The Dignified Old Gentleman

[Mongo]

Vietnam. There was something in the dignified and proud manner that this older gentleman carried himself that captivated Mongo's interest. His surrounds also bore the signs of time and it seems that he and his village had grown older together over a lifetime. He gave the unmistakable feeling of being comfortable, at home and part of its fabric. He neither wanted nor needed to be anywhere else. It felt unimaginable that they would ever be parted and probably never will be. This was, briefly, a powerful and unsettling concept to Mongo who had been used to travelling and moving several times in his life with probably more to come. This was the background and motivation for taking this image and why it was of significance to Mongo. Not sure how many of you (if any) have had or understand this feeling.

Taken with simple/inexpensive travel gear - D200 and Tamron 11-18mm zoom lens.

[Hugh_3170]

Mongo, lovely photograph and a spot on commentary.  And so Vietnam.  I have only been to Vietnam once, but it is a place that I would recommend we all visit at least once.

Is this a recent image?

[Frank Fremerey]

I love the composition with the yellow floor and the complimentary bicycle rider.
I love the color scape and the vignette edit.

What I generally feel uncomfortable with is wide angle from above on people. The proportions
are just not rendered nicely.

a lower perspective, on his eye level with another step back if physically possible....

[Tristin]

It looks like you brightened his feet out of the vignette?  It makes him standout unnaturally, like a cutout.

[Almass]

I like his dignified countenance and I would guess that the gentleman has previously served in the Army.

[Mongo]

thanks Hugh - it was about 4 to 5 years ago.

Frank - spot on with your observations and CC. Mongo completely agrees with you. However, it was a bit of a grab shot from the floor above as he briefly stopped to pose for someone on the ground floor. It was also not Mongo's choice of lens but simply what Mongo had in that instant. Always appreciate the CC.

Tristin - also spot on with your observation. This troubled Mongo when he was doing the PP but though he had covered his tracks - it seems not. A little more care and it could have been avoided. It was sloppy on Mongo's part and will be re-edited on the original Tiff. Thanks you also for the frank and helpful CC

Almass - thank you for your kind comments.

Lastly, Mongo made the error Armando recently admitted to - Mongo should not have carried out the final pre-post edit at night. Looking at it this morning, this image also lacks some contrast that Mongo would have preferred.