Tired Feet, a photo from Tamil Nadu, South

Photographer's Note

A tricycle driver taking a nap in Madurai. His feet tell the story of his life.

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Critiques | Translate

bfly (5775) 2005-11-14 5:56

hi Maciek,
I liked the composition, though I found it a litle crowded...
but I think the feet tells the same story for almost all over there:) that is ; they are barefoot all the time...
Are you still in India ? I hope and I wish you do not lose another camera..

ALSOM (6616) 2005-11-14 6:02

Hi Maciej,

Excellent focus on the feet. One can see how hard those feet worked all day. I would expect more relaxed feet (less straight) for such tired feet. The background has also many story of his life with the bosition of the 2 arms. Beaufiful dof from the feet to the top of the body.

(Initially I thought he had an accident and was at the hospital). Lovely framed with the blue color.
Thanks, Al.

ballyna (1689) 2005-11-14 6:05

maciej,
I think his feet can't feel anything,so injured but he seems tired.
great DOF with delicating blue.
regards

KevRyan (22956) 2005-11-14 6:13

Well I can dream of a 5D - but it is a dream for a while with a daughters wedding on the way!! This is a very telling image Maciej - great DOF for focusing on the essential element of your story - I like the diagional the man makes across the frame - really nice composition.

best wishes Kev

fixed (3836) 2005-11-14 6:22

hello Maciej
very nice one
I like the IMO on the foot
and progress to his face
sensitive picture for me
the blue tones are beautiful
nice work
thanks
Arnaud

bantonbuju (51815) 2005-11-14 6:25

jego stopy opowiadają historię jego życia,
jego postawa na tym zdjęciu "opowiada" jego historię życia
jego życie to tak jakby pewnie ta klatka w klatce tego zdjęcia;
wymownie rewelacyjne;
baaardzo się podoba;
pozdro. j.

sarhanp (124) 2005-11-14 6:55

Hi Maciej,

You have a unique point of view, may be we can call you Alex Webb of TE.

Great photo from a great portfoli,

Regards,

Sarhan.

Furachan (0) 2005-11-14 6:57

Perfect DOF, subtly dosed. the more we look the more the compo comes out perfect.
Very nice work, deceptively simple...
Cheers,
Francis

don_narayan (2014) 2005-11-14 7:14

Hi Maciej. Great shot, really good composition. those feet do tell the story of a tough life. well done.

Narayan

jufaillace (266) 2005-11-14 7:16

Feet always tell us lots of things. I particularly love feet photos. Congrat.

rowanb (864) 2005-11-14 7:21

looks like a well deserved rest off those feet!
great composition and colours. nice moment.
rowan

naxius (16685) 2005-11-14 7:54

Very good shot Maciej..
I love the POV and the DOF..
Great colors too.
Alex

pilpel-adom (3018) 2005-11-14 7:59

Great shot, Maciej!
:)
I like the shallow DOF that isolate the feet from their master..Good color and compo, a good one indeed!
Chen

banyanman (7797) 2005-11-14 8:44

Great composition, Maciej, and very observant of you to spot this photo op. Perfect POV and DOF for this. Shaprness is excellent too. Cheers . . . David

Homerhomer (4080) 2005-11-14 9:00

Ohh boy, what a life, great photo showing his reality, simple and effective, technically perfect.
Peter

faubry (35447) 2005-11-14 9:14

ah poas mal du tout!!! amusante image, gros plan sur les pieds, j aime beaucoup.. bravo
francine

emanuela (1257) 2005-11-14 9:30

just a great story of life, amazing
emanuela
favorites

AmiBe (6042) 2005-11-14 9:33

Hi Maciej,
excellent work, good idea to focus on his feet, the POV is perfect.
I like his sleeping position !
Good title as well...
Well done

Darren (6823) 2005-11-14 9:51

Great Maciek. I have seen and enjoyed lots of similar shots, but this one holds up really well I think. A very good use of DOF and everything is nice and sharp on the feet. I think what really makes this work for me is the blue color of the deck he is lying on and how his body has created a pretty effective diagonal. Maybe just a little tightly composed overall, but really effective.

falves (1405) 2005-11-14 11:08

Hi Maciej,
WOW, just love it. So simple and so full of meaning. The DOF is great and it increases the power of the photo. Great colors.
Well done
Fred

sandip (3492) 2005-11-14 11:18

cool DOF Maciek...and obviuosly a nice composition.. it is a hard life there in Tamilnadu for this kind of people... u got a real life photograph here.. a bit tired and after working hard a little nap... it is the way they live there life..

erdna (5713) 2005-11-14 11:53

A good definitive photo. The composition and DOF are all good.

