Monchique farmer, a photo from Algarve, South

Photographer's Note

Local farmer in the hill village of Monchique, Portugal.

This was taken in 1968 I believe, so it's a vintage effort. Unfortunately I can't remember his name, but we were staying nearby, and bought some produce from him. This is a semi-formal portrait: he certainly knew I was taking his picture, and was happy to pose for me (I'm glad he looks happy but unselfconscious), but he's in his everyday working clothes. If he'd had his way, he'd have changed into his Sunday Best!

Shot with a Yashica "J" 35mm rangefinder. Transparency scanned on a Nikon dedicated film scanner, and the digital file sepia toned in Photoshop. Interestingly no other work was needed on this 46 year-old image, apart from a touch of Nik Pre-sharpener, and the removal of a few dust marks.

tyro, dta, holmertz, kasianowak, Royaldevon, COSTANTINO, CLODO, RhodieIke, adores heeft deze opmerking als nuttig gemarkeerd

Critiques | Translate

dta (98848) 2014-04-06 5:41

Hello Will ,
What a great oldie ! A superb portrait in B&W of this man standing in front of his house , leaning on hte little tree . 46 years later , not sure he is still alive . but may be that his family could see this picture ...
Regards

tyro (30513) 2014-04-06 5:42

Hi Will,

This is a delightful photograph of times gone by when manual workers didn't seem to wear "dedicated" working clothes like they do these days, but wore old "good" clothes - just look at 100 year old pictures of shipyard workers or roadmen - they always seem to be dressed in "proper" shirts and suits with waistcoats. These trousers and waistcoat he is wearing might well have been his "Sunday best" just a few years before.

Although posed, that does not detract from the appeal of this fine portrait which you have scanned and processed very sympathetically. And I actually like his happy and rather nonchalant pose, leaning against the gnarled old olive tree. The sepia toning adds to the appeal too.

Lovely!

Kind Regards,

John.

ACL1978 (7511) 2014-04-06 6:54

Wonderful old scan, Will - though many years (nearly 50!) have passed, the life of this shot still jumps out. His expression is timeless, as is the pose and setting. This is a man I think I'd like to sit with and talk to for a while - many stories, I'd bet. Thanks!

Andrew

No_One (4) 2014-04-06 7:03

Hi Will
Excellent portrait, so real and everyday and genuine, and Im amazed its from the 1960's! The quality is very good, and the sepia tone suits perfectly. Although it does not look that old, I would happily believe it was from the 1920's as it has a very cool and timeless feel to it.
Thanks for sharing this old classis.
Cheers
Noel

andywo (4725) 2014-04-06 8:18

Hi Will
Very immpressive portrait taken in an old style.
Interesting note.
Thanks for sharing!
Andy

batalay (41261) 2014-04-06 8:48

Hello Will,

Currently we are doing a spring/decade/lifetime house cleaning, going through thousands of old photos. I find immense satisfaction in viewing vintage B&W and sepia images, especially the ones that do not depict formal group portraits. This man certainly does appear conscious of his photograph being taken, but it is also a relaxed portrait in a slice-of-daily life scene. The 46 year old image also includes the old olive tree, which will most likely outlive us all.

Warm regards,

Bulen

holmertz (102732) 2014-04-06 11:09

Hello Will,
Seeing the thumbnail in B&W I thought you had "made it look old". But indeed this IS old, at least as far as TE goes. It's a beautiful vintage photo, very well scanned and above all very well composed and exposed. After nearly 46 years you are excused for not remembering his name. (I have forgotten a lot of names even of those I met regularly in 1968.) This photo should qualify among the older pictures on TE, although I once posted one from 1964 and I have seen a handful of even older ones.
Kind regards,
Gert

kasianowak (17676) 2014-04-06 14:09

Hi Will
At last the promised monochrome image which I hope will be followed by many more. Invaluable document, I'm surprised you wainted so long before showing it to a wider audience. Amazing the transparency was preserved so well it didn't require a lot of work.
Looks great with a touch of sepia.
Best wishes
Kasia

Royaldevon (85932) 2014-04-07 3:04

Hello Will,

You have done well to give this shot such 'authentic' mood. It reminded me immediately of shots of guys from the wild west! I love that he is wearing his normal 'working' clothes,; minus the hat, my dad's working clothes were much like these.
I know he is posing but his mood shines through, he is enjoying every minute.

Have a great day,
Bev :-)

photographer_sg (6059) 2014-04-07 4:30

Hello Will
what a charming classic! The smile on the face of the farmer is priceless. And definitely everyday working clothes are much more appealing than Sunday bests. Beautifully framed with excellent texture on the bg wall. Thanks for sharing and have a great new week ahead.
best regards
Satya

dekanski (9365) 2014-04-07 10:19

So beautiful and gentle images. I think that digital cameras can not do it!

Regards,

Saša

heimann2 (2067) 2014-04-08 23:52

Hi Will,
great B&W portrait. He does not seem to be aware of the fotographer?
best regards
Pierre

abmdsudi (95869) 2014-04-09 4:42

Hi Will
Just such a fine olde pic Will, Laid back, relaxed, redolent of summer days and his time to spare for your lens, he is probably a great great grand father now!
A wonderful portrayal of this classic capture - just the right amount of toning to suit the subject matter. A really first-class scan job and pp treatment for this gentle but evocative shot. Congrats, TFS
Best regards

COSTANTINO (116542) 2014-04-15 3:50

Hello dear friend
I love shots of this kind in sepia
its really artistic showing this
local farmer in the hill village
a shot that brings memories from
the past from a different way of living
the life of this shot still jumps out
ot the time passed
regards
have a nice evening
Costantino

CLODO (45116) 2014-04-15 4:21

hi Will

A good encounter, the very day life of portuguese peasans. He seems to show the olive tree, much older than him.
good post process work too.
Cheers
CLODO

RhodieIke (11752) 2014-04-23 22:18

Hi Will,

This is amazing, when I viewed the thumbnail I thought it looked like an old western Cowboy.
This guy from Monchique certainly looks old and well weathered.
Super in [email protected]

Fantastic it is a 46 year old image, well done.

Cheers, Iain.

adores (46979) 2014-05-01 14:51

Hi Will!
I'm from the south, so everything here is too familiar to me! Things have changed a lot since those days. A very good b&w, I like his pose,the way he's dressing and all the details of the place. This one brings me some great memories from my childhood! Good to see it kept its quality in spite on the age, it's a very good shot!

Waylim (25436) 2014-05-02 10:45

Hi Will.

Very nice shot. I like the presentaion in black and white and with his somewhat traditional farmer clothing, give the feeling of photo of yester years with strong sense of nostalgic quality. Good contrast and really nice texture. I think Black and White photo is a little under appreciated here on this site.

W

Juzo (2151) 2014-05-04 6:01

Hi Will,
One from the archives I see - what a great little shot, really shows the rural nature of Portugal back then. These elements were still there in some areas when I visited there in 2001, it's a fascinating shot...and fabulous film..
Hope all is well :)
Justin

wolf38 (30) 2014-06-08 7:38

Hi Will. A black and white photo from 1968 - everything looks really timeless. Fine Composition and very good handling of light. Informative text with technical details.
Best rgds, Wolfgang.

Karolina999 (0) 2015-07-28 1:43

Dear Wiil,
smooth old man, fine pose, fine scenery and background, good take, superb effect.
Thanx for sharing.
Cheers!