Thoughtful Rwandan Man
Mar, 2015Views
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
I was working for a development NGO in Rwanda. This was taken during a project launch in a small, rural village called 'Munazi'. Most people here are extremely poor, but regardless of this full of pride for their little village. This man (one of the eldest in the Village) came out in his best attire.Time
Midday, 12PM. - An incredibly challenging time of day to shoot generally, especially near the equator. Nonetheless, a great time if you want high contrast images.Lighting
The Sun being directly above on the equator, allowed me to capture detail in the face (as he was wearing a hat). This Rwandan man, black but with white/greying hair provided such a wonderful natural contrast, that i even shot this in Mono on the camera, rather than post process it into B&W.Equipment
I was still using my first ever DSLR the Canon 1000D, have upgraded since then! I also used a very unsteady telephoto lens. Fortunately for me, bright African sunshine allowed for very fast shutter speeds and I got away with a clear image.Inspiration
Many old men and women of Rwanda have very little to do, or can do physically in Rwanda, but their age and experience is highly respected. I wanted to portray a moment of self-thought in this image.Editing
My exposure was spot on and I had already shot in mono but I boosted both the contrast and the clarity in Lightroom as well as cropped the image slightly.In my camera bag
Aside from my 70D camera, I never go out without my Canon USM IS 15-85mm lens. This is such a versatile lens for all sorts of shots. The next item I will never go out without is my ND filter from Hoya. ND400x - As long as you have a tripod and cable release, this can open up an unseen world in almost any circumstance.Feedback
Shoot from a distance! I had a telephoto and the man didn't even notice me taking this until I spoke to him later on in the day. You'll never achieve a natural shot if you're in someones face.
