Her Prince Has Come (And Long Gone)

The old chrone, her husband surely long dead, watches a young bride

with her groom pass by historic city sites on her wedding day in a

tradition carried over from Soviet times in a Ukrainian city. Men in

the Ukraine presently have a life expectancy of about 55-58 years

old, while women live much, much longer, contributing to a scarcity

of men, and the ones who are alive (and in good health and able to

support a family) are much in demand, since many are disabled from

work injuries, auto accidents and ultimately diseases from drink.

Your good faith ratings and critiques are invited and most welcome.

If you rate harshly or very critically, please submit a helpful and

constructive comment; please share your superior photographic

knowledge to help improve my photography. Thanks! Enjoy! John

good moment, but i think in this case u needed more depth of field, (or maybe just focus on the ol lady with everything else blured.

You're right of course, and the lady has been 'sharpened'.

 

It just happened too fast.

 

I am fast but not that fast -- I just reviewed my capures from some time ago (these are older) and the bride swept by me from the rear and I turned my camera from horizontal to portrait in an instant and tried to adjust the aperture with the motor firing.

 

No such luck.

 

Sometimes you just gotta live with imperfection.

 

You noticed the right thing; no fault there.

 

John (Crosley)

I would also like to see the focus on just the old lady. I like the composition and the look on the womans face. An interesting photo made even more so by the story. -Anthony

My apologies John. I had to stop writting then came back and finished. So I didn't see the explination. You can sharpen her more and the blur the rest some so that she looks even sharper though. My example was done quickly, but I'm sure it would look much better using the original and spending some time on it. -Anthony

Thanks so much for the story of what this means to you. It deepens the effect for me and helps me to understand the pensiveness of the old lady's stare.

I had already 'sharpened' the old woman to what I thought were the bounds of the ability of her figure to be sharpened.

 

You've essentially 'double sharpened' her to beyond the maximum, but she's well saturated, so she has taken it well.

 

Your treament is better than mine; I did mine without much regard for niceties; just throw up an interesting capture without hope of ever exhibiting it elsewhere and let people see an 'old theme' -- the bride and the old lady -- which is a Cartier-Bresson cliche, I am sure, and he did it beautifully, if I recall, so mine will go in history's dustbin.

 

Neverthelss the theme is age-old, like some fairy tale stories of little girls who marry princes and live happily ever after (and never tell of the prince coming home falling down drunk with lipstick on his caller smalling not only of booze but also of strange perfume;-))

 

Thanks for your nice contribution; I am empted to steal yours and post it.

 

I won't.

 

John (Crosley)

Interestingly, I read your comment, and Anthony's above, and said 'story? what story? I didn't tell a story . . . but I remember writing about young male death and old women and a female shortage -- this drives Ukraine life and is why their are Ukraine brides for some American men who come looking. (their women are beautiful but lose their beauty at a young age, unless they go to a place like America and then they keep their good looks, American style., because of better living standards . . . it is a win, win.

 

So, the old chrone may be 'young' by Western standards, but she looks like an old chrone, so she is an old chrone. I am older, yet look in my '40s, so people treat me like that; plus I get along with everybody and people call out my name -- even young people. I'm a 'te' not a 'vui' -- the 'vui' being reserved for 'old people' or the 'elder' persons 'due respect' because of their seniority, such as educators, professors, etc. In other words, I'm a regular guy here (I'll be in US by Monday, then return).

 

This is the kinda stuff that makes me return to Ukraine -- you won't find this at American weddings where grandma will be dressed in velvet and pearls and there'll be no old chrones looking in wonderingly.

 

My best to you.

 

John (Crosley)

First off Anthony you did a GREAT job photo shopping this picture with as small as it is. I can't imagine what your portfolio looks like and can't wait to go look at it.

 

Ok, this old chrone (that would be me as I am almost 40 very soon) LOVES several things about this picture.

 

I personally like that the BRIDGE is the center of this picture because I like the way her dress matches up with the white sky and the white bag. I also love the way the groom has been cut in half as the story you told John about the men having half the life span makes so much sense.

 

The older lady that is looking at the bride doesn't just have that look of disgust but more like dispair. Look very closely at her eyes not her mouth. Her eyes tell the story. Her eyes look sad and in dispair like she wishes to be the princess and the ball. The stance of her feet one foot up and one foot down is NOT the stance of someone trying to hold a position of defense but an offensive position of almost letting someone pass through as if to start to bow.

 

I personally think you took this picture only a second before she put her head down in acknowledging them both with a slight smile. And her eyes show a compassion about her. Her mouth is actually about the go upwords and she really isn't passing judgement on them as much as she is thinking back and I think she is in sorry some.

 

Now the people in the background they are all part of the wedding party. She looks out of place and maybe she is just passing through and wasn't planning on getting in this position.

 

This is a wonderful picture John and you were in the right place at the right time!

 

Anthony you and your picture made it posible for me to see her closer!

 

THANK YOU! ooops shouting ;)

 

~ micki

I fired at 5 frames per second maximum (but didn't get that speed, since the shutter takes time to travel, autofocus, etc., but I had six or seven frames to choose from).

 

This was the best frame, and I chose the foot stance exactly for the reasons you mentioned, and the same for the groom being cut in half; well not for the reason that his lifespan would be shorter -- who knows about the future -- but because this is a story about a bride, not a bride and a groom -- a bride and a former bride (and the groom is more or less superfluous, except of course he's necessary to complete a wedding and after that he's just dead meat -- a total superfluity, in Ukraine. She'll raise the kids and soon divorce him; he may drink and pay too much attention to momma, in whose bed he may have slept until he was in his early teens. Yes, it's true, often -- moms as surrogate girlfriends and boy children as surrogate lovers -- plus when the heat is off, it makes for a warm bed -- there often are communal beds in Ukraine and Russia.).

 

Those are general facts about which I know; nothing specific about this particular bride/groom.

 

I'm glad this photo appealed to you, Micki.

 

You surely should go looking for the books of Henri Cartier-Bresson -- he invented such captures as well as his fellow Magnum photographers. His captures are much better and set the standard. Go to Magnum.com and join (free), get your password, and search his photos, then go page by page through his many books -- you'll never praise another photo of mine again . . . ;-)

 

Well, maybe one or two.

 

Every once in a while, I get a good capture, but hardly can hold a candle to the master.

 

John (Crosley)