Old Man
An old man at Shaping market, near to Dali. He was from Hong Kong and came to Yunnan as a soldier in his youth. It was a snapshot at a busy market as a personal momento because I enjoyed talking to this old man but I had to decline his invitation to his house as I was leaving soon after. The original background was distracting and the light was less than ideal. Then came a suggestion at Flickr to present this in b/w and the rest is history. Everytime I look at him, his expression seems to say "Why aren't you coming?" A cherished regret.
Discussion of this image at C.A.F.E.
Comments and faves
Ed Karjala, hodge, fubuki, jmarnaud, and 531 other people added this photo to their favorites.
Ed Karjala (92 months ago | reply)
Amazing face that you have captured so wonderfully.
hodge (92 months ago | reply)
Ah. Glad to see you made this public, Kelly. I wanted to fave it after the CAFE discussion thread.
fubuki (92 months ago | reply)
!!! excellent !!!
S'Murf (92 months ago | reply)
hehe...I knew there was a potential in this photo. :) Good job you have done on this, Kelly!
Claude Renault Photography (92 months ago | reply)
amazing portrait,
well done
Boso (92 months ago | reply)
great portrait
1_ralf (92 months ago | reply)
Excellent portrait!
OmMPadmeH [deleted] (92 months ago | reply)
oldies knowledge
alterednate (92 months ago | reply)
Fantastic portrait, I'd love to be able to take one like this someday.
Shreyans Bhansali (92 months ago | reply)
such an incredible portrait...the wrinkles, the hat, the angle...everything here looks great.
pht (92 months ago | reply)
so much character and soul in the face.
_schadenfreude (92 months ago | reply)
amazing portrait, what an interesting face!
HORIZON (92 months ago | reply)
P E R F E C T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!
Gery SINGER (92 months ago | reply)
Very nice!!!!!!
Fanis (92 months ago | reply)
Great portrait shot!
sunburnsideup (92 months ago | reply)
Love the angle.
And his expression.
Amazing.
uninvolved observer (92 months ago | reply)
wonderful. is this the original image?? wa..
Kelly Cheng (92 months ago | reply)
Thank you everyone!
@uninvolved observer: Here is the original image. See above link to C.A.F.E. discussion for more information.
drwitt (92 months ago | reply)
Too bad you missed the opportunity to meet him at home. You really ennobled the original picture... hope he'll see your reverence someday.
thejbird (92 months ago | reply)
Can't find an adjective to do this one justice...
Bravo
Navelfluff (92 months ago | reply)
Just awsome! A Brilliant, Superb, Incredible portrait!
_miti_ (92 months ago | reply)
amazing, i love it
Su-chan (92 months ago | reply)
what a face!
Imapix (92 months ago | reply)
Fantastic Portrait!
Bravo!
marekd (92 months ago | reply)
wow!
Airchild (92 months ago | reply)
A great portrait! Glad to hear the hospitality of my countryman.
Carlos Cazurro [deleted] (92 months ago | reply)
Impressive portrait, Kelly! Really impressive. :)
jonathanpenney11 (92 months ago | reply)
Really nice portrait
Great subject
3rdworld (92 months ago | reply)
beautiful. one of the best portraits i've seen on flickr.
ayoye (92 months ago | reply)
Beautiful shot!
ckemp (92 months ago | reply)
Iiiiiincredible, such detail! Love it.
vamessedup (92 months ago | reply)
wow. his expression is priceless- I love his eyes in particular.
nyomee wallen (91 months ago | reply)
Don't worry he will understand you. Normally, old men are sad by nature .They are not like old women. We old women are bitter but we can take care ourselves. If I am not good enough to invited you that's your loss.You don't know how good food I have made...Kidding..Maybe another time!
nfmm (91 months ago | reply)
Amazing shot.
David Haberlah (91 months ago | reply)
Great portrait and very sweet how he inclines his head. Some real life story in his expression.
I really would like you to consider posting this photo into the pool of Highly Competitive - Flickr's 100 Best challenging another photo (read the rules first and vote on the other challenges)!
Claudio.Núñez (91 months ago | reply)
Maravilloso retrato... que buena foto... congratulations..
ameros (91 months ago | reply)
You are in WOW Master Images Tribute selection. thx
Kelly Cheng (91 months ago | reply)
Thank you ameros, an honour.
Wen Nag (aliasgrace) (91 months ago | reply)
This is an amazing portrait. Congrats!
Cilest (91 months ago | reply)
this is really beautiful!
we added this fantastic portrait to our BEST-PORTRAITS-weblog:
Hope you don't mind...
Thanks for sharing this amazing picture.
And here's the direct link to your shot:
best-portraits.blogspot.com/2005/12/old-man.h tml
Koshyk (91 months ago | reply)
Very powerful portrait and great writeup. Black and white and lack of background adds to the strengthe of the personality.
Kelly Cheng (91 months ago | reply)
Thank you Cilest, an honour.
Many thanks to everyone for your kind comments. :)
decembre (91 months ago | reply)
Don't forget to post this interesting portrait and some other you love, in my beautiful pool
"Portrait★Faces"
lakerae (90 months ago | reply)
such poignancy! gripping
maizers (90 months ago | reply)
amazing. just perfect.
caomo (90 months ago | reply)
nice shot,typical chinese old man with kind and knowledgeable face.
Luc.. (90 months ago | reply)
old man will stay young.
_miti_ (90 months ago | reply)
Please post this photo with Search the Best
Kelly Cheng (90 months ago | reply)
Thanks minkminkmink.
MindSpigot (90 months ago | reply)
Wonderful, A favorite.