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My Street Portraits & People

fahim mohammed

Well-known member
Asher, that is one solution. Else one can search for the summitars/elmars of the 40s and 50s. Alternatively
one can use the current zm 50mm sonnar, like below!!

p63428463.jpg
 

fahim mohammed

Well-known member
But then again, Asher, my friend..if one seeks the best 50mm performance..without compromise; one positions the subject away from the sun and shoots. Hoping not to do injustice to the subject while maintaing sharpness end to end.

For technical excellence I doubt one can do better than the lux 50mm asph for the 35mm.

In this instance, a gentler sharpness not harsh that I could have got..

p753404097.jpg
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
But then again, Asher, my friend..if one seeks the best 50mm performance..without compromise; one positions the subject away from the sun and shoots. Hoping not to do injustice to the subject while maintaing sharpness end to end.

For technical excellence I doubt one can do better than the lux 50mm asph for the 35mm.

In this instance, a gentler sharpness not harsh that I could have got..



Fahim,

You can do this wth your best lenses. Just have a filter that's soft at the periphery with the center clear. That way it's sharp and has an overly of softness. That's how all the best designs are made!

Asher
 

fahim mohammed

Well-known member
You want me to put another filter over my ir/uv filter ( i can't afford an m9!! ).
Prefer to do it with a lens or else I would rather use sw filters than physical ones.

Regards.
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
You want me to put another filter over my ir/uv filter ( i can't afford an m9!! ).
Prefer to do it with a lens or else I would rather use sw filters than physical ones.

Put vaseline on the periphery of the UV filter. That way, the center will define everything but the periphery will add softness in a gentle way. You also can use piece of nylon with a hole in the center.

Asher
 

fahim mohammed

Well-known member
Put vaseline on the periphery of the UV filter. That way, the center will define everything but the periphery will add softness in a gentle way. You also can use piece of nylon with a hole in the center.

Asher

Horses for courses Asher. Whatever you find easy.

Best.
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Horses for courses Asher. Whatever you find easy.

Best.

Fahim,

What's easy for me is having a 50 1.2 L, that's simply superb, or else a PS945 Cooke, for large format, that's magical. I have no lenses to match your Leicas, LOL! My remarks were just for your beyond-superbly-sharp Leica lenses to enable you to take sharp pictures but with a layer of softness. The course, was for you, just for you, of course! It's something to try if you really value the trust of the women you photograph.

The other alternative is to get hold of a lens thats' beaten up and scratched. It will still be sharper than most all other lenses but will have softness too. Often times these lenses go for very little as folk have no idea that a princely Leica or Zeiss lens with a deep scratch or crack can be just perfect for portraits. It's one of those secrets of folk who really understand portraits!

Asher
 

fahim mohammed

Well-known member
Asher, the women ( and men ) I photograph have always had my deepest respect. And I believe, I have not betrayed the trust anyone placed in allowing me to photograph them.

I do, however, try to project an image of them that is contextual and the overall presentation captures my feelings towards the subject. Not as objects for ridicule or trophies, but human beings like myself whose condition/s move me to photograph them.

It does not matter if they are in the street..

p727381030-4.jpg

or my family...

p785489120-4.jpg

or in a place of worship...

p541122953.jpg

The day a woman ( or a man ) becomes other than a person to be respected is the day I shall stop photographing people. But that shall never happen..photography or not.
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
"Reading the Reading" or not?

Asher, the women ( and men ) I photograph have always had my deepest respect. And I believe, I have not betrayed the trust anyone placed in allowing me to photograph them.

I wonder how many of us can honestly say that!

Fahim,

Your pictures of people, family and strangers alike, seem to show more about you, as a collector of human moments to be treasured.

I do, however, try to project an image of them that is contextual and the overall presentation captures my feelings towards the subject. Not as objects for ridicule or trophies, but human beings like myself whose condition/s move me to photograph them.

It does not matter if they are in the street..

O.K. now Fahim, put away ridicule, it's not even on the table here! I'm interested in what Mark Hampton might call, Reading the reading!". In the following two photographs, both of those you love, you have used entirely different textures. Is this an accident of haphazardness? both are timeless. One hard and the other soft with grain adding a whole new layer of texture and imagined meanings.

Are you consciously making these two differently or one is film and the other digital and that's how they happened to turn out?

Asher

p727381030-4.jpg

or my family...

p785489120-4.jpg
 

fahim mohammed

Well-known member
I wonder how many of us can honestly say that!

....

