December 17, 2011

Jay Maisel Workshop #14


Jay:  OK, what’s the story here?
Me:  Again, this is at Bryant Park.  I saw this man sitting there lost in his thoughts.  He looked so dignified that I wanted to have a portrait of him lost in his thoughts.  So, I asked if I could take his photo.  I took a couple shots but was not happy with what I was getting.  The background was very distracting.  I moved to my left in order to minimize the distractions.  His expression did not change throughout my ventures.
Jay:  That’s what you did but you did not answer the question “what’s the story here?”
Me:  His name is Lucas.  He has three grown daughters that he reared by himself—his wife died in childbirth with the youngest.  He has worked two to three jobs most of his life.  He is 77 years old and his daughters have told him that he has to stop working and start living.  He said that he thought that he had been living for 77 years.  He did not know what to do.
Jay:  Even though you do not know what the story is, you know that there is a story.  You also want to know the story.  Did you offer him any of your thoughts?
Me:  No.  I think he knows what to do.  He just needed someone to listen to him for a few minutes.
Enjoy.
Camera settings:  Nikon D3, Nikon 70-300mm f/3.5-5.6 at 150mm, ISO 2,200, f/5.6 and 1/350th of a second.
Post Processing:  None!

1 comment:

  1. Lucas seems dejected to me. The background still seems to be cluttered. Wish he was looking at you.
    Edward

    ReplyDelete