Faces from the North
Llywellyn
Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 3,186 Major grins
After too many weeks, I'm finally culling through photos from my travels through Scandinavia and Russia in July. It's easy to see the progression of the trip through the photos, and how the quality and subject matter change as I went from being on my own in Stockholm, to finding a new friend in Helsinki, to meeting up with my parents in St. Petersburg.
Likely not surprising that my most prolific images came from Stockholm, when I was on my own time, wandering Gamla Stan aimlessly, hopping the ferry to Skeppsholmen, walking back streets to the Vasa. I did not have to worry about anyone waiting on me as I stopped to take photos and, most importantly, meet a few new faces, one of my favorite parts of traveling.
Here I present a few of the wonderful characters I met during my journey, each one a happy memory of a specific place and time.
1. The Trolley Conductor
2. The Mustachioed Mechanic
3. The Café Owner: I met him briefly my very first day in Stockholm, a jovial man who welcomed customers boisterously and engaged them with interactive menu suggestions in a mash of Swedish, German, French, Greek, English, and Italian: "This is good! Try this! You will like it better. This, this is no good for you." He was so charming and full of life, I decided to bookend my stay in Stockholm with another visit to his café for my last meal in the city, before I departed for Helsinki. And finally had the courage to ask if he would step outside a moment so I could take his picture.
4. The General Store Manager
5. The Engineer: He spoke no English, but he watched me keenly as I spent time in the historical engineer's shop photographing the spin and slap of large rubber bands around gears and pulleys. When I slipped into the light-filled office with clean, wooden desks and an old drafting table overlaid with blueprints, he followed me in with excitement to show me a brilliant engineering feat: the desk before me was clean except for a large, ancient typewriter in the center, but with a flip of a panel, the center section—typerwriter and all—disappeared inside the desk, leaving behind only a clear writing surface with no hint of the typing machine in sight. We shared appreciation of such things in smiles and nods, which is the same way I asked if I could take his picture. Afterward, he opened a small drawer and handed me a highly fashioned nail as a keepsake. It stabbed me a few times in my journey afterward and on my way home, but each prick brought me back to the small, white office with this shy, proud man.
6. The Palace Guard
7. The Grocer
8. The Pilot
9. The Ceremonial Guard
10. The Chaffeur: Our final day in St. Petersburg, I could not take in yet another palace, so I stayed behind in the comfy van with Nikolai, who had been driving us around the sprawling city the past few days. I spoke no Russian. He spoke no English. We sat mostly in silence enjoying the sound of the light rain skipping across the pavement as a cool breeze blew in from the open side door. In the back of the van hung a small, toy dog, which I gathered through gestures and vocal inflections was a gift and sort of good luck charm from another tourist. Comfortably bored after a while, I began to take photos of the van's interior, and I noticed on his dash three, small, gilded plaques painted with the portraits of saints. I knew Jesus and the Virgin Mary, but the third puzzled me. I pointed and asked who it was, hoping the tone of my voice would carry meaning beyond the language barrier. His face lit up as he answered that it was "St. Nikolai." I laughed because I should have known, and it was so appropriate. And in that moment I finally felt I could ask to take his picture.
Thanks for stopping by! :thumb
Likely not surprising that my most prolific images came from Stockholm, when I was on my own time, wandering Gamla Stan aimlessly, hopping the ferry to Skeppsholmen, walking back streets to the Vasa. I did not have to worry about anyone waiting on me as I stopped to take photos and, most importantly, meet a few new faces, one of my favorite parts of traveling.
Here I present a few of the wonderful characters I met during my journey, each one a happy memory of a specific place and time.
1. The Trolley Conductor
2. The Mustachioed Mechanic
3. The Café Owner: I met him briefly my very first day in Stockholm, a jovial man who welcomed customers boisterously and engaged them with interactive menu suggestions in a mash of Swedish, German, French, Greek, English, and Italian: "This is good! Try this! You will like it better. This, this is no good for you." He was so charming and full of life, I decided to bookend my stay in Stockholm with another visit to his café for my last meal in the city, before I departed for Helsinki. And finally had the courage to ask if he would step outside a moment so I could take his picture.
4. The General Store Manager
5. The Engineer: He spoke no English, but he watched me keenly as I spent time in the historical engineer's shop photographing the spin and slap of large rubber bands around gears and pulleys. When I slipped into the light-filled office with clean, wooden desks and an old drafting table overlaid with blueprints, he followed me in with excitement to show me a brilliant engineering feat: the desk before me was clean except for a large, ancient typewriter in the center, but with a flip of a panel, the center section—typerwriter and all—disappeared inside the desk, leaving behind only a clear writing surface with no hint of the typing machine in sight. We shared appreciation of such things in smiles and nods, which is the same way I asked if I could take his picture. Afterward, he opened a small drawer and handed me a highly fashioned nail as a keepsake. It stabbed me a few times in my journey afterward and on my way home, but each prick brought me back to the small, white office with this shy, proud man.
