portrait?

[mohit]

I had decided to give each close friend a portrait that i thought truly defined them. This is a friend who is a professional whitewater rafting guide and instructor. He loved the pic.Its a once in lifetime shot for me - a fraction of second earlier and his feet wouldn't have touched a fraction later it would be a splash. But what i really want to know is that was i correct in terming it as a portrait - considering whats not showing is his face?!:scratch:

 

[Hertz van Rental]

You keep getting these great aerial shots. Can you fly, or something?

 

[mohit]

when u make up your mind to spend a lot of time in the jungles of india - the first thing you learn is to scurry up trees and rocks in a hurry when being chased by a tusker, bear or tiger. I guess its true when they say any knowledge gained is useful - even in other fields not connected but was looking forward to your reply to my querry on this one!

 

[Hertz van Rental]

Oops!
In answer to your question: the majority see a portrait as being a picture of someone's face. The true definition is that a portrait is any picture of someone where they are the main subject and the picture tells the viewer something about them. Thinking about that you realise that the face is not essential. It's just an accepted convention.
When the subject and their background become of equal importance it falls into the sub-genre of 'environmental portrait'. This image doesn't really fall into that as the background is basically featureless.
The bottom line is that in Photography, as in other Art forms, categories are there merely as a convenience so that images can be grouped and classified to make it easier for 'uninformed' viewers to know how to react. They don't really know how to look or what response is required unless they are told. They have problems when images don't comfortably fit into any one particular category. Only three responses are generally available when this happens: I love it/I hate it/I don't understand it. Think about the responses to your abstract.
The photographer himself has two choices. He can either pander to the market and produce the kind of images that his viewers expect and can handle. Or he ploughs his own furrow.
I personally prefer the latter course. Just get on with the problem of taking your own pictures and let others worry about trying to categorise your work.

 

[mohit]

brilliant! thanks!:hail:

 

[Hertz van Rental]

You take the pictures and I'll provide the words :mrgreen:

 

[duncanp]

^^ true true.....

 

[mentos_007]

well... I do like this picture and I think it is a portrait.. for me everything where people are... those are portraits...no matter if face is visible or not... i'd love to get my picture, simmilar to this one! but i've never jumped to the green water from hight!

 

[mohit]

heh heh - the good thing about this mentos is that the green water is a river called the Holy Ganges, so even if the jump doesn't work out right...what a place to go thanks for making me feel good about having chosen this pic for my friend. and a very happy new year to you!

 

[arterture]

You can see that his right foot is just start to enter the water when you took the shot. It almost makes it look like hes walking on a big thing of lime jello. :mrgreen: Great shot though, and i love the comp.

 

[icondigital]

great timing mohit!
very nice shot! :sun:

 

[KunalShingla]

hey mohit
been a while since i commented on on ur photos....this onez really really nice....love the timing....now u also see mine.....hehe
lovely shot...
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