single photos Tia Maria

Michael's crop exactly removes the triangle which Arthur described earlier - an observation to which I much agree. One of the strengths I found in the image as it is, is how its composition guides me around to view the entire image. If you crop it to show only the woman, you remove a part of the image that is in my view essential to it.
___
I like Donna's description, even if it's not my impression. I like it for the reasons that Fred and John A gave: if this image 'tickles' to give this description, inspires your imagination to create an idea of the life of this woman, then this image does something very very right. It communicates, and it grabs you. None of this says you have to like it, of course.
But for what it's worth, I don't feel her looking away 'disconnects' her from us. It's one of the things that helps focussing on the environment, on her posture. Else, you would be studying the facial expression - which would make it a considerably different photo.

a strong suggestion from me, Fred and John A... never use the words "projection" or "projecting" to describe someone's interpretation of a work of art. art is supposed to break down walls and inspire viewers to experience and share their humanity, subjective or otherwise. referring to a viewer's all too human reaction to this deeply human picture as "projection" is very insensitive and in bad form all around, because of the word's derogatory connotations. i've written that this photograph is a technically very skilled document. through his dof, Paul gives us a very good sense of this woman's abode... everything is tidy and pushed up flat against walls, the tables are against the wall, the vases are against the wall, nothing is mingled with or looks like it's been lived with. and such is the expression and body language of the old woman.. the folded arms, the disinterested blank unfocused gaze at what? another blank wall? another religious icon? my problem with the photograph is that although i view it as a rather significant tell about this woman's life, at least the way Paul has rendered it, is that we've seen many renderings of tired and withdrawn old women; and if folks continue to render them, it is indeed their prerogative as artists; all i am concerned with about this photo is that we not so quickly respond sentimentally to what we may be mistaking as the charm of this old girl. nothing about her or her surroundings look as warm or lively as some responses suggest, inho. i rather pity this old woman for the unliveliness of this rendering of her, and i'm willing to admit that her life might not be as charmed as folks are interpreting it. surely i don't call these interpretations "projection", but we tend to have sentimental gut reactions to little old ladies, yet i'm willing to look close at the rendering i'm given here, and i sympathize with the rather sterile life she seems to have lived, and is living. food for thought based on the image i'm given and the reactions to it. thanks.

I think Paul and his subject may be quite amused at these perceptions, projections or evaluations (a perception or an evaluation involves projecting our thoughts on what we observe), which, like it or not, are simply what each viewer makes of the image. While I try to see it along more simple lines suggested by the image, such as the relation between the old lady, her religion and her home or residence life, and I like the way that the photographer has presented a composition of all three in a skilful way, I do not feel I know enough about the lady and this instantaneous and perhaps unwelcomed pose, to draw deeper conclusions about her life, whether it has been happy and fulfilling or not, or how she has viewed her religion. Certainly some explanations about the vases being set back on the wall, as Donna specifically suggests are apparently related to her state of being, might be of more practical nature (that is, the small room or eating space does not allow more freedom; or once the meal is over the table is placed against the wall; or the table has little other function than to accept occasional objects, etc.).

Seeing too much in a photo, notwithstanding the flamboyance of a critical comment, is often tio me like seeing too little. Each can miss communicating what is there. But really, we don't know for sure the state of this lady and that is why we should be ready to accept in an environmental portrait what the photographer might know and wants us to see, what he has thus shown us as additional elements to communicate his visual message (It is not a head and shoulders portrait which might be interpreted in a different way, in fact, it may not even be a willing portrait). We cannot judge a person of 70 or 80 plus years old as we do a 20 or 30 year old, two or more generations on. They have each lived through different (albeit in one case, overlapping) times. The ready smile and energy of youth is not always displayed in like manner in the faces of many older people. That doesn't mean that they are necessarily resigned or down in the dumps. Some of my much older friends look quite grouchy much of the time, but are also full of humour and ideas at other times. Vertical behavioural dissimilarity within a same culture (or two cultures within one).

