A Dollar for Sunshine

Excellent portrait full of personality. One can imagine that he's expounding on an almost forgotten piece of folklore or an experience based in the direction in which he's gesturing - perhaps the storm of '45 which flattened that part of town. The trendy sunglasses are superbly incongruous.

Wow that is one sinewy dude! The expression caught mid sentence is priceless. The rapid drop off of focus does a great job of isolating the guy from a busy background while retaining enough information to put him in some kind of context. The outstretched left arm is what clenches this composition for me And oh yeah the sunglasses are cool.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh Dr Long you're like the Beatles, you get better with age and surpass your masterpieces constantly.

 

Magnificent Sir, simply magnificent.

 

Best wishes old friend,

 

Kev

I'm sure a lot will be in doubt if he's real,but you have already straightened things out.Trouble is that you have captured him in such a static posture and so sharp,that one tends to think that he resembles to a perfectly made statue!

A very impressive shot, Jeff. It sure provokes reactions in the viewers' minds and affect.

Kirk: Of course it worked! You gotta try it sometime. Stand in your front yard. Traipse passers-by around your lawn and then insist they pay you a dollar for it. Surprisingly, it works much better than a "Beware of Dog" or "No Solicitors" sign.

 

 

Roger: The man was quite a character. I can't say his stories were all that interesting. It was more like, "This here is a tree that you can see here in Jamaica. You can touch it if you like..." and "This here is where they buried someone...[pause--no further information]."

 

 

Gordon: Yep, he was all sinew and gristle. I suspect he was well marinated, too. I hate to pre-judge.

 

 

Dr. Kev: The Beatles, huh? Koo koo ka-joob.

 

 

PhoS: He was definitely alive and animated. My memory of him was of being loud and all over the place, so I think it's funny that others perceived him as statue-like.

 

 

Laurent: Thank you, sir.

 

 

 

It's warm and respectful. The tones and light on his body, bringing him out so well from the background yet allowing the background also to speak, the slight softness in his hand from movement, the determination in his look and the tension evident in his musculature. As mentioned, it does have a bit of the quality of a statue. I think the sunglasses, which protect his eyes from the sun and our own eyes from penetrating deeper inside him, add to that statuesque quality. It's as if we are looking for something more but being met by our own objectivity, as reflected in the dark glass.

This shot was taken with my real camera in RAW, which gave me a lot to work with. I went in a million directions with it. Soft, sharp, B&W, sunny, cloudy...ad nauseum. I didn't want to portray this guy as some sad stereotype, and a few of my renditions interjected too much pathos that didn't seem fitting. This version gave him a crispness that I liked, particularly the glasses, which conveyed the idea that "you can interact with me on my terms, but don't think for a minute that you know me." Thanks.

Great capture - a very telling story of a life lived (living). Well done!

A belated thank you.

excellent work..congrats.regards

Very original and impressive capture my friend. Bravo. Regards Michael.

Thanks guys for nice words.

An original portrait,well taken Jeff,best regards

Thanks for the comment. This guy was a character. Truly inspirational. I didn't do him justice.

Truly touching capture, as are most of the images from your journey to this place!

Alpo: Thanks. I'm glad this touched on something human, as statue-like as he is.

This looks like one tough old codger, and your treatment of him by sharpening him a bit really adds to that. At least the guy has an entrepreneurial spirit.....he offered you a 'tour' instead of outright begging. Good for him! I love your work, Jeff. You 'say' so much in your photos, and I love your descriptions and comments about why a certain thing grabbed your attention or moved you in a certain way. I need to visit here a lot more often.

Thank you so much for such a nice comment. I have to confess that most of my photos are simply to document that I've "been there, done that," rather than any high artistic aspirations. I'm glad you liked this one.