Vibrant Melancholy

[Tronhard]

I rarely post to the people forum, but I had to take this image...

I was in a rather dimly lit café in Chinatown, Victoria, BC, when I encountered this young lady. What struck me immediately was the dramatic contrast between the bold, colourful and dynamic head adornment and her consistently shy and rather sad expression. I watched while she ordered her beverage at the counter, listening to get some signal from the tone of her voice that the vibrancy of her adornments was matched by her demeanour.... and it wasn't.

I first admired her hairdo, and after a short conversation asked if might take a shot of her, to which she acquiesced demurely. Upon inquiry she told me that the flowers are real, grown by her, and put into her hair every day. Of course I complemented her on her artistic expression, but really was secretly crying out to ask why she could wear such a overstated coiffure, yet behave in such a understated way...



Gory details: Canon 7D MkI, 24-105mm, available light.

[Marie Hass]

A picture full of questions.

Now you've got me asking as well.

Marie

[Shadowman]

Nicely captures.

[bje07]

great picture, even her hair is coordinate to the flowers.

[mugge]

Trev, I love it. She's just great.
Cheers Ole

[Sergio M.]

A wonderful shot of a pretty young lady who grows her own flowers and displays them openly but is on the demure side; no problem.
Well done, Trev.

Sergio

[vaez]

Portrait of a beautiful and fun
There is a sadness in his eyes, despite this specific type of makeup
New hairstyles and makeup but she looks very ordinary and even reversed collar shirt
I think she has a lot of words to say to the people

[Tronhard]

Hi Vaez:

Personally her image evokes to me a memory of one I saw many years ago of a production of Shakespeare's Hamlet: where Ophelia, once loved by Hamlet but now rejected, is dressed as if for her wedding day as she goes to drown herself. (No, I'm not suggesting my subject is suicidal, this is contextual.) The image (similar to the one below) showed a distinct contrast between the garlands of flowers in Ophelia's hair: superficial signs one would associate with the joy of a marriage, contrasted with a deep inner sadness.


Ophelia by Alexandre Cabanel

[purplehaze]

Of course I complemented her on her artistic expression, but really was secretly crying out to ask why she could wear such a overstated coiffure, yet behave in such a understated way

As a formerly shy person watching a shy niece grow up, it is not so incongruous to me, Trev. Vaez is right, she has a lot to say, and I would say she is speaking in the way she feels comfortable and you paid her great respect by hearing without challenging her way of being. Lovely portrait; I would just suggest you eliminate a few of the stray hairs.

[Tronhard]

Hi Janis:

Thank you so much for your comments. That's the thing... a chance and really superficial encounter that left me intrigued, and there was more than an image can convey - her body language, voice etc. left me with an impression of withdrawal inside herself, yet there is that image that is bound to draw attention... Absolutely I could not even consider any critique of her persona: she is who she is.

I agonized over the stray locks, but in the end left them because they are a part of her presentation of herself to the world. My photograph was meant to be more documentary in its nature so to me to alter her appearance would have breached that. I recall watching a documentary about the great American photographer Dorothea Lange. In her most famous images of the dustbowl mother, she removed the woman's thumb from a photo to tidy it up. When her employer discovered this, he fired her (although she got her job back fairly soon after!)

[purplehaze]

I absolutely respect the documentary impulse and in fact tend to lean that way myself. Again, thank you for your respect. Of course, neither of us knows what this young woman's reality is, but I do know that shyness is often accompanied by great sensitivity to and empathy for others, which in turn contributes to great sadness. Nothing depressed me more than people telling me to 'cheer up', as that was the ultimate rejection of me.

[vaez]

Hi Vaez:

Personally her image evokes to me a memory of one I saw many years ago of a production of Shakespeare's Hamlet: where Ophelia, once loved by Hamlet but now rejected, is dressed as if for her wedding day as she goes to drown herself. (No, I'm not suggesting my subject is suicidal, this is contextual.) The image (similar to the one below) showed a distinct contrast between the garlands of flowers in Ophelia's hair: superficial signs one would associate with the joy of a marriage, contrasted with a deep inner sadness.


Ophelia by Alexandre Cabanel

Yes, dear friend
Now I want you to familiarize with one of my artists and his paintings, Mr. farshchian
But it was interesting for me as a real person
A large number of flowers as a headdress
2-3 years ago I went to China lovely people there

[Tronhard]

Yes, dear friend
Now I want you to familiarize with one of my artists and his paintings, Mr. farshchian
But it was interesting for me as a real person
A large number of flowers as a headdress
2-3 years ago I went to China lovely people there

Excellent!!! :-) THANK YOU!

This underscores my own belief that the threads of humanity are constant across the world, but our various societies take those threads and weave different patterns, giving us the amazing tapestry of our global culture. Left to themselves people of different races, beliefs and colours get along pretty well - until politics get involved.