Tuesday 3 April 2007

LIVE AND LET LIVE.


This man was a regular visitor in our gallery; he loved the red wine we served.
A marginal, shunned by most people because of his appearance, one of the kindest men I ever had the pleasure to meet.
From a wealthy family, he is a medical doctor, with specialisations in 4 different fields.

After years of working in Africa, burnt out, unwell, he lived the days as they came and as he liked them.
Eating only when he was hungry, which wasn’t very often, but when he did, he treated himself to the very best, he loved lobster!
He loved the finer things in life, his special brand of cigarillos.

A great sense of humour, a delight to converse with, a charming man with great sensitivity and intelligence...

I saw it too often, to my disgust, those making fun of him, when it was suddenly whispered in their ear that he was a Dr., etc… they’d either slime up to him or avoid him completely. AAhh, la Divina Comedia!!!

This is the only image I ever took of him at one of our vernissages, he didn’t like to be photographed (his words: “not even by us”).
I had given him my word I wouldn’t.
That one time I got his permission, one of his better days, I did not want him 'posing', neither did he… I just had to wait for the moment... ONE SHOT! And it was on film, so no checking whether I had it but waiting until the results were back, ha, those were the days... living on the edge, hihi!

Don’t judge people, certainly not by their appearance, just listen to their heart and yours?

Often people shy away from images like these , I always wonder why that is.
Does the reality of our world frighten?
This is not a voyeuristic view on my behalf but one of sincere concern.

"A photojournalist is a witness to an event or story, standing in for all those people that have not seen it for themselves. Photographing someone who finds themselves in unfortunate circumstances should only be done in my opinion if the photographer is driven by seeking to show the truth and is socially and morally aware. Often the best images, the ones with authenticity and integrity are taken by photojournalists who are deeply concerned about their subjects. The antithesis of this is the photographer that snaps shots of unfortunate people because they're easy targets or because they want to sensationalise." --Paul INDIGO (quote of the day)

Have a sweet day and thanx for visiting, Magda, (*_*)

No comments: