My last image of today. On my way home I saw this beautiful young woman. Obviously Muslim so normally I don't even try to take any pictures out of cultural respect. But I am currently making an effort to include the immigrant community in the Parma project. So, I engaged her in conversation. She is in fact an Algerian Muslim raised in Italy, and studying finance at the University here. She dresses very Italian and high fashion, while including a traditional modesty Hijab in her dress. In fact she runs her own small business of designing, manufacturing, and selling, fashion that mixes tradition with contemporary styles. She says with all the Muslim immigration into the Western World that this is growing business with a bright future. She certainly was a joy to visit with, and had the Italian openness in her personality. She happily agreed to pose for this portrait. She represents just the kind of thing I am looking for to include in the project.
Yesterday I was out for over an hour without having taken a single frame. In fact I had not even powered up my SL3 because I saw potential. Productivity for the project was not looking good. Yes, there have been days when I didn't get a single image. I don't much like those kinds of days. But they must be expected.
Then I saw this character rich gentleman walking down the street towards me. I quickly turned on the SL3 and waited for him to pass into an interesting background. Suddenly he stopped, fished a pack of cigarettes out of his coat pocket, lit one up, and sat down on this window sill. The store was one of the more modern one and I thought it didn't go well with the image I had in mind. Darn, another opportunity lost for the day.
Then I took another look, moved closer, and was able to eliminate the things I didn't like about the background. I also found some things I did like including the reflection with silhouette, poster, the cane, the bag, and window sill. Despite being fully aware of my not subtle approach the man never even acknowledged me. Perfect. I ended up liking the image I ended up with, and learned some things about remaining flexible, and adapting to opportunities as they present themselves.
Interestingly enough for the following two hours I was out shooting I was able to make a number of nice images for the project. Including the Algerian woman I posted earlier. Images are not restricted to your environment as much as they are by our own internal vision and expectations.
Totally dig the spirit of folks playing in the wet ... bring the towels, dry the court and don't let it stop ya.
Mix of Leica body / lenses from the past. Pro-Stop / Missouri State Doubles starts today, first match 10AM, I'll be busy for the next three days.
Almost 200 players, 4 Countries, about 25 States, Men / Women / Junior
I'm split between shooting / playing ... Big Ball Doubles Open Division for me (14 Teams). I'm the oldest player in the division. I'm the newest player in the division. They're all comin' after me as the strong devour the weak. "No offense, Kent ... but, we're attacking you." That's what my friends tell me, imaging what folks that don't like me are saying.
1bwana1 wrote:
Yesterday I was out for over an hour without having taken a single frame. In fact I had not even powered up my SL3 because I saw potential. Productivity for the project was not looking good. Yes, there have been days when I didn't get a single image. I don't much like those kinds of days. But they must be expected.
Then I saw this character rich gentleman walking down the street towards me. I quickly turned on the SL3 and waited for him to pass into an interesting background. Suddenly he stopped, fished a pack of cigarettes out of his coat pocket, lit one up, and sat down on this window sill. The store was one of the more modern one and I thought it didn't go well with the image I had in mind. Darn, another opportunity lost for the day.
Then I took another look, moved closer, and was able to eliminate the things I didn't like about the background. I also found some things I did like including the reflection with silhouette, poster, the cane, the bag, and window sill. Despite being fully aware of my not subtle approach the man never even acknowledged me. Perfect. I ended up liking the image I ended up with, and learned some things about remaining flexible, and adapting to opportunities as they present themselves.
Interestingly enough for the following two hours I was out shooting I was able to make a number of nice images for the project. Including the Algerian woman I posted earlier. Images are not restricted to your environment as much as they are by our own internal vision and expectations.
mivadep wrote:
I just want to say that I love the stories that come with your shots. They're already great, but the added context makes them even better.
Thanks for the very positive comments. Know that I always appreciate when someone makes the effort to write comments.
It immediately brought me back to a visit to Munich in 2019 when I stopped by there to explore the 'Mae West' sculpture from up close, but your image makes me wish I would have also taken the time to step back and capture it in its environment. Something I often need to remind myself to do!
Anyway, here are a few of my images. M240 and 50 Lux ASPH, 90/4 Macro, VM 15/4.5 v3
