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Archive 2014 · Truth and Beauty

  
 
Laszlo Bencze
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Truth and Beauty


My previous post of a stern man which I called "My Ugly Portrait" attracted much comment. So this time I want to talk about photographing a subject who is inherently beautiful. Dahlia was due to be married the following year so I began her wedding pictures at St. Olaf College in Minnesota where was a student at the time. This picture was taken on a walking path near the college campus on a warm September day.

http://laszlophoto.smugmug.com/photos/i-nPWxHFf/0/O/i-nPWxHFf.jpg

I liked the yellow flowers so I just asked her to stand by them and "do something." The rest was all her choice. The picture didn't really need any further help from me or from Photoshop. When a person possesses beauty at this level, there's little need for enhancement.



The next day I decided to do some street photography in a Minneapolis neighborhood with Dahlia and her fiancé, Nick. A rainstorm blew over us but I kept taking pictures.

http://laszlophoto.smugmug.com/photos/i-kzc9HJr/0/O/i-kzc9HJr.jpg

The background of blurred street signs and cars gives the picture a genuine urban feel without being distracting. I love the big wet splotches on Nick's T shirt. But of course the point of the picture is the embrace. Moments like these don't have to be over dramatized. They don't have to be taken in formal gardens or sandy beaches or against setting suns. They can happen in unglamorous settings and still be beautiful. Besides, this is a picture that will forever remind them of their student lives. It's just the simple truth.



After the rain stopped, the sky was still cloudy and streets drenched. I noticed an interesting effect as we crossed the street and asked her to stop. Dahlia gave me a very direct, very penetrating gaze that I thought was intensely lovely. I liked the way it counterpointed the waiting cars. So this picture resulted.

http://laszlophoto.smugmug.com/photos/i-SkBJpVS/0/O/i-SkBJpVS.jpg

It is, I think, the most revealing picture I took of her during the course of the entire wedding. Here she is: a Nordic beauty embedded within her time and her personal history. A good picture, a truthful picture should not look strained, excessive, overindulgent. It should not make the viewer think about the photographer and his clever technique. I think that as Dahlia looks back at her album years from now and encounters this picture, she will recognize her self, her youthful loveliness, her confidence, her anticipation, and her remembrance of the city. She won’t be thinking of me and that’s as it should be.



Now let’s fast forward to the following year and her wedding in Pennsylvania. The wedding preparations, the ceremony, the reception are all over. There are a few lingering guests. Dahlia is fatigued but still alert. I see in her a mood reminiscent of what I saw on the street in Minneapolis months before. I push several candles over to her and by their light take this, the last picture of the event.

http://laszlophoto.smugmug.com/photos/i-GdNzZtH/0/O/i-GdNzZtH.jpg

Yes, I do own many thousands of dollars worth of strobe lights, light stands, sophisticated tripods and ball heads, gold lamé reflectors. I did not use any of those in taking these four pictures. I relied on the vast array of great photography in the gallery of my mind and years of practice in good seeing.



Mar 14, 2014 at 10:09 PM
sidefunk
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Truth and Beauty


Awesome Laszlo. Its always a pleasure reading your posts and getting some insight from a real pro.


Mar 14, 2014 at 10:43 PM
MASL
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Truth and Beauty


however you managed it - great work, all four!
-Mark



Mar 14, 2014 at 11:55 PM
Jonathan Huynh
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Truth and Beauty


Very nice. Did you shot this with Canon 85L II wide open ?


Mar 15, 2014 at 12:41 AM
tonyfield
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Truth and Beauty


Very nice story ... verbally and pictorially.

All women are beautiful -- it takes a clear mind to truly see the truth.



Mar 15, 2014 at 01:11 AM
Ernie Aubert
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Truth and Beauty


Laszlo, I'm highly impressed by your talent and skill. Your posts are inspiring. (I'm glad you succeeded in embedding images directly...)


Mar 15, 2014 at 07:02 AM
Laszlo Bencze
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Truth and Beauty


Jonathan Huynh wrote:
Very nice. Did you shot this with Canon 85L II wide open ?


All were taken with the Canon 85 f1.2 wide open except for the first shot which was set at f4.0 at 1/3000. That shot was badly underexposed and would have been a failure in film days. It was easily corrected in the RAW conversion and needed no further attention. Thank God for Photoshop!



Mar 15, 2014 at 11:27 AM
dmcdtc
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