A Portrait of Dongjiadu # 4, Shanghai 2005 by Kal Khogali

Kal Khogali | all galleries >> Beyond The Seen - Book Preview >> BEYOND THE SEEN >> Tradition > A Portrait of Dongjiadu # 4, Shanghai 2005

The Old Town...Today

Canon EOS 20D
1/60s f/3.2 at 70.0mm iso400 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto

Yiannis Pavlis		09-Apr-2007 21:37
Superb shot and portrait,nice tones and details. well taken.

Guest		26-May-2006 19:05
powerful intent! fabulous expression.if you can do another color shot in this section perhaps this one would be worth considering

Rob Rosetti		03-May-2006 19:22
Excellent, so dramatic pose and subject! Well seen! V. Roberto

Valery Titievsky		13-Feb-2006 18:08
Vote! Very nice color! Very dinamic portrait.

Kal Khogali		26-Nov-2005 01:10
I guess it is also the imapact of colour Phil. Colour is less forgiving when it comes to distractions. By working more in colour I have had to learn to make things cleaner. So a concious effort.

Phil Douglis		25-Nov-2005 23:26
Thanks, Kal, for clearing it up. Am I imagining things, or have you been consciously making your images cleaner and simpler, and thereby more effective as expression?

Kal Khogali		25-Nov-2005 22:57
Yes Phil. you are correct, it is a place. Dongjiadu is the old town of Shanghai near the bund. The people live there as though it were still the 19th century, and it will all disappear in 2010 (thge government is removing the area and developing it for the EXPO). I wanted to record the most important thing, the people. Becasue it is they who make the place what it is. When I move these images in to their own gallery, I will provide a clear context. Kal

Phil Douglis		25-Nov-2005 21:59
This picture has been well discussed already. I am bit confused, however, by the title, which implies that all five of these portraits are of the same man named Dongjiadu. For those of us that don't know Shanghai, that is the assumption. Yet clearly there are three different men in these five portraits. So Dongjiadu must a reference to a place, not a person, right? In any event, the last two portraits are of the same guy, and they show us how much people can change in appearance and behavior from image to image. You encourage all of us to keep on "working" our subjects, and not be content with just one view, but rather take many views of the same person.

Guest		25-Nov-2005 03:35
Wonderful portrait, Kal. Caught at the right moment. Colours are great, it's really expressive too. Ana, Jennifer and Duncan have already said what I feel... v

Guest		24-Nov-2005 21:44
Voted.

Michael Shpuntov		24-Nov-2005 18:30
Great work. Very dynamic portrait, well thought and composed. GMV

Marisa Livet		24-Nov-2005 18:09
Once I was told that to Japanese all Europeans look the same and they cannot recognize them easily. Maybe it’s true also on the other side, I recognized the man from his hair style. Already in the former picture it makes me think over in a rather amused way that an old man adopted, probably unconsciously the same hair-style as modern teen-agers. I like this portrait enormously, I like the fact the man is looking at something we cannot see. Already in the other picture he gave me an impression of wisdom, as if he followed his own inner philosophy of life. I like the impact of the colour here and the texture of the background. Maybe the man is not looking at anything definite, he’s looking at time in its relative dimension, trying to slow the moment of reaching the end of his cigarette. One of the best pictures I saw this week… Marisa

Ray Rebortira		24-Nov-2005 16:10
Old age and the last wisp of pleasure --- a very striking image. Bravo!

Guest		24-Nov-2005 15:54
Nothing goes to waste, even the stool which would be thrown away in the U.S. He certainly doesn't look comfortable squatting on that thing! Nice job.

...duncan		24-Nov-2005 14:58
That is a great shot. I am very impressed. Voted of course but I do have to say, to me, the man looks like he is not only savouring the last drag of his smoke but also trying to conserve it by smoking it to the filter. Cigs are rather expensive now. Also the child’s chair that he is sitting on or step stool is framed into the photo very well.

Guest		24-Nov-2005 13:47
Excellent this portret! VOTED!!

Jennifer Zhou		24-Nov-2005 13:28
Ha, now you put this idea into a bigger picture..nothing is left to waste in china...aha..Interesting...:)

Kal Khogali		24-Nov-2005 13:14
Well noticed Jen, same man! The last Puff...now that would have been a great title for the image! You saying that made me think about China in general. Here, everybody uses and recycles everything...nothing is left to waste..all the way to the "last puff";-)

Jennifer Zhou		24-Nov-2005 13:07
I see this man is from the previous picture. And you choose here to use the body language to tell us the story about this man. He leans forward to smoke his cigarette which only left a small end, but he can't let it go, and is trying to get most out of it with his last puff....

Ana Carloto O'Shea		24-Nov-2005 12:21
It's an excellent portrait!! We can feel the man's expectant look perfectly. I find the colours in this photo fantastic, because they seem to combine themselves perfectly and I think the low saturation is perfect for this photo. Great work Kal!

arminb		24-Nov-2005 12:12
You really have a great eye! Admired!

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

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