a more solemn procession takes place along the major streets of the city, which last for hours due to large crowd participating in the event.

On the feast day at the Basilica, a Pontifical Mass is celebrated by the Cardinal with the assistance of several bishops of Cebu. Most devotees go to the Basilica to attend the mass before heading out to the streets to watch the parade.

Matthew-Watt, delic, japiey, gunbud, zhelach, ribeiroantonio, siolaw, axiotea, jlbrthnn, Tue, ChrisJ, evanrizo, Photo65Net, bakes888, MLINES, snunney, papagolf21, saylan-cb, danos, ruisc_pt, noborders, Charo heeft deze opmerking als nuttig gemarkeerd

Critiques | Translate

Matthew-Watt (5934) 2008-01-24 16:12

Hello Renier,

A good cultural portrait here, a pleasant change from your usual brilliant landscapes. The black and white style was a gamble, but for me it has paid off dividends, it accentuates the facial features, light and shadow and the intricate details in the person's clothing. Framing looks good also. Sharpness, clarity and contrasts are well managed and maintained. Good to see a smile! Have a good week.

Matt

delic (6735) 2008-01-24 16:14

Hi Renier,
This is quite good work as a portrait. Lots of detail with focus on her eyes. The periphery complements the face nicely, esp. her dress. It would be well worth seeing it in color. Perhaps you can pass it through a round of NR and post it as a WS. Regards,
Hakan

japiey (10163) 2008-01-24 18:23

Hi Renier,

Excellent details... Her looks are divine..
Vertical is good here...
It's catching this change from colour to B/W...
Congrats..

jean paul

gunbud (34066) 2008-01-24 19:04

Hi Renier,
You have done justice to your beautiful subject bring out not only her delicate beauty but fine details to her intricately designed costume. The b&w treatment works well against the lite background that seems to bring out her delicate beauty.
Regards, Tom

zhelach (3626) 2008-01-24 22:31

Hello Renier!
Beautiful portrait! Good choice - B&W! Nice composition and details! Thank you for note!
TFS, Best regards, Zorica

UnTrained (0) 2008-01-24 22:37

Hi Renier,
good quality in the black&white and it seems this is the appropriate conversion for that clothing. I like all the good shades and reflections and also her nice and a bit shy smile. The tight framing let me think if a bit wider shot would show more, but I can't really answer it.
Lieben Gruss, Ulf

ribeiroantonio (22730) 2008-01-24 23:43

I believe you have done a great job with this B&W picture. The contrast is superb and the level of detail is excellent. Well done.
Antonio

hello_ishan (1571) 2008-01-24 23:44

Hi Renier,
It's a very expressive portrait. Though scanned but its look very good. I like your idea to post it in BW. TFS

RS

siolaw (38294) 2008-01-24 23:51

Hello Renier,
That is an excellent portrait of this woman, B&W fitting the scene perfectly. Amazing detail and picturesque clothing make it a good docu shot too!
Greetings
Laurent

axiotea (21651) 2008-01-25 0:11

Hello Renier
The B&W version fits well the excellent portrait of the charming lady. Her smile and look are shining as a sun ray... I like the details of her costume and the ones from the little statue. Good choice of vertical framing too.
Cheers
Marilyn

vincz (19113) 2008-01-25 1:01

Very funny portrait! I love the facial expression, the costume. Details are excellent. A great one.

jplebrun (21208) 2008-01-25 1:53

Bonjour Renier
photo représentatif des fêtes traditionnelles de ce pays, le sourire de la madame démontre bien la joie de vivre occasionnée par cette fête.
Amicalement
Jean-Pierre

jasmis (58653) 2008-01-25 3:01

Extraordinary idea to show this girl in B&W, but you certainly know what you've done. :))
Superb portrait.
Regards.

jlbrthnn (76043) 2008-01-25 5:14

Hello Renier,
It is one of your first photographs, and already you thus made good photographs. The portrait is well made and the quality of the image is very good. Cheer.
Have anice day and a good weekend
Cordially
Joël

stefanocer (10642) 2008-01-25 6:18

Nice portrait renier , also fine your choice of B/W , compliments .
Stefano.

