Rose, the chef

I got back from Africa last week. I have 2312 photos from two weeks spent there. I actually could easily have taken more, but I was actually working as a volunteer, so I didn't have a lot of time to use my camera. :-) Anyway, I thought I'd start with some photos of the women I worked with. The organization is called Amani ya Juu, which in Swahili means, "Higher Peace". It is a reconciliation project, teaching marginalized women to sew so that they can have a trade and thus support themselves and their families.

Rose was one of two women who prepared our lunches every day. Unfortunately I didn't have the opportunity to spend much time with her, so I can't comment much about her personality....

Photographically, what do you think? How is the exposure of her skin? DOF? Any other thoughts?

I will look forward to hearing from you..... :-)

Any comments or ratings are appreciated! :-)

Once again, cropping crops up again ;) Too much extraneous detail (apron and especially that red T-shirt). I would crop it to perhaps a square frame.

Exposure-wise, I'd have used a bit of fill flash to counter the deep shadow and provide a catchlight in her eyes, and I wouldn't shoot it at f1.8, because I don't think such a wide aperture renders enough sharp detail on her face...

Best regards from Kenya (yet again!)

Mark

Lou Ann, I like the portriat series. My nit here is her face are a bit too dark and the white blob on the L , takes too much attention. I like her head cover, fits her!

 

Your bio pic is great!!

Hello Lou Ann I like the photo the way it is and a very nice smile waiting to see more of your work from there thanks for showing it to us. Happy shooting Ken

I like this portrait; nice lighting and pleasing aesthetics. Well done, hope you've had a nice time in Africa.

 

Bst regards,

Frank

Mark's comments are right on, her face is so lovely and the contrast of the white head covering makes for a wonderful portrait. I know you can't run right out and reshoot this but keep the idea in mind when shooting someone else. What an adventure you've had and now you're journeying across country to a new home, I'll come visit this Fall.