Silent Holy Man, a photo from Bagmati, Central

Photographer's Note

In Kathmandu the principle Hindu temple is the Pashputinath. It contains hundreds of beautifully carved shrines to many, many gods. Most of these date from the 14th to 16th centuries. Often they are inhabited by Sadhus or Holy men. Most these sadhus seem to stand around at busy intersections, awaiting donations from any devotees and tourists that pass bye. But not all are intent of collecting donations. I found this sadhu sitting alone, apparently in silent meditation, in a quiet corner among the shrines. I assume that he noticed me taking his picture, but he paid no attention to me at all. Nor, did he ask me for any donation. I left him as quietly as I had come, to carry on with his meditation.

vivekrb, KLB, ndb1958, siolaw, SamB, papagolf21, ALIRIZA, tcht, adores, kiwi_explorer, axiotea, Davids has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

smarcell (19965) 2007-09-02 8:52

A beautiful portrait. I like the way you positioned the subject, with the dark out of focus background. It si very sharp and detailed.

vivekrb (240) 2007-09-02 9:24

Hi Kevin

nicely done portrait. good details and bright colors...and a well written note as well...this is what trek earth is all about isnt it. :)

KLB (23723) 2007-09-02 9:44

Hello Kevin

The way you have composed your portrait is great.
You've caught so well the man's expression. His eyes are impressive... Well done.

Regards,
Karine

vincz (19113) 2007-09-02 9:49

Very nice composition Kevin . i like very much how the man is positioned on the very right of the picture. The meditative atmosphere transpires through your shot. The vivid colors over this stone coloured background works very well.

Luciano75 (0) 2007-09-02 10:15

Hello Kevin
Very good portrait of a Sadhu...his thoughtfull face expression and his eyes...almost i see you.Good sharpness and well composed.TFS
Regards,
Lucian

ndb1958 (9289) 2007-09-02 10:38

What a beautiful portrait, Kevin. I like his position inside the frame. His expression is fine and I like that he doesnt look for the camera. Beautiful bright colours.
nino

siolaw (38294) 2007-09-02 22:02

Hi Kevin,
I like these Saddhu portraits, well off centered here with good space in front of the man, allowing the subject to 'breathe'... good neutral BG bokeh too...
Greetings from Yangon
Laurent

SamB (1948) 2007-09-02 22:49

Hello, Kevin--
It's nice work, a strong composition filling the negative space well with the strong verticals... somehow it just seems lacking in kick to me... it doesn't really have a quality of unexpectedness or decisiveness for me. i've noticed that i feel kind of difficult to please tonight though, so maybe it's just me. The warm subject against the cool, neutral background is nice, though.
Thanks!
sam

Furachan (0) 2007-09-03 3:05

Strong, unwavering portrait, Kevin, the black soft background contrasting nicely with the man's red cloth. Good focus on the eyes.
Best,
Francis

papagolf21 (152605) 2007-09-04 0:42

Bonjour, mon ami Kevin,
M嶮itation sur le Memento homo
Souviens-toi que tu n'es que cendre
Et qu'il te faut bien descendre
Dans le fond d'un s廧ulcre noir,
O� la terre te doit reprendre
Pierre MOTIN (1566-1612)
Il fallait bien un po鋗e pour accompagner ce magnifique portrait.
Amiti廥.
Un grand merci pour vos gentils mots � propos de mon album.
Philippe

ALIRIZA (16423) 2007-09-04 3:35

Hi Kevin,
Wonderful portrait of the old man wit his impressive eyes. Great POV, good details and bright colours. Well done my friend...
Best wishes...

tcht (7565) 2007-09-04 4:24

Hi Kevin
fine portrait of this holy man...the vibrant colour of him suits so well the bold monotonous background. also like the way you placed him on the right with his eyes staring to the left. lovely shot.
Cheers
Cheukhin

kiwi_explorer (12209) 2007-09-05 1:44

Hi Kevin,
Perfectly composed portrait. Skin tones, colors, and contrast is also very good. Fantastic lighting balance and DOF. Excellent work! tfs
Cheers,
Renier

adores (46979) 2007-09-05 9:08

Hi Kevin!
Another great portrait! Such impressive and expressive eyes.I really like the dark background, it contrasts a lot with the colourful clothes & face. Great shot!

lancehannah (1307) 2007-09-07 8:03

Hi Kevin ,
I惴 very impressed by the expression of his eyes.Nice shot and a perfect light on his face.
Regards from Spain,Lance

axiotea (21651) 2007-09-07 9:31

Hi kevin
Excellent portrait with strong expression on the face with the painted forehead enhancing it. I like the blurred BG patterns giving more impact to the Saddhu.
Cheers
Marilyn
We just came back this afternoon from Myanmar where we had a great time.

PixelTerror (0) 2007-09-10 1:38

Hi Kevin,
I saw that nice one the other day but lacked time to leave a comment, so I'm back today :-)
I find it a superb portrait, the expression is strong and focused, the make up and clothing colors around his visage are very vivid and together with the wide aperture contribute to a luminous impression, and finally the dark background opposed to this luminous foreground helps it stand out even better, a winner that one Kevin !
Have a nice day,
Jean-Yves

yanseiler (20) 2007-09-15 0:41

Hi Kevin, a nice portrait, I like how you've framed it... And you were lucky, not so much like him... I remember one as well on the way back from Muktinath (sacred place on the Annapurna circuit), I asked him to pose and so on and he was not interested by money, he was picking up stones on the way...

marietom (34611) 2007-09-24 4:51

Bonjour Kevin,

joli portrait color� et expressif.
Marie

delkoo (68) 2007-09-25 12:21

hi kevin,
I am bewildered by the quality of your images, composition is magnificent, the colours of an exalting sweetness, everything is in place for a great portrait .
In any case a nice piece of work!

didier

banyanman (7797) 2007-10-13 1:19

Hi Kevin. I like this composition because of the superb contrast between the sharpness and detail of the portrait, and the softness and simplicity of the background. Excellent work from a technical perspective too. The positioning of the holy man towards the edge of the frame seems to reflect your desire not to intrude too much on his privacy. Cheers . . . David

claudeD (47754) 2008-04-14 11:51

Hello Kevin,

very interesting and good portrait shot of this holy man from Nepal.Very good colors and perfect shrpness.I like it very much.

With regards from Luxembourg

Jean-Claude