photo sharing and upload picture albums photo forums search pictures popular photos photography help login
Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Fifteen: Making travel portraits that define personality and character. > Friends, Houmt Souk, Tunisia, 2008
previous | next
15-NOV-2008

Friends, Houmt Souk, Tunisia, 2008

This dual portrait, featuring two friends waiting for the bus that will take them to school, expresses its point through incongruity. My vantage point brings them closely together, yet they remain emotionally apart from each other at the moment – each lost in their own thoughts. By shooting these young women in profile, the viewer relates to them indirectly, rather than directly, as an observer, rather than as a participant. It is a portrait of silences, as much as it is a portrait of friends.

Leica V-Lux 1
1/320s f/5.6 at 88.8mm iso100 hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time15-Nov-2008 12:22:16
MakeLeica
ModelV-LUX 1
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length88.8 mm
Exposure Time1/320 sec
Aperturef/5.6
ISO Equivalent100
Exposure Bias-1.00
White Balance
Metering Modemulti spot (3)
JPEG Quality
Exposure Programprogram (2)
Focus Distance

other sizes: small medium large original auto
share
Phil Douglis21-Dec-2008 22:12
Interesting to see you call mid-day light "beautiful," Rusty. It is the hardest of all lighting situations to master. Either you go with its harsh high contrast and deep shadows to make a harsh point, as I did in my shot of a forbidding sculpture athttp://www.pbase.com/image/80831641 , or else you use its reflectance, as i did here, to softly illuminate these faces. The angle of view, as you note, is also important, because it allows the viewer to see them as a witness, rather than as a participant, as in most portraits. The bokeh (soft focus background) and muted colors reinforce the innocence of youth here.
russellt21-Dec-2008 02:29
stunning portrait x 2. the inner something, the eyes, the different angle, the beautiful light found at mid day, the just right exposure, the bokah, the muted colors...
Phil Douglis12-Dec-2008 21:47
The lighting here is a solution to a difficult problem. When we are traveling with a tour group, we often must shoot under less than ideal lighting conditions. I was shooting this image at mid-day, and the light was harsh, so I looked for people who were standing in the shadows, yet illuminated softly by light that was reflecting back on their faces from the concrete street. As you can see here, there was little I could do about the direct light falling on the shoulder of the person at right, but on balance, I was pleased with the reflected glow of indirect light here. Thanks, Alfredo, for noticing the effect of the light on this image.
alfredo camba jr.12-Dec-2008 10:54
Very beautiful portrait! Nice lighting angd composition! Vote!
Type your message and click Add Comment
It is best to login or register first but you may post as a guest.
Enter an optional name and contact email address. Name
Name Email
help private comment