Tired

I'd appreciate your thoughts on this, to me, important photo. It is my dear grandfather, in his last home tired of life. Does anything of his character, his life, or his predicament shine through? Is it to you a portrait, rather than a family snapshot?

 

Thank for your kind help! Jeroen

...that old age will come to all/some of us.

 

I can see a tired and weary human being here who has seen a lot, and feel quite moved. The picture already intrigued me when I saw it as a thumb nail. I can appreciate that it means a lot to you on a personal level. The lamp is a little distracting maybe, but then it perhaps was not the sort of picture taking session where one would re-arrange the furniture. A good photograph, this.

Great picture. This photo shows that you don't have to go to some exotic,remote corner of the world to find photo subject matter. There is a lot of first class photography in this shot. Your picture contains a lot of "mood" and tells a story. Could probably be described as a fine documentary photograph.

It is a nice photo. Is he still with us? If so, I would have him look directly into the camera. For me, there is something about an old person looking directly into the camera that is quite revealing. His hands interest me. What are they telling us? Fear? Strength? Resignation? All three? Are his shoulders normally this straight across? If not, the placement of his arms on the arms of the chair make him appear fit.

old people make me sad... =(

Hi, Jeroen,

 

I find it a good photograph, because your grandfather shows in his gaze and in his hands all his life and how he does not expect too much more of it. I have to say, that, contrary to other comment, I prefer, in this case, that he is not looking at the camera. Here it is like looking at the void, at the end of our lives and I find it disturbing and intriguing. So I prefer it this way. About the composition, it is a kind of environmental portrait, but I find that there is too much window in the frame and the lamp disturbs, as somebody more said. So, I took the liberty of reframing your shoot showing what, for me, it is a better approach (of course it is only my opinion) and I hope you don't mind. You will see why I like a lot 6x6 format ;-) Anyway, if you wanted to maintain 35mm format you could be closer to him and play a little with vertical composition. I have also erased the lamp very quickly, only to show that a lot of times in photography less is more. Anyway, congratulations, it is not an snapshot at all.

Very effective portrait, Jeroen. Nice effort. I like your grandfather's gaze (into infinity), his posture, and hands clasped together. I can feel his years, though I don't quite see the "tired of life" feeling that you spoke of. But that's the beauty of good portraits -- different viewers see something different in it, and as long as there's enough "meat" in the subject, it's effective. I also like the view through the window of other apartments, and I don't mind the lamp so much. This is clearly not a studio set-up and objects such as the lamp and on the window sill do exist in normal houses. The clutter makes the scene natural at the expense of simplcity.

 

I prefer the 35 mm aspect ratio for this very non-centered shot but I like aspects of Oscar's crop because of the simplicity. Perhaps you could trim a bit off the right. Not too sure about erasing objects off photographs, but let me not open that can of worms.

Jeroen, I like your original photograph and format and the angle you chose very much. The window light and the curtains very much add to the portrait. What comes through is a man sitting inside, and his separation from the world outside. I feel him isolated by his own choice. He looks not so much tired to me but rather more determined to keep the world at bay. By keeping a measure of control, he keeps a measure of dignity, which is important to him.

 

Only the object on the furniture behind the chair detracts from the photo; I love the way you are drawn into the photo by the angles of the chair and the window. A very fine portrait.

Although oscar's approach is a valid one, I do prefer the original framing. It is what makes the portrait "different".

 

My 2 cts.

Love the look in his eye. Forgive me for saying this, but it seems as if he waiting for something, maybe even death. A strong coment on the aging....

 

I might go for a different look tonally...

 

 

Thanks, to all of you, for your kind remarks and insightful comments! I am quite surprised by how much different things you saw in this photo. It may be a bit of a cliché, but you made me see him in a new light. Especially your comment Glenn.

 

This photo is part of a series I have been taking everytime I visited my grandparents. These occasions have always felt like they were the last, but the past few months he and my grandmother are really aging rapidly. When I first saw this photo, it only really dawned upon me that he is actually in the last moments of his life. Unfortunately he is far from fit. And I was profoundly moved. It is valuable to me personally that you felt something of the same emotion. After the inevatible inital phase of sunsets, I now try to capture what moves me. You encourage me to go on.

 

I much appreciate the effort in showing your takes, Oscar and Chip. Although I may have seemed a cropping fanatic to you, in this case I still prefer the more spacial original. The suggestion of a darker tonality is interesting, since that is more what my first print of this photo looked like. This version is a scan of a much lighter and better frontier print.

 

Kind regards, Jeroen

very very nice

I didn't read any of the other comments yet so my reaction to the photo would not be influenced in any way. Let me say this is a wonderful photo and says a lot to me. One thing to get out of the way is you might have thought to move the stuff on the dresser if that was even possible. This portrait says to me that this man is very proud and determined, but also possibly upset about something, maybe where he is. But that look and the way his hands are firmly grasped together speaks volumes. There are a many memories and experiences here, and the determination to do more. (I also like the windows seen through the curtains, nice depth, shapes, colors)

Jeez! I forgot an important comment. He doesn't look tired at all to me, more like he wants to get out of there and do something! So the title is confusing. That's all. Again, very nice portrait.

His pose has all the makings of a portrait, but the setting suggests anything other than that.

Not sure I can really gauge what he is thinking or feeling, but I would simply suggest that he is tired, rather than tired of life.