I saw his wonderful full white beard through the shop window and stopped in the street. The light and the warm coloured walls also caught my attention. I said to Magda, "I really want to make a portrait of him." We headed into the shop and after a chat he agreed. A lovely man.
These days we see many portraits that are tightly cropped in but I wanted to let this one breathe with plenty of space. I don't follow trends.
Every element here is carefully considered. Look at how lines intersect, where they touch and where the subject breaks through them. The whole composition is used to incorporate all of the visual elements and compliment the subject.
Every photographer, for that matter every creative, I've ever met comes to a point when they're not happy with the work they're producing. The pendulum between creative highs and dry spells swings continuously. For some the cycle is long and the bouts are quite mild for others the feeling of doubt about their work can be a crushing experience which returns all to frequently. It's actually quite healthy to have these periods of doubt because it can often be the beginning of something new and interesting which takes you further than you thought possible. Creatives in the commercial world have to always perform and although they may agree looking back that they've had a few patches where their work was less good, they always seem to bounce back. A very few creative geniuses deliver such high quality work that their poorest attempts still surpass the rest of us. But I have never heard of anyone, from tortured soul of Van Gogh to the supreme showman and genius, Salvador ...
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