Andre'

olopez (4959) 2005-11-14 12:31

Hi Maciej,
you never finish to surprise me.
:)
Great DOF with this lens.
Regards,
Oscar

designsoul (17843) 2005-11-14 15:27

This is nothing short of being superb IN EVERY WAY, Maciek. The reasons are listed before me. I just add my humble admiration...
VERY POWERFUL and technically also breathtaking...
Sarolta

jinju (14265) 2005-11-15 4:00

Fajna robota Macku, stopy wiele nam o tym czlowieku mowia. Widac jakby cale jego ciezkie zycie w tych stopach.

Kupiles sobie 5D? Skad ty czlowieku masz tyle kasy?:) I jak, podoba ci sie? Jaka roznica miedzy 5D a 20D?

eleparc (24063) 2005-11-15 7:24

great shot maciek! i have a few shots like these that I took in chandni chowk in delhi but I till have to process them.. the result is excellent! Those feet are so impactful!

Eric

Albrecht (11283) 2005-11-15 16:41

Hi Maciej
Very good POV and great use of DOF. Excelent pic.
Greetings Albrecht

nerve (10231) 2005-11-16 4:24

nice one, i simply love your DOF here..Colours are very nice too.
PS. congratulations for your 5D btw..
i am also thinking to get one.. high ISO is pretty good on that, whereas my D2X is simply useless after 800.
(ill pass by for green)

mlopes (494) 2005-11-16 6:00

Wonderfull compo and story without story... i mean, the photo tells a story of a lifetime!

Great colours and dof

Mário

Luko (14000) 2005-11-18 12:16

I love this kind of napping photos... feet photos are great too... photos of sleepy feet can be a fiesta...

However I'm quite perplex about your aperture choice which I assess to be around f/4 (btw why don't you put your EXIF data?) although I would have expected something like f/2.5, putting the beige piece of fabric into blur and enhancing the skin texture of his foot.

Congrats for your 5D too... but it's still 1000 euros too expensive! Just think it's the price for a return ticket to India plus more than two weeks living...

michel_r (1118) 2005-11-18 19:44

good & effective maciej. does tell a lot.
amicalement, michel

ishai (4097) 2005-11-19 12:10

Hi Maciej
I like the play with DOF here the perfect sharpness and the good color
I also like the way you place the person according to the rule of third here
Well captured

Ishai

ewag (94) 2005-11-20 17:00

and this is sth i find beautiful. can't stop looking at it. i guess it's the interplay of all the lines here (and colours of course: brown and blue everywhere) that makes it so eye-catching. vertical, horizontal and diagonal lines altogether in the background and these v-shaped feet coming out of them. great shot. can't say anything else but my impressions. don't know why but it's a captivating shot

Luan (12971) 2005-11-22 11:55

Héhé, excellent shot Maciej, funny PoV, I like the way the feet create a "V". The blue colors, I love it.
Very nice catch.
Luan

keribar (43841) 2005-11-22 15:15

Hello Maciej,

Good to hear from you again, I stopped by your pictures and found this incredible one showing the feet of this unfortunate guy.
Very dramatic one indeed, gives a sensation of opression, I wonder how the feet of a hand pulled rickshaw man would look like.

All the best - Izzet

Pattyjy (2180) 2005-12-07 4:36

Bonjour Maciej,
J'aime vraiment beaucoup cette photo. La profondeur de champ est impeccable et l'angle de vue très bien choisi. Bravo. C'est une réussite. Amitié, Patty.

iGirl (1223) 2006-08-06 21:34

Hi Maciek, this is a great idea, especially with the shallow DOF to emphasize the feet. Those feet definitely do tell a story! Good composition.

Thanks for sharing!

Erin

pgorod (1019) 2006-12-01 11:06

I can't really add anything useful by now, after so many critiques by so man experts, by I can always state that I love this photo... the way his fallen arms "corroborate the story" told by the feet.

EDIT: I just want to add a request... can you teach me how this is done? I mean the control over the DOF. What aperture did you use, or how did you set your camera to get this effect? Thanks!