I can..in all honesty. Maybe that is why I can go into people's homes and be privileged to take images
such as these..

p543494837-5.jpg

or be graciously allowed to approach people close in their moments of devotion...

p748680507-4.jpg

I do this up close and not hiding behind long lenses and take sneak shots. Remember these are not model shoots or event photographs..were one is paid or one gets paid.

One more, where man and their faith do not allow for intrusion. It is for me the highest form of trust that I could earn. And Asher, I derive the greatest pleasure in these images that I capture; because not many are allowed, or capable to earn such trust.

p482411103-5.jpg

This ' respect ' is not something one ' puts' on when meeting others. It is a tradition, it is a way of ones upbringing and beliefs. It is what one is..and one cannot fool people all the time with a hypocritical ' putting on ' of respect veneer to suit an occasion.

Regards.
 

fahim mohammed

Well-known member
....
Fahim,

....

In the following two photographs, both of those you love, you have used entirely different textures. Is this an accident of haphazardness? both are timeless. One hard and the other soft with grain adding a whole new layer of texture and imagined meanings.

Are you consciously making these two differently or one is film and the other digital and that's how they happened to turn out?

Asher

p727381030-4.jpg

or my family...

p785489120-4.jpg

Yes. The first image is one after a long drawn out and contentious custodial legal battle. I gave it a hard texture since the mother had to undergo a lot of hardships. Now, it is the child that has to adjust to the
new environment. Traumatic for both.

The second one had to be soft to show the tenderness and care. Along with a strong resolve to protect
her kin; so a touch of grain.

Thank you for your valued comments.

p.s. both digital.
 

Cem_Usakligil

Well-known member
Hi Fahim,

....
This ' respect ' is not something one ' puts' on when meeting others. It is a tradition, it is a way of ones upbringing and beliefs. It is what one is..and one cannot fool people all the time with a hypocritical ' putting on ' of respect veneer to suit an occasion...
You have hit the nail on the head, I could not agree more.
 

fahim mohammed

Well-known member
Cem, thank you. I know you would understand. That is one of the most important things we share.

Respect, begins at home..for me. Here my two two sons with one of our elders..While others are not in the
picture; each and everyone of us was standing; because our elder was standing. That is our culture.

p246407443.jpg
 

fahim mohammed

Well-known member
A final one from me to conclude this thread. I am getting tired.

This from a place we never can get tired of visiting.

p582139344.jpg

Thanks for being with us.
 

Ruben Alfu

New member
Hi Fahim,

This is a thread to revisit and enjoy over and over. To me, the string that ties together this collection, more than the photographer, is a feeling of transparency.

Regards,

Ruben
 

Paul Abbott

New member
Fahim, some of these photographs of yours, particularly those of our eastern cousins are really nice studies. They'e also a valued insight into the practices of these people, and they're social interaction between themselves.
Another point i'd like to make is that I think your trying to find some sort of signature in the way that you process them, no? If so, I really don't think you need to do that, the images don't need that either, they're powerful enough in some cases...;)

Kind regards, keep on keeping, Paul.
 

fahim mohammed

Well-known member
Fahim, some of these photographs of yours, particularly those of our eastern cousins are really nice studies. They'e also a valued insight into the practices of these people, and they're social interaction between themselves.
Another point i'd like to make is that I think your trying to find some sort of signature in the way that you process them, no? If so, I really don't think you need to do that, the images don't need that either, they're powerful enough in some cases...;)

Kind regards, keep on keeping, Paul.

Paul, thanks for your valued comments. I take them seriously to be studied. You are right..I am trying for a ' look '. I do not know ' what '. Hence the salt and pepper experimentations.

Others have also mentioned what you correctly point out in my photographs/presenation/pp.

A little more experimentaion and I shall have found/not find what I am seartching for.

Thank you for taking the time to appraise me of your experienced advice.

Kind regards.
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
I can..in all honesty. Maybe that is why I can go into people's homes and be privileged to take images
such as these..

p543494837-5.jpg


Fahim,

The entire red outfit, the diagonals of the pattern in her red skirt, the beads on her ears and wrists work well with her tan complexion against the aged, stained and cracked stucco behind her. Her bright eyes smile and shiny metal cup work as lights to catch our attention. She's obviously poor im material goods but rich in passions and spirit. The picture is highly attractive, honest and not strained. If you would have paid her, she would have earned her fee and had she paid you, the same!

This, however, is on a higher plane than both circumstances of "shooting for a fee". This represents the bond shared humanity. We'd enjoy the picture even if money had changed hands. Still, knowing this is the fruit of sincerity of an ability of both of you to bond in an honest respectful way, this is far more special.

Asher
 
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