Dubai
Age can mark you – it can fan at the edge of your eyes in the form of crow’s feet, it can turn your skin into a terrain of soft wrinkles.
When photographing elderly people, especially through portraits, their expressions create powerful ways to tell a story. A grandad’s sidelong gaze at a forbidden dessert, for instance, or two elderly friends chuckling over old stories in the park – the unexpected drama within the frame creates a dynamic narrative.
Similarly, focusing on textures, like callused and wrinkled hands, can bring a unique sense of depth and emotion to the photograph.
For both these criteria, the key is to get close.
Veteran photographer Robert Caputo, writes in his book, Photography Field Guide: People and Portraits: “The most common mistake made by photographers is that they are not physically close enough to their subjects. In some cases this means that the centre of interest — the subject — is just a speck, too small to have any impact. Even when it is big enough to be decipherable, it usually carries little meaning. Viewers can sense when a subject is small because it was supposed to be and when it’s small because the photographer was too shy to get close.”
We asked our reader photographers to capture ‘Growing old’ as the Facebook Picture Competition theme in the month of September. The competition was opened up to our Facebook readers, and they selected the top three winners, by liking the picture that they found best captured the theme.
Here, we present the top three winners.
Editor’s note: If you would like to participate, log on to Gulf News’ Facebook page and send in your submission for October’s Facebook Reader Picture Competition.
RDS_160910 YT Winner First Thulasikrishnan
At Dubai Design District, Gulf News reader Thulasikrishnan captured a candid moment between an elderly couple. He took this photograph with his iPhone 6 and said: ‘It is not true that people stop pursuing dreams because they grow old, they grow old because they stop pursuing dreams.’
His photograph landed him first place, with 305 likes on Facebook.
RDS_160910 YT Winner Second Neethi Kamal
Gulf News reader Neethi Kamal’s captured elderly women in her photograph, taken at a temple near Coimbatore, in Tamil Nadu, India. She said: ‘I took this photograph to remind myself that even in our busy schedules, a warm smile can definitely lift our spirits!’
Her picture received with 285 votes on Facebook.
RDS_160910 YT Winner Third Shrideep Nanal
Gulf News reader Shrideep Nanal took this photograph during a visit to Bandipur National Park, in Karnataka, India. He said: ‘The old man was sitting near a small tea stall. I was inspired to take this picture because of his expression.’
His photograph received 176 likes on Facebook.
