Indian Worker Adjusting His Scarf Black and White Portrait Photography
Hands and Eyes Framed by a Scarf and Sacks
I encountered this worker while walking through a row of shops in southern India. Sacks of flour and grain were stacked behind him, and dust hung in the working space. He was adjusting the scarf over his nose and mouth when I made the photograph. His hands on either side of the fabric and his eyes above its edge became the centre of the picture, giving a brief gesture a clear and immediate shape.
The scarf conceals much of his face, but it leaves the lines around his eyes visible. Light picks out the fingers, the folds in the cloth, and strands of hair above his forehead. Behind him, the sacks fill the frame with broad, soft curves and dark stripes. Their larger shapes contrast with the finer detail in his hands and shirt. I kept the environment close around him because it tells us something concrete about the setting without pulling attention away from that moment.
In black and white, the woven fabric, patterned shirt, and skin remain distinct even though they share a narrow range of tones. The darker space above the sacks gives his face a little separation from the background. I was passing through rather than arranging a portrait session, and the photograph records an action already underway when I arrived. What stays with me is the connection between the gesture and the place: a worker lifting a scarf in a dusty shop, photographed during my travels in India in 2010.
© Dan Kosmayer, 2010
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About My Fine Art Photography
Every photograph in my collection comes from my own travels, explorations, and years behind the camera.
I create my work as photographic art rather than mass-produced decoration. From street portraits and abandoned places to landscapes, architecture, and the unusual subjects I discover along the way, each image begins with something that made me stop and look.
My photographs are available in multiple sizes so the same image can work in anything from an intimate wall space to a large statement installation.
