An active portrait - preliminary exercise

Whilst on a group walking holiday in Patagonia in November, we visited a sheep farm in the Argentine pampas. After lunch, the farmer told us about the operation of the farm, and then went on to give us a demonstration of herding sheep and shearing sheep.

I took a sequence of photographs, starting when he was talking and answering questions, with the intention of capturing a moment with a suitable posture.

Argentinian sheep farmer - talking

Nikon 18-200 mm at 62mm: Iso 160 f5.6 for 1/250th second

He was talking fairly slowly to us in Spanish so that our guide could translate his words into English. However, he lifted his head and eyes only occasionally and his facial expression was relatively subdued. Hence the portrait is an adequate record shot but I feel it lacks directness and vitality.

I also took a sequence of contextual portraits whilst he was showing us around his farm.

Sheep farmer and one of his dogs

Nikon 18-200mm at 70mm: Iso 160 f5.6 for 1/1000th second

His affection for animals was clear when he was with his dog and his sheep.

Farmer with lamb

Nikon 18-200mm at 95mm: Iso 800 f10 for 1/30th second

Sheep farmer with his Merino ram

Nikon 18-200mm at 18mm: Iso 800 f7.1 for 1/80th second

I think the best picture that I took of him was whilst he was shearing one of his sheep.

Farmer shearing a sheep

Nikon 18-200mm at 24mm: Iso 200 f6.3 for 1/30th second

His face is in profile as he is focussed on holding the sheep and clipping away its fleece. The sheep is barely recognisable, but this composition with the fleece spread around the farmers legs was more effective than others in the sequence that I took.

Conclusions

In looking at exhibitions of portrait photography, I am drawn more strongly to active portraits (for example portraits by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Mary McCartney) rather than posed portraits (e.g. Irving Penn). This a skill that I admire and would like to emulate.

The farm visit was a good chance to try taking "interview" and "contextual" portraits in the field. However, this was a situation where I was not in a position to influence, let alone control the subject. On reflection, I felt that I should do the exercise in a situation where I could influence the pose and position of the model, as recorded in the following posts.