Negative Shape
A Village in Gujarat India 2009
An old woman contributes to the family by sewing a quilt. The women of her tribe garner most of the family’s income by selling their needle work. She may not be able to do fine embroidery at her age but she ties her glasses on her head and does her best.
I saw her as we were leaving the village. We’d gone to get some photographs, but the women were determined to sell us their handiwork and they won. My friend, Torie, is a textiles expert and she was happy with her purchases. I remember looking at mine and wondering what on earth I had been thinking when I handed over my rupees.
But I was happy when I looked at this shot…at the time. Later, at home, I couldn’t get it the way I wanted it. How did I want it? I’d know that when I saw it. Finally, it dawned on me to do it in black and white. The photograph becomes an abstract. The blank white wall, although a negative shape, is important because it emphasizes the figure. The darkened figure becomes a mystery…”what is it?”. Mystery is a good thing as it causes the viewer to look more closely.
I used Nik’s Silver Effects Pro 2 to get the black and white. Nik filters are easy…so much quicker than the darkroom. You simply find the preset that is almost what you want and tweak it with the sliders.
Want to see it in color?
Revealed