He knew where the brown fishing owl lived, showed us the turtles hauled out on rocks by the lake where Lord Krishna swam thousands of years ago, and pointed out the muggers (crocodiles) drifting in the lake. He took us to meet families living among the sere hills. He spoke no English and walked the thorny tracks in bare feet.He looked after us well. [17 February 2007; Canon 20D, 24–105 mm f4 L at 45 mm, ISO 200, 1/80 at f6.3]
All content © 2010 Pete McGregor
So shouldn't this man be added to your other blog posting?
ReplyDeleteWonderfully intelligent and kind face.
ReplyDeleteRR, he and countless others are already in the Pohanginapete post, represented by the first two photos. But I take your point: he would have been marvellous to talk with. My inadequacy with language continues to frustrate me.
ReplyDeleteZhoen, he had that beautiful air of calm and attentiveness that sets some people apart.
Men like these often instill a need for me to do some introspection about who I really am apart from my so-called affluence of material possessions. I continually admired cultures that measure “wealth” as not by how much you own, but rather by how much wisdom you possess.
ReplyDeleteI just love this. Not only have you caught the essence of the man himself, but he sits so well against the slightly out-of-focus background. My eyes are constantly drawn back to his face. All the colours go so well together - there's even a trace of bluish-grey in the rocks to the left of him that echoes the colour his trousers. You've shown that he belongs to this environment.
ReplyDeleteWell said, Paul. Societies like ours, I think, place too much emphasis on youth, power and acquisition and too little on the wisdom to use them appropriately. Moreover, I think we often confuse cleverness and wisdom.
ReplyDeleteLesley, thanks. So often, a photo contains a colour that detracts, that looks out of place or just plain icky, and a black-&-white conversion works so much better. Not this time, though.