6. The Palace Guard
7. The Grocer
8. The Pilot
9. The Ceremonial Guard
10. The Chaffeur: Our final day in St. Petersburg, I could not take in yet another palace, so I stayed behind in the comfy van with Nikolai, who had been driving us around the sprawling city the past few days. I spoke no Russian. He spoke no English. We sat mostly in silence enjoying the sound of the light rain skipping across the pavement as a cool breeze blew in from the open side door. In the back of the van hung a small, toy dog, which I gathered through gestures and vocal inflections was a gift and sort of good luck charm from another tourist. Comfortably bored after a while, I began to take photos of the van's interior, and I noticed on his dash three, small, gilded plaques painted with the portraits of saints. I knew Jesus and the Virgin Mary, but the third puzzled me. I pointed and asked who it was, hoping the tone of my voice would carry meaning beyond the language barrier. His face lit up as he answered that it was "St. Nikolai." I laughed because I should have known, and it was so appropriate. And in that moment I finally felt I could ask to take his picture.
Thanks for stopping by! :thumb
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Caroline
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I love your dof and backgrounds... how each one tells a bit of the story, the texture of their world, but doesn't take away from the lovely portrait.
And I love the journaling! It adds so much!
And Andrew, that palace guard is actually a girl.
I thought that about the palace guard at first too. But . . .after closer inspection got to wondering if it might actually be a gal instead. Maybe Kerry knows?
Jane B.
PS It now seems that Kerry is a mind reader and answered while I was typing!
To be fair, though, none of the palace guards were very old. It was a bit startling to see so many youthful faces toting around bayonets.
http://www.photosbycynthia.com/
These are WONDERFUL, Kerry - I love the bw treatments you've used, and your choices of lighting in situ really complement each subject (and more and more I'm coming to believe that this is the mark of a great photographer - sure, "making" light is an art too, but USING WHAT'S THERE effectively even when it's not playing in your favour is a skill I truly admire).
I love them all, but #2 manages to somehow be current and vintage simlutaneously; between his (to our US eyes) rather old-fashioned 'tache, the uniform, and the bw, it's like stepping back in time.
You've really captured some special moods in each of these - brava!
Cuong
Diva, I find it interesting you mention the light because I wasn't conscious of it at the time. These were quick moments captured in passing. The only person I consciously moved was the café owner because inside his café was so dark. Everyone else I just walked up to and shot where they were already standing. I was lucky with lots of overcast days while there.
That's an excellent point that never really occurred to me. I carry my business cards with me everywhere to be prepared if someone asks me for information, but I've never thought about handing one out to someone I've photographed on the fly. It's so simple, I feel silly for not having thought of it before. Something I'll definitely keep in mind during my next venture. Thank you for the very good suggestion.
Cuong
Sam
Love the conversions also.
Very well done
I, especially, like 3, 4, and 7.
Lovely monochrome conversions on all your B&Ws.
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
I'm willing to bet that even though it wasn't "conscious", your eye is working overtime ALL the time... I've seen too many wonderful photos from you to doubt it!!
www.brogen.com
Member: PPA , PPANE, PPAM & NAPP
-Marilyn Monroe
Thank you for the kind words! I find it interesting that so many enjoy #7 because I almost didn't include it with this set. For the B&Ws, I used a combination of LR presets and Photoshop actions to get the contrasty type of B&W I like.
Favorites are 1, 3, and like so many others, 7. Great post processing. It was nice that you were able to get these interesting subjects to pose for you. Good job. Thanks for sharing.
Educate yourself like you'll live forever and live like you'll die tomorrow.
Ed
Would you indulge me a little?
I would like to know what camera and lense/s you chose for your walk-a-bouts.
Also, it would be educational to see a before PP and after together. Could you pick one for me?
Thanks, John
http://www.jcgallery.com
Love 7 like everyone else, but enjoy 4 just as much. Like how you've framed him with the background. Great stuff. I've come back to this thread several times to look them over.
My favorite combination is my Nikon D700 and 50/1.4, and that's what I used for most of these portraits. In places with crowds or where I was not allowed to approach closely, such as with the Palace Guard and Ceremonial Guard, I broke out the 70-200/2.8 VR.
Here's a before and after of #1 and #7.
1. 50mm, f/4.0, 1/400s, ISO 400
7. 50mm, f/2.8, 1/50s, ISO 400
http://www.jcgallery.com
In #1, how did you fix his squinty left eye? Did you clone from the right?
http://www.jcgallery.com
Combination of warp tool, cloning, and regular ol' paintbrush on the whites of his eye.