Nina, 82

Nina, 82, a resident of Kyiv, Ukraine is a veteran of the battle of

Stalingrad, one of the major turning points in the Nazi invasion of

the Soviet Union, where she nursed the wounded. Now 82, she appears

to be trying to wipe her age away, but really prides herself that

she 'still has her brain' (and she does, very much in my opinion).

She is a retired English teacher. Your 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 increase my photographic

knowledge. Thanks! Enjoy! John

excellent capture. you really got a perfect moment, lots of emotion, and the DOF selection allows so much more to be without sacrificing the spotlight on Nina.

It's great to know the background on the image. She does look like she is crying, but I sense a strong individual with a difficult past who is still "hanging out". Good choice of composition and the BW.

If someone had showed me this and told me it was a Time Magazine photo of the year, I would have believed it. The choice of B&W evokes even more emotion in me than a color photo would have. Very nice.

Thanks for the compliment.

 

The depth of field, for the 17~55 lens was f 6.3 at 1/80th sec., which was a very good choice. I had upped the ISO to 640 (from 1,000 where it is normally on the D300), and it worked out pretty well. The D300 is opening up new territory for me, with quality captures at higher ISOs possible, so allowing for increasing depth of field at shutter speeds fast enough to stop action, such as her hand, right (as we view her).

 

John (Crosley)

Actually, I hate to burst any bubbles, but this woman was extremely animated, and she was just wiping her eyes with her hand (not her fingers) -- maybe something she learned for hygienic purposes under the extremely germ-phobic Soviet health system. Many who grew up under that health system are extremely sensitive to the presence of 'germs' in their bodies.

 

She actually is a wonderful woman, and I felt I had made a new friend when I and a companion met this very nice woman (who speaks extremely good English and has traveled as far as Miami/Miami Beach).

 

She also lives on fashionable Kreschatyk Street, Kyiv's extremely nice boulevard, though in a Soviet-style flat and functions by herself. She is indeed proud that she 'still has her brains', and she shows them -- no signs of dementia or as it's called in Russian 'scleros' (as in sclerosis).

 

It was a treat to meet this wonderful woman -- such that I plan on visiting her; something I NEVER do with subjects.

 

Thanks for the nice, observant comment.

 

John (Crosley)

What a high compliment!

 

Thank you so much.

 

This made a very nice color capture, but her dress was made of a partial red pattern, which worked against the general mood, which was in shadow, and therefore 'blue' and 'darker'.

 

But she's not crying or even sad; just brushing her eyes.

 

I try to tell the truth about my photos and never caption wrongly that I can recall, without attaching a question mark at the end.

 

But the photo is to viewers what it seems to be, not what I correct it to be.

 

That's why I chose this one, even though not necessarily representative.

 

There are others that show more animation and less apparent emotion, even one showing her in the process of 'wiping' which obscures the face entirely, and that just begs the question -- although he also makes it appear there might be tears.

 

But again, a photo is how it appears, not how it is explained, as far as its aesthetics are concerned.

 

Remember Cartier-Bresson's boy in Valencia wish his eyes cast skyward -- one of the great mystery shots of all time? In fact, Cartier-Bresson later explained (which he seldom did), the boy was watching his bounced ball. Cartier-Bresson didn't explain his captures for lots of reasons, and that was one -- especially the more 'surrreal' ones, as he was a follower of the 'surrealist' movement, and he even wanted to call him a 'surrealist photographer' but his friend Robert Capa, prevailed on him to call himself a 'photojournalist' with no appreciable difference in the captures.

 

By the way, Cartier-Bresson was quite a writer and little has been printed of his wealth of explanations of his news photos; I wonder who's working on that?

 

(If someone reading this doesn't know his work, they should Google.com his name and see some of the thousands of wonderful photos that man took as he pioneered 'street photography').

 

Again, Mike, thanks for the wonderful praise (Excuse me, I have to go buy a larger size hat . . . . )

 

John (Crosley)

John...great capture...really.

Bravo!

 

Sonia

I see from your portfolio, you get around.

 

So do I too, evidently, as you also can see if you've looked around.

 

I met and liked this old woman very much; she stole my heart.

 

No falses sympathy for her; she loves life and doesn't dwell on the past, though she is quite aware she is very aged. Still she lives independently, and seems (as opposed to what appears to be shown here) quite happiy, if her animated expressions are any clue.

 

Best to you, Sonia. Please feel free to return.

 

John (Crosley)

... deserve a little rubbing. We cannot even begin to imagine what she has seen. What's the great ending line from Roy Batty in "Blade Runner"? "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments, will be lost in time, like tears, in rain... " Great shot, John. What people read into it makes the shot more valuable, but in that face you've caught a time capsule. Sorry for all the movie references.

Your comments deserve to stand alone.

 

They make this entire work richer.

 

I am a monologist, but I surely could write a wonderful duet with you; and you as a monologist would also be something to behold I think.

 

I am only a recent 'fan' of 'Blade Runner' -- I was ill the night I first watched it, and so missed many of its references. I long to see it again, which I will, anon.

 

Thanks for the references. You've been a film-maker; no reason to excuse yourself for leading with one forte.

 

Best wishes to a talented guy in just about everything he does.

 

John (Crosley)

 

(or is that 'everything' instead of 'just about?')

 

 

jc

What catches me about this photograph is the extreme contrast in expressions between your subject Nina and the gentleman seating behind her. She might be wiping her eye, but in this shot she gives the impression of being sad and frustrated. This compares sharply against the composed posture of the man in the background who seems to give a sense of and peace and harmony. These two expressions are perfectly illustrated in B&W. What a remarkable life she has.

You are some guy. Your photos don't need the story behind it, because they tell already a story!

Besides that, you photos have quality and you know that.

But! With the story it is fascinating! Love your work.

With kind regards.

 

Thanks for kind words, Joke.

 

I don't know why my photos 'tell stories' -- they just do.

 

I have tried my hand at landscapes, and other such things, and I do very well at them, but you have to be at the right place at the right time with the right lighting. And you have to be able to brave mosquitoes, hot sun, cold weather, and sometimes hike for hours on end, just to get what may be a mediocre photo that few will appreciate in order to 'pay your dues' before you can get really good.

 

The way I see it, with my journalistic background, what I wrote in reply to a portfolio comment some time back continues to be true today.

 

Who wants to look at an 'uninteresting photo?' I try to post the most interesting photos possible, because it's nice to be technically the most perfect photographer in the world, but if your photos can't arouse emotions or some other response in your viewership, then there's a substantial missing element.

 

I thought that correct when I wrote it several years back, and I think the same now. The ultimate sin, in the 'business' of entertainment (which is what this is), as I then wrote and still believe, is to be 'boring'.

 

People will forgive just about anything else, but to be 'boring' is the ultimate sin when asking for people to spend their time looking at one's images.

 

Don't you agree?

 

I have dedicated my photography to try to be interesting, and when I can be informative, I think that helps. (I'm glad you are helped by my sometimes detailed explanations.)

 

Best regards,

 

John (Crosley)