Getting old, a photo from Noord-Holland, South

Photographer's Note

A scrap dealer in the streets of Amsterdam.
The Netherlands has a good wellfare system
so it was a riddle to me why he was still
working at his lifetime,-maybe passion?

Scanned image from a slide.

efigesta, feather, weswang, Tue, Galmeida, bertolucci, john_c, ChrisJ, alainh, PJE, Rinie_Hoff has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

bantonbuju (51815) 2006-01-19 5:10

hi hermann, there are the whole populations of this sort of "strange" people, they often make their own choice for having that type of life; surely most of them (probably 99,99%) live this sort of life because thy have no othr choice...
but it is very important to show this type of sad moments, very good of you;
good compo with detailed scenery;
take care, j.

Zepi (22848) 2006-01-19 5:21

Salut Hermann,
Trиs belle prise de vue !
J’adore ce bokeh et cet ambiance couleur.
Le personnage apporte beaucoup.
Merci pour le partage
Amicalement,
Sйbastien

efigesta (12188) 2006-01-19 5:22

Hi Hermann

nice portrait here, great DOF and colors

regards
manuel

Albrecht (11283) 2006-01-19 5:48

Hi Hermann
A very nice title and picture. I like this atmosphere. Good compo and colours and DOF.
Greetings Albrecht

jhm (211736) 2006-01-19 7:42

Hoi Herman,
Deze mensen mogen dit niet afgenomen worden want dan zijn ze dood!
U heeft er goed aangedaan om de focus op de man terichten, waardaar de achtergrond mooi blur wordt.
Ik zie ook de duiven, misschien naar het lied van "Herd en Hermien" Met de duiven op de Dam.
Good daily life picture!
John.

pitai (3985) 2006-01-19 9:08

Nice portrait. So colorful. There are a lot of elements in this composition, but the angle and perspective helps focus on the main subject. The man’s expression is very intriguing. The pigeons also adds a nice mood to the composition. Very well seen. Gabriel

P.S. Very good scanned image.

Graal (103040) 2006-01-19 10:10

Hi Hermann,
good reportage and capture. I like the composition and colours. Really life. Good job.
Rgs, Aleksander

Cormac (26565) 2006-01-19 10:48

Great character shot! I like the expression, and also the framing, placing him to the side and with his treasures laid out in front of him. This makes you think. Well done!

feather (51130) 2006-01-19 12:01

Very interesting Hermann; maybe he wasn't as old as he looks. I like the composition and he obviously didn't mind being photographed.
Kath

weswang (18247) 2006-01-19 12:44

Hi Hermann, You have well captured the humble expression of the guy together with all the pigeons with well use of shallow DoF. Good capture of the daily life scene. You have done a good job to get a good quality out from the scanned image.

KevRyan (22956) 2006-01-19 14:23

A great image Hermann from your collection of slides - he seems a little bewildered maybe - I love the way he is surrounded by the birds - what i really like is the contrast of the colour in his face to the rest of this predominantly blue/brown/grey colour range - he really stands out.

best wishes Kev

nwoehnl (122) 2006-01-19 14:46

A nice contextual portrait of the vendor, Hermann - good use of DOF, and good placement of the character at the side of his belongings which are also inspected by the pigeons. Good quality you got from scanning this slide.

Tue (92470) 2006-01-19 17:25

Hej Hermann,
A great portrait of this old man and the expression on his face. Nice to have a quite typical Amsterdam-bridge in the background. Well done!
Hilsner,
Lars

bertolucci (14052) 2006-01-20 3:28

Guten morgen Hermann, lovely picture of this old 'voddeboer' as we call them. His expresssion and weathered feace are very well captured and the compo including his merchendise and the pigeons is spot on, telling us much about his daily life and surroundings. Great job.
Have a nice weekend,
Bert

Galmeida (12559) 2006-01-20 4:10

Hi Hermman,
Now you are going fast and I'm in delay with my life at TE postings and critiques. I think that this post is for me, however I'm 55 years old but life nowadays is making all old ones. I like very much the approaching view and perspective you handled as the management of close-up approach in enquadrement. Fine colors, sharpness and a touch of blur to make the final contrast. A perfect one so well seen and composed.

Congratulations and the best to you and your work.

Fernando

hdl (7035) 2006-01-20 7:38

I can slightly see that this is a scan, but it doesn't make too much difference. Nice daily life shot here and yes it is kinda strange to see that in the Netherlands. I think he did that for you to make a good picture ;-)

john_c (24666) 2006-01-20 10:45

Hi Hermann,
A well composed shot of this gentleman. I think your hypothesis about passion is correct - he probably just loves to putter about with the scrap...I like the clarity of the shot and the expression on the man's face, as well as his apparel. This is a slice of daily life in Europe we don't normally see. Well captured.
John

ChrisJ (171884) 2006-01-21 5:16

Guten tag Hermann

I missed this one. Superb sharpness, with good color, lighting & contrast. The old man seems to mirror the old bric a brac & scrap for sale in the market. Good work!

danyy (0) 2006-01-21 12:26

Bonjour Hermann,
techniquement , la photo est parfaite, DOF bien calibrйe (dommage qu'on ne voit pas les donnйes techniques de la photo).
L'ambiance y est triste, mais c'est celle qu'on peut trouver souvent chez ces vieilles personnes un peu dйphasйes par rapport а un monde qui bouge trop vite.
Bonne compo.
Daniel.

alainh (33209) 2006-01-22 1:10

Hello Herman
a very good portrait and a nice capture you make here.
a excelent quality of scan !
have a good sunday Herman
alain

PJE (20758) 2006-01-22 20:33

I have a father who worked till he was 70 years old. The thing with retiring is what to do. I think this man will be happier if he keeps busy. Also he has spent a lifetime with stuff..and I think he cannot let go if it. That seems to be my thoughts on him. Nice work capturing him in his world!

greg64g (11193) 2006-01-23 5:35

hi Hermann

very impressive mood on this picture, the grain is perfect, the colors and dof are nice
cheers
greg

Rinie_Hoff (9340) 2006-01-24 17:43

Hi Hermann, i missed quite a few good shots of you, but i do not have time, maybe a littel bit more withina couple of weeks.
I wanted to react on this one, as it's difficult to say that we have a good welfare system, it's easier when someone else says that. If you're dependent on just your AOW, it's not really a 'vetpot', but what might be a good chance, is that he prefers to ramble around a little bit in stead of pesterting his wife and sit behind the flowerpots as well.
I love this one, Hermann, you brought him on TE with respect, leaving enought in the picture to give him some context, good use of DoF

dsidwell (9783) 2006-01-25 10:43

This is a very thought-provoking image, Hermann. THe human amongst the junk and birds works very nicely, especially since you've place him at an extreme edge, giving importance to the environment.

rhizomes (15343) 2006-01-29 15:46

Hi Hermann,
Impressive portrait of this old man.
With all these old things and pigeons on it...
Nice shot !
Christophe

mumek (20226) 2006-02-27 19:45

Good evening Hermann!
Excellent portrait of the older man. Good quality of the scanned photo. Great depth of the field, nice colors. Very well seen.
best regards
ziggy