Donna, I did use "projection" last week and, with both this last comment and the one I referred to above, I can't keep that word out of my head. That response comes from the emotion that comes through the writing and the specificity and assurance of the observations.

Images like this--well almost any image--can only give us allusions as to what we are looking at and often rely on our using what is in us to interpret them. The best are open ended enough to allow for many and varied readings. The "truth" of what is represented here is probably not as important to others as it is to Paul and his wife, for the rest of us, we can only interpret and that often relies on a certain amount of projection as we only have what is within us to work with. The beauty is that because we don't have the truth, our viewing of the image can move around with our own moods and concerns over time.

I can certainly understand how one can see this image as part of a long line of such photos and maybe, as inferred earlier, part of the exploitative type so commonly seen. I think the image walks that line but I do think knowing that this is a relation and not a stranger helps in that determination. I also think if there were a series of work supporting this one--a context--it would have been nice. But because of the genesis of the image and then the image itself, I think it can be read differently than just opportunistic, but that is certainly an option one can ascribe to.

Sometimes these discussion seem to take on the tenor of a debate as to whether an image is seminal in nature when all most seem to be suggesting is that it is well done and has an evocative quality to it.

Donna, I'll stand by my use of the word "projection" as well.

I see a grandmother who has been working in the kitchen, but stopped to listen to a friend of family member. She's an old pro at hospitality.

"...it never seems to get noticed when I show it with other environmental portraits and I can't seem to figure out why."
This photograph is quiet and its mood is subdued. It does not "grab" viewers attention easilly. It strikes your emotions Paul, because she is your family member. For me it requires time and effort to "read" this photograph - many people are passing this photograph because it does not have strong, up front, quickly gratifying aspect to it. This image is to be studied in all its details. Face, hands, what she wears, pictures behind, room behind open doors, etc. An 20x30 print from your 4x5 negative would allow the viewer to appreciate it more than a low resolution/dynamics scan we are seeing on our monitors.

Fred, I was trying to convey my feelings about decisive moments not dramatic, genuine, moving, etc., moments. As I said, I do think this portrait is authentic so I see it as genuine. I also think it describes well. It connects with the vacancy, monotony, surroundings, etc. This is what makes this image authentic and I like it for this reason.

I was just talking about what draws me to photography as opposed to perhaps painting or drawing. It seems you get great joy and interest from a photograph that conveys a deeper, perhaps more mature message. That seems evident from the wonderful work you do. Although the method here and its relationship to the message of the image is interesting, it's not really what turns me on about photography. I would be more drawn to this if it took advantage of a capability that is unique to photography...the decisive or perhaps better, fleeting moment.

In a way, you could say that this is portrait still life. It is a bit static, perhaps a bit stuck. Yes, it allows us to examine carefully the truth of what is in front of us, but only a self-evident truth. That is, only a truth we see for hours on end when we spend time with the subject. There is nothing wrong with it, I just find it less photographically interesting than work that shows us truth in fleeting, momentary expressions.

John, this is why I always try to make landscape images in fleeting, momentary light. I just don't get much of a charge from making or viewing images of ordinary light. Architectural photography also leaves me a bit cold if the image does not show us a moment. JJ

Composition
I like the “dimensionality” of the image – the sense of depth that comes from the different, receding planes in the image (foreground, middle background, background). The “repeated” pattern of table cloths in the foreground and background are good elements. I also like the repeated geometric shapes (the square tiles, rectangular window panes and slats in the door, doorframe and the picture frame and calendar). The image also offers the repeating patterns of three vases, and four rectangles (the oblique angle of rectangles in the door frame, the calendar, the painting and the B&W border around the photo itself. It would perhaps benefit if the horizons between the first three and the B&W border were parallel.
Lighting
A nice balance between what appears to be window light in the foreground and (I’m guessing) artificial light in the room behind your wife’s aunt (I would be curious to know how the lighting was done). As has already been stated, perhaps attenuating the light on the right of the image and perhaps a slight increase of lighting on the left (to illuminate the aunt) might benefit the image.
Other
Strong (to me) emotional content – her far-away gaze, folded hands, the spiritual elements (pictures) – evoke familial feeling. Her warm coat suggest either a cool temperature or perhaps preparation for a journey.

