Sunday, April 26, 2009

A wise face


Continuing the gardening theme, this woman has a fabulous garden, and a face that I think speaks to wisdom gained by years of hard work and happiness.

Many of the international students in my University bring their parents over for the summer, and many of those parents spend their time gardening. Last year my husband and I were quick to realize that the most prolific gardens were those cultivated by people using non-western techniques (including this woman), so we started to watch what they did and emulate them.

About the photo: iso 100, f/5.6, 1/400 sec exposure. I should have taken it slower and with a higher f-stop given the lateness of the afternoon. In any case, I cropped it, turned it to sepia with the "old photo" function in gimp, and increased the contrast. CC, as always.

8 comments:

Corynn said...

I like that you were actually able to find a person to photograph! I think you captured what a lot of us were trying to. Great job.

Brittney said...

Yeah! I was so hoping someone would post a picture like this! My only CC would be to zoom in more, fill the frame, concentrate on the wrinkles of age. I think it would also be interesting to see what the picture looks like without the sepia and old photo function. Seriously though, love the picture and the concept behind it.

Katy said...

OOOOOH!!! I really like this one (Hello Old Wise Ancestors!) I totally wanted to find someone "wise beyond their years" complete with laugh lines and grey hair! Great job.. good color!

kristine N said...

Brittney--I'll have to try cropping this one differently--thanks for the suggestion!. I took another where her face does fill the frame more, but she wasn't smiling, so I went with this one, but it was a toss-up for which I liked better. The old photo function definitely made it less crisp--I'm not sure I'll use it often.

Mindy said...

I love the character and happiness that shines through this face!! I don't think I like the "old photo" effect here... like Brittney, I would have liked to see it without. BUT... I still love the photo! Great job!

B-Blogit said...

yes I have heard that western techniques dont grow a garden as well. It is wise to get someone who the wisdom beyond their years for sure!

Jon said...

I would suggest rotating the subject so that the natural light is illuminating her face. This would help to punctuate the wisdom/knowledge/light relationship that you associate with her.

I hope that I don't mind me providing CC, I am a stalker to this blog.

kristine N said...

Hey Jon--I'll take cc from anyone! There are a lot of things about this photo I wish I'd done differently--including getting her to stand facing the sun just a little more. In my personal blog I've got another picture I took (I only took a couple of this woman) where she is facing the sun more, but she wasn't smiling, which was why I chose this one. This one was hard for me--the other photo I took was technically better, but I loved the expression on her face better here, which was why I chose this photo.

Thanks, all for the feedback--this site is awesome! Every challenge is forcing me to think more about all the different things that go into a good picture, and you all are so good at giving helpful suggestions!