Auntie H.

Auntie H. was caught by the Germans in Poland with a forged ID-card,

sentenced to death and sent to Auschwitz to get hanged. But the Red

Army liberated the camp...

Like I said before -  really liking this series, Bjorn - a strong, simple approach. Compelling- intimate yet confrontional- portraits.

Great portrait! I imagine though the picture in a square format, with the hair in the frame, not cut out. I'm always bothered with incomplete heads in portraits, unless it is done with a purpose. Was it here the case? I would be curious to know why?

Well, the lens was too long and the distance too short. And I sat at the other side of the kitchen-table.

Friendly yours Bjorn

This is a wonderful portrait - the tones are perfect for her - I especially like the softness and whiteness of her sweater on her right shoulder contrasting with the darker left side of her face and shoulder. The story you included about her past really makes the image all the more powerful, and I think it is a shame photographers often think a photo must stand on its own, without words. While this portrait can certainly stand with the best of them, having those few words you shared alters what the viewer brings to the image and draws out of it. Her intense gaze directly into the viewer's eyes is all the more meaningful. To think of what those eyes have seen, and to see her now wrapped in a pristine sweater and bathed in soft light is an amazing thing. Just a lovely, lovely portrait in every respect. This is the type of image that makes me grab a camera and go out and try again. Thanks for sharing the photo and her story with us -

Mark