Paul, You have a striking images here. Many seem to flock to discuss this or that technical aspect and emotional content. This is the proof that your artistic effort is a success. Above all else I sense a scene that has loads of energy and even a good measure of mystery. What lies beyond that open door? Does she feel satisfied that her icons will keep her focused on the rest of her journey? It feels like she has a strong resolve. And maybe a touch of restless sentimentality for her own mortality. Don't we all. I was prompted to dig around your corner of Photo.net to see how else you 'see'. I was delighted to feel and enjoy a host of other captures by you. I feel you to be very expressive and deliberate as an artist. Which adds even more strength to your portrait of an elderly soul in a tidy room. Maybe some day when I am her age all my 'things' will be in order too and I can sit, however impatiently, for a portrait that lets others have a peek at my realm. Above all Paul, I find your work warm and filled with grace. I wish you many captures in the years to come. I hope you keep sharing. Bravo!

Congrats. An excellent portrait that tells a story. There are two light areas which compete for my attention (kitchen and the right side) and I might have a tendency to darken them a bit.

This is a very moving picture that almost tears come to my eyes.
A picture able to create such an emotion is a great picture.

Wow, I am grateful so many of you decided to comment on this image. I have enjoyed each and every comment and each side discussion that arose. I know I cannot make another version of Tia Maria that will please you all so I won’t try. The image still pleases me a great deal for whatever the reason and perhaps that will have to do. I have many similar portraits from my 4x5 days, but I think Tia Maria is the only one that did not look into the camera. As those of you that have used 4x5 know, there is little spontaneity unless using and old handheld press camera. I learned on one of those in the military, but never used one for my personal use. I did not like to shoot smiling portraits back then and I’m still not that crazy about it, but do it more since switching completely to digital a couple of years ago. Also, the shutter speed was almost always on the “edge”, so regardless of where I was in the world I would need to communicate that the subject needed to stay still and that usually eliminated any smile. I have never been much for artificial light, especially when traveling.

One of the last comments was perhaps most useful to me:

"...it never seems to get noticed when I show it with other environmental portraits and I can't seem to figure out why."

This photograph is quiet and its mood is subdued. It does not "grab" viewer’s attention easily. It strikes your emotions Paul, because she is your family member. For me it requires time and effort to "read" this photograph - many people are passing this photograph because it does not have strong, up front, quickly gratifying aspect to it. This image is to be studied in all its details.

I am not saying that this was the only useful comment I received, but it speaks a simple truth that I may have overlooked.

The subject of her being a family member came up here and there. I only met Tia Maria on a visit to Cerano, Mexico in 2000. My wife’s mother was born there. This is a very small village in central Mexico and the main street had just recently been paved. My wife and I spent several days in Cerano and I was asked to photograph Tia Maria. She was still mourning her husband’s death and she did not want to be photographed, but the family insisted….perhaps that’s why she would not look at the lens. I did love being around her, because I cherish other cultures and could only wonder what her life had been like….we could not talk without interpretation, my Spanish was bad and her English non-existent. I also remember fondly that she was perhaps only 4 feet 10 inches tall.

Tia Maria was anything but impoverished. She was married to my wife’s grandmother’s brother. The family was and still is one of the wealthiest in the area. They own farmland and stores and the younger members are college educated teachers and pharmacists all still in Mexico. The family has always given to the poorer families in the village. The sweetest thing about all of this was the way Tia Maria was treated. She still lived in her own home…sort of. The grandchildren would go get her in the evening and walk her back to her daughter’s home for dinner, sleeping and breakfast. The next morning the grandchildren would walk her back to her home to spend the day. My wife tells me that Tia Maria’s house was like the Garden of Eden when she was there with her mother in about 1980. It looked like the courtyard in the film Frieda, except there were also cows, goats and horses beyond the door and kitchen in the image. But alas, with age, that disappeared, but she was loved until the end nearly ten years ago.

