Man with unlit cigar, a photo from Sancti Spiritus, West

Photographer's Note

Man with unlit cigar

Walking in the streets of Trinidad, my daughter spotted a man being photographed by a couple of tourists. She said � come, let𠏋 go talk to him �. At first I didn㦙 feel like it, not liking the idea that he was likely asking some money for a few photos of/with him. I quickly surrendered in order to please her and while I was unsuccessfully looking for some small money to give him, he understood my problem and told us to come and sit, that money was not critical. After a small chat digging deep in my rusty elementary Spanish, we finally took two or three photos, and later found a few coins at the bottom of my day pack. So here it is for the only photo I paid for in my life. And finally, considering what those coins meant to me and what they meant to him, and the pleasure brought by this short conversation, one has to admit it was a good deal, regardless of the photos then taken.

I later discovered a photo of the same man on TE (by jemaflor). Same hat and similar unlit cigar. That made me think: given seven billions people and supposing absolute random, what is the probability that the same person appears twice on TE? Very very slim! Anyway, what𠏋 good about this photo is that the man so much says � Cuba � with few elements: his physiognomy, his hat, his nice embroidered shirt, � and the cigar.

Kofman, SnapRJW, jhm, adores, annjackman, ChrisJ has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

PeakXV (245) 2013-10-29 7:50

Hi Claude,

Great capture of this old man and his large stogie. Love the pastel background in stark contrast to the white shirt. The expression priceless! Well done. Derek

baclama (19214) 2013-10-29 8:38

quelle "gueule"!!!
un bien beau portrait cubain....
tu aurais peut-etre pu eclaircir legerement "sous le chapeau"?
bravo!
TFS
vero

CLODO (45116) 2013-10-29 8:47

He is tasting his big cigae (not lifghted!) in the street and the colorfull background reveals the city where is is.
Cheers
CLODO

oss (425) 2013-10-29 13:38

Hello Claude
I like portraits. People are more difficult to get close to than lets say a landscape. This one is a real character. He really stands out against the background colours. Great.
Kind regards.
Tony

Kofman (2366) 2013-10-30 1:53

Bonjour Claude,
un portrait magnifique de quelqu'un qui conna褾 la vie. Dans la chemise toute propre, un chapeau en paille et un cigare, un attribut de Cuba.
Une belle composition.
Amiti廥,
Elisabeth

Hanssie (11022) 2013-10-30 2:21

With this man, this sigar ( that's a cigar:-)),
the soft colours in the background, well,
this is Cuba !
Wonderful photo !

Kamilutka (8107) 2013-10-30 9:10

Hello Claude,
very well taken portrait and funny title but so accurate :-) Makes me smile every time I look at it. Very good composition and DOF. Nice colors, shaprness and contrast.
I like it a lot.
Thanks for sharing
Kamila

SnapRJW (31631) 2013-10-30 23:32

Hello Claude - I so enjoyed your note, it brings a human touch to this very lovely shot. Excellent portrait and good use of the frame. That cigar seems to be 3D and extend beyond the @D image. Super! Warm regards rosemary

Waylim (25436) 2013-10-31 19:03

HI Claude,

Classic shot of daily life and portrait from Cuba, what more, a man with a Cuban Cigar...couldn't be more authentic than that. Love the background colors too, very tropical and fit the atmosphere nicely. Excellent quality photo with good sharpness and detials and good composition with the man facing in, and that cigar draw our vision right to it.

Way

jhm (211734) 2013-11-01 5:30

Hello Claude,

The truly Cuban cigar, these man fits excellent for smoking a cigar.
Excellent portrait man with hat and cigar
Sharpness an clarity be superb.
Composition and presentation are lovely.
Very well done, TFS.

Have a nice November 1,
John

nikkitta (17070) 2013-11-01 12:51

Hola Claude

Live take captures of people, always with problems because not asking for permition
Here the protagonist is the cigar ( why not lit? ) and then the cuban personage and the colors of the background so tipically cuban

Well done, merci
Maria
I have two coincidences, first with a photo of a woman taken in Nepal in front of an ornate door, this year I saw the same women and door posted in TE, with not time to watch it, , never see it again
Second, I posted a photo taken at Salta (Argentina) and Gus a TE member, saw the man at the same place on his way to the hotel some days before

adores (46979) 2013-11-08 15:44

Hi Claude!
Very good portrait! Cuba must be a fantastic place for portraits. His expression while he smokes the cigar is really great and I like the colourful walls in background.

annjackman (23019) 2013-11-09 5:21

Hello Claude,
I checked my 'cigar smoker' picture from Trinidad and it was of a different man! I think I recognise the street that you took this in with those lovely colours. The man is very well photographed and well positioned in the corner of the frame. Lovely detail in this excellent shot.
Kind Regards, Ann.

ChrisJ (171366) 2013-11-11 6:19

Bonjour Claude,

Good framing and composition with the tip of the unlit cigar withing the dividing line between green and orange on the bg wall. Good use of a shallow dof with superb shadow detail in the mans face. Excellent color saturation and balance. Bon semaine!

anel (563) 2013-12-01 1:52