Monochromes of an old man

[Mike Buckley]

I saw this gentleman slowly walking toward me and got permission for an up-close photo of him despite that we didn't seem to speak a word of the other person's language. I sensed that he was tired and perhaps had a long way to go, so I released the shutter only a few times using just one pose. After gratefully showing him the photo displayed in my camera's LCD, he walked away in a poignant moment that I'm equally glad to have in my photo archives.

Captured almost exactly two years ago in San Sebastian del Oeste, originally a 17th century mining town in Mexico. Today, with less than 1000 residents, its primary industry is tourists visiting from nearby Puerto Vallarta. Converted to black-and-white today.


C&C encouraged as always, though I have nothing to ask.

[AB26]

Mike these are stunning B&W images IMHO. I am not so sure if it was a good idea to trim his hat in #1. What does the image look like without trimming the hat?

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, Andre. I do have an original that includes the entire top of the hat, though the sides of the hat are the same here as in the original. In addition to the fact that I tend to prefer tight crops, I like this crop better because it draws attention to the man's eyes.

[AB26]

Agreed on that.
How about cropping out the entire (b)rim of the hat.

[Mike Buckley]

How about cropping out the entire (b)rim of the hat.

Too tight a crop even for me, partly because it would prevent knowing the style of hat, which is part of the local culture.

[Nat]

I agree, both stunning images, first one shows a lot of the man's character in his face..I see my mother's face, a face that says, I'm old, I don't like it, where did the time go?.....I like the crop on the first one, too.

[Mike Buckley]

Thank you, Nat. It's especially nice to know that it reminds you of your mother.

A good friend of mine often says that it's hell getting old but it's one heck of a lot better than the alternative.

[Donald]

If we want our images to tell stories (and often we do and we should), then this just absolutely hits the bullseye.

Talk about a picture being worth a thousand words. You could write a book based on that image. Glorious.

[Karm Redland]

Mike, both great images. In your first image, i went right through his eyes directly to his interior life. Second image, equally powerfully but in a different way.

Karm

[Andrew76]

Fantastic images Mike, you're conversion skills are becoming impeccable. For what it's worth, I think the crop on #1 is spot on.

[Mike Buckley]

Thank you to Donald and Karm. Very much appreciated.

[mknittle]

I like them both. and I agree the hat is an important part of the first shot.

[terrib]

Mike,

First, let's get the B&W issue out of the way. For me, these are the reason to produce B&W. Seeing these I was immediately drawn in and it is a non-issue (except for discussion here on the forum ). I don't question it. It's just right.

I like the two images together. I like that you saw a story in the second one. I admire this about "people" photography. I'm glad you shared these with us.

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, Terri! You still might like the color versions better. My wife definitely likes the color version of the first one better.

[fullbirdmusic]

Agreed -- photos like these are the reason to do B&W. I like the crop on the first one and didn't even notice at first that the hat brim was cut out. Total focus on his eyes and face - for me, mostly on his beard at first. Which is fine, I think.

The second one is brilliant - and it easily tells his tired story. Both superb shots.

[Mike Buckley]

Thank you, Wes.

Total focus on his eyes and face - for me, mostly on his beard at first.

Thank you especially for mentioning that. This image is very carefully devised for the combination of my eyes, my calibrated monitor and Firefox. There's no question that any variation in one of those three elements will result in a difference, possibly a major difference. As an example, when I display the image on my television, the white beard is ridiculously overpowering. The next time I display it there, I'll have to take the time to custom post-process the photo.