I see that, but with an added wrinkle. She looks like she stopped to listen to gossip or whining or something else that she really doesn't want to hear.

Paul, my stongest comment is that unless my monitor is way out of whack, the processing and the way you've presented this image seem incongruous with the subject matter of the image. You've used a 4x5, which generally captures a much wider tonal range than what is shown on my screen. It appears that you've boosted the sharpness and the contrast quite a bit, which both makes it look more digital, and also makes the background (both the kitchen and the flowers on the table) more compelling focal points than the woman, at least in terms of contrast and where your eye immediately focuses. It appears you've tried to edit the whole image together rather that spot-toning, which leads to improvements in some places and compromises in others.

More importantly though, making it look more modern - to me at least - robs the image of what you're trying to do. Maria doesn't look like she's been there forever, and some of the 'time' that a 4x5 camera is magically able to capture has gone away. I think this modernization of the image has a lot to do with why so many have said that they would like it more if it were their own family member.

If it were my image, I would make two new scans of the negative: one as if Tia Maria were the only part of the photo that mattered, and one as if the background were the only part that mattered. I would then layer them over each other in Photoshop, and blend/erase as necessary to produce an image where Maria is ever-so-slightly lighter than she is now(especially her hands), and the background is slightly darker and lower contrast. And I wouldn't use the sharpening tool at all - not even a little. I'm using an old Xenar single-coat lens on my 4x5, and I've still only felt the need to apply a sharpening filter a few times. The resolvng power of the camera is such that you're really not going to add anything.

If you didn't sharpen the image at all, I might switch to a lower-acutance developer, assuming you develop your own. I've had less-than-fantastic luck getting my black and whites done at a lab, as they usually use ID-11 or TMax or another catch-all developer that is relatively high contrast and acutance. I find that for shooting and scanning, the best bet is to develop for very low contrast (and a longer tonal range), and add the contrast later if you want it.

hermosa fotogarfia, trasmite.. tiene uan composicion de primera.. el blanco y negro muy bien usado uan luz de primera, la exprecion de la senora es el toque magico con el entorno... felicitaciones

@ Fred G
You misinterpreted my comment. I did not say that the subject's folded arms make me uncomfortable. I wrote "her arms are crossed which implies that she may not be comfortable with having her photo taken or that a rapport was not sufficiently developed."

Perhaps you should read more and write less ;-)

This picture serves as the photographic equivalent of a Velasquez painting.  The open door, coupled with the varying 'grid' spaces (the tile floor, the panelled door) take the viewer deeper into the picture, imaginging the nature of the spaces that are out of direct sight.

The subject is quite striking and the accompanying elements (be they the Blessed Virgin on the wall, or the flowers in tiny vases on the floor) tell a story that illuminates her context in the photo.

In short, this photo invites you to imagine what is not seen to the level of what is.  Well done.

Talking about this image something special to remind future when person was too young in his/her life.

Paul, there is nothing wrong with this photograph, but how some people relate to it. It is no tabout opening or closing a door, or too much light or not light at all, or where we should focus or how would I do it. It is about what you want to convey in a specific situation. There are many reasons as to why we love photography. You see, some photographers love to play with colors and the enrichment of pictures. Others, love pushing their limit by modifying a photo in oder to create a different image, and others are just naturals. Your photo is a pretty theme that can only be understood by a natural. For those Latinos like myself, your photo conveys and recreate the love, sadness, and wonderful memories of our culture. You have been able to capture and transfer those moments that are important in our lives. We do not need an expensive camera or equipment to shoot a great photo; we just need a keen eye, good perception, and a great composition, and with this picture you have at this moment done that.