Tue (92442) 2008-01-25 7:21

Hi Renier,
A good photo of the festival and an interesting note too! Good quality and sharpness allow us to see many details of the decorations. The choice for B&W is good, but I think it would be interesting to see the colour version too.
Good work, thanks for sharing!
Regards,
Lars

Nicou (193806) 2008-01-26 1:51

Hello,

mangigique image NB, un très beau sourriri de cette demoiselle avec son beau costume qui brille de mille pailette, très bel équilibre, superbe.

Bravo et amitiés

Nicou

evanrizo (462) 2008-01-26 3:54

Hi Renier,
a very unusual for me portrait and very very impressive with the model with this great smile and the object in her hands.
A very interesting notice too.
TFS
Evangelos

gracious (20025) 2008-01-26 4:32

Hello Renier,
Very beautiful portrait photo most suitable in B/W format!
good sharpness with lots of details on the costumes!
thanks so much for the useful and informative notes
have a wonderful sunday!
best regards
Tony

Photo65Net (43144) 2008-01-26 11:17

Renier,
Superb portrait !
And great cultural post, with interesting note.
Regards,
JB.

bakes888 (18499) 2008-01-26 20:35

Hi Renier. Nice portrait. Your BW conversion has worked well and you have nice smooth tones with dark blacks and bright whites. Thanks for sharing.
Cheers, Paul.

MLINES (12516) 2008-01-27 0:00

Hi Renier. It is most useful to hear your tip about a way to avoid the noise which we all get at times. I like this portrait and excellent note for us to learn about far away places. TFS. Murray.

ChrisJ (171878) 2008-01-27 0:31

Hello Renier

A superb shallow dof, & good sharpness & tonal range, in this outstanding b&w portrait image. Well done!

snunney (130967) 2008-01-27 2:05

Hello Renier,
The black and white treatment works really well in this fine portrait. The framing is perfect and the lady's expression very appealing. Superb tones and clarity.

papagolf21 (152607) 2008-01-27 2:34

Bonjour, cher Renier,
Voilà une photographie qui entre tout à fait dans l'esprit de TE, apprendre par la photographie et par les notes.
Une photo bien cadrée rendant bien compte de la fête qui va bientôt se mettre en place.
Amitiés.
Philippe

saylan-cb (12738) 2008-01-27 6:17

Hi Renier
Wonderful portrait and composition...
Very nice details...
Excellent B&W work...
TFS/Regards

Clementi (52514) 2008-01-27 8:35

ciao Renier ,
beautiful portrait ,
well used B&W, exceptional clarity ,
lots of detail with focus on her eyes.
chosen of the just vertical format.
good job
Giorgio

danos (110407) 2008-01-27 8:56

Hello Renier,
a very nice portrait in B/W format of this native beauty of Philippines.Her beautiful clothes with her cute smile and great eyes make the young woman so handsome.The sharpness and the clarity are marvellous.Informative your note too.

Have a nice week,Danos

Angshu (56760) 2008-01-30 1:15

Hello Renier
A fine portrait indeed! A surprise in your gallery, but goes to show that you are good in portrait shots as well. The B&W does well here & like the use of shallow DOF isolating her from the BG. Good work Renier
Regards
Angshu

ruisc_pt (11594) 2008-04-12 7:07

Hi Renier,
Great sharpness with lots of details on the clothes.
Great useful informative guideline notes
All the best
R

noborders (1010) 2008-05-04 2:05

Hi Renier, I find her costume interesting and her smile lovely, the cult of the Santo Nino is a very interesting one, useful note... It's nice to see that you have now also people in your gallery !
Best regards,
Cath.

Charo (51290) 2008-05-04 14:34

Hola Renier,
Precioso retrato en estupendos tonos de B/N. Bonita sonrisa la de la chica y buenos detalles.
Cordialmente
Charo

crckt (7222) 2008-05-11 14:24

Hi Renier,
A good portrait, I like her expression a lot. The toy that she is holding has a smile similar to hers. I like it a lot.
Thanks for sharing,
Shaeri

jmdias (115230) 2008-07-16 17:27

renier

very beautiful image, the woman is very happy with the religious image in her hands. Her smile has a especie of softness. I liked these details in her clouthes, nice compo, the option for B&W was smart

hugs

jorge