“We don’t need no stinking badges”
The subtitle of this post is a famous line from the 1947 film The Treasure of Sierra Madre, starring Humphrey Bogart. If you are under the age of 50 you might have no reference to the line at all. But it’s a very famous line, even though a bit of a misquote, that has been used for years for comedic effect including Mel Brooks famous film Blazing Saddles. And if you haven’t seen the latter, stop what you’re doing right now and go rent it. You will thank me. Better yet, wait until you finish reading my stinking post.
So why did I use this quote with this portrait? For some reason, I saw this man’s face and it just brought to mind the quote, even though he does not resemble in the least the actor who spoke those lines. Maybe it was the hat. While in San Miguel de Allende, MX walking through one of my favorite plazas for photographing people, I spotted three men seated on a bench. I knew immediately I wanted a portrait of the guy with the hat.
I’m good at ‘chatting people up’
My fluency in Spanish certainly helped me in this endeavor. I always told my former HS students that even knowing a little bit of another language can open all kinds of doors, especially while traveling. When it appeared that the gentleman in the middle with the hat was the most reticent to speak, I began to chat with the guy on the right. He was the most outgoing of the three. I had no interest in photographing this guy but I asked for permission to take some photos and he agreed. As I preceded to speak to the three men, I could see my intended subject warming up. I ended up taking photos of all three of the men even though I only wanted to shoot the one in the middle. I got what I needed by taking images of them all.
Choosing color vs black and white
If you follow me on Instagram or FB you know I frequently favor black and white photography vs color. The reason is that color can be a distraction from what is going on in the photo. It may draw your eye to unimportant elements. Black and white is more dramatic, and can be more emotive. Plus there is a timelessness to BW. I think there are some photos that need to be in color. For example, when I photograph my family on holidays or our summer get togethers at my son’s lake home, those are always in color.
The following images will show you what I mean about color being a distraction. Do you see how the photo of the color of the mens’ shirts draw you eye away from the faces and details? The black and white one does not.
Sometimes when I do family portraits someone doesn’t follow the guidelines for clothing colors. Everyone else is dressed in muted colors or textures and one person shows up in bright red. Arrgh! Ruins the portrait because the eye is immediately drawn to the red. In those situations converting it to a black and white will make a big difference.
Experiment with your own photos. I use Lightroom for processing. Just click on the letter V to see what an image looks like in BW. Click again to return to color.
See? You don’t need no stinking badges, or color.
(to see an enlarged image, click on image and open in new window)
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