Friday, July 11, 2014

Personal Photo Challenge July - Portraits


For this month's challenge I looked back through my many of photos of women and girls 
around the world. 
I love to photograph faces of people who are different, striking, not necessarily pretty and perfect in 
what we Westerners may perceive as classic beauty, more interesting in their skin tones,
hair texture, cultural ornamentation etc.

These are the portraits I've chosen ~ strong females of varied ages, living their very
different lives in different countries.


An Indian woman of a certain age, weaving baskets for a living in a tiny river
village near Cochin, Kerala.

Taken with my Canon 7D SLR during my 2012 visit.  A little definition added via PicMonkey
to define her gorgeous pewter colored hair.


OK, cheating a bit here - couldn't decide which beautifully coiffed girl to feature, so you get to view them both. Obviously the braiding is done by family members of the village - no professional beauty salons here!
Also, this sweet girl is not holding anything electronic - just a stick of gum which we were handing out.
We did take small solar calculators to share which the kids loved.

This village in Zambia holds huge memories for me. Visited on my first safari trip to Africa in 2010, I fell in love with the children - see my post HERE where I shared my feelings - and the huge difference in their lives compared to the typical American child's upbringing and education was quite an eye-opener for me.


At the same village school in Zambia, Africa - a young girl carries an even younger boy on her 
back, as is custom, to assist them in getting around the dusty dirt trails weaving through the 
village. Most children here did not wear shoes.

Photos taken with my Olympus SP-590UZ - edited with PicMonkey.


I love to photograph my granddaughter Jasmin and we often play around with our cameras. 
Even when she pulls faces, to me she looks lovely. Don't forget now I'm the Grandma and perhaps 
a wee bit prejudiced. 
This was taken in my dining room (2013) and I like the background with the Santo.
Camera, my Nikon Coolpix S6400 set on Portrait - can't fault this little point and shoot -
and a little funky editing in PicMonkey.

Be sure to visit Donna at her A Personal Photo Challenge blog where hopefully despite July
being a busy month, there will be many participants in this always fun challenge.
Wishing Donna speedy recovery from her surgery earlier this week - we love you Donna.




19 comments:

  1. Everyone of your portraits are gorgeous!
    I always love seeing Jasmin, she is just beautiful
    and I am not the grandmother. The other portraits
    are gorgeous too. I need to try to be more brave
    about taking people photos.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I knew you would have some amazing photos from your travels...and you do! And your granddaughter is beautiful...she looks like you! Sweet hugs, Diane

    ReplyDelete
  3. What interesting photos of the women taken on your travels Mary.
    I particularly love the one of the young mother with her baby strapped to her body - how different life is for them.
    I remember reading that post!
    Jasmin is indeed a beauty - what a lovely relationship you two have.
    I'll come back tomorrow to catch up on your earlier posts - your travel posts are always great reading!
    Now I must venture out on this cold wet day, shopping to do while sales are on!!
    Hugs
    Shane xox

    ReplyDelete
  4. What great pictures. I think that the faces of people in other cultures are always so beautiful. Of course, your granddaughter is too! Good job.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Beautiful portraits, Mary, this challenge sounds interesting to me, shall check out the link to learn more.
    Bon weekend, dear.

    ReplyDelete
  6. These are just stunning photos, Mary. They could be published in a book! Beautiful photos of the Indian lady and the Zambian children. And Jasmin is such a natural beauty too. Great choices (and I know you had many to choose from!). Enjoy the weekend. Hugs, Pam

    ReplyDelete
  7. Those photos are great. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Jasmin is definitely lovely! Wonderful photo of the lady in the first photo. I think of textures seeing the delightfully braided hair in the second and third. I think you know what you are doing!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Mary, I'm stopping by to check in and catch up on all your recent posts. Amazing photos from your travels. You continue to amaze me with you zest for life.
    The portrait photos are exquisite, each one full of power. Jasmin is incredibly beautiful! Oh, for that fabulous, perfectly flawless skin!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Your photos are wonderful! And your granddaughter is Gorgeous! Wonderful subjects all!
    hughugs

    ReplyDelete
  11. Strong women! Yay! That Jasmin couldn't take a bad picture. She is absolutely beautiful and you have a right to be a wee bit prejudiced.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Our older granddaughters like to pose with pouty faces and such too - yours is lovely! The other ladies offer so much to look at and think about, being of a different culture.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I need to get some lessons from you Mary. I am hauling around my new Canon and not really getting the shots I want at the moment. I love the first picture of the lady in Kerala, beautifully captured. Her expression is one of patience and kindness.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Great shots! I love the contrast in the first few...and who isn't biased about their grandchildren.....I know I am! Lol Excellent shots!

    veradesigns.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  15. Grandes fotos! Elas contam como as pessoas conseguem tirar alegria de suas vidas e mostrar isto nos adornos e expressões faciais. Parabéns! A neta é bela!
    Um abraço!

    Great photos! They tell how people can take joy in their lives and show us that loud and facial expressions. Congratulations! The granddaughter is beautiful!
    Egléa

    ReplyDelete
  16. Very nice- strong females indeed. And she is lovely, face pulling aside!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Beautiful portraits of women from around the world. Let's celebrate all kinds of beauty. I love the photo of the girl holding the stick of gum. The slight blurriness of the beads in her hair shows movement, and her focus on the gum is a lesson to all of us to be content with less and to share more. Your granddaughter is beautiful - what fun to spend time taking photos and being together.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Sorry that I am a bit late getting around to comment. The foreign woman all have interesting character. And the corn rolls - wow! And what can I possibly say about Jarmin? She is a portrait photographer's dream - so photogenic! Great job on the challenge, Miz Mary!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Worldly beauty, local beauty, the former, intriguing, the latter very pretty!

    Poppy

    ReplyDelete

I would enjoy reading your comment - thanks so much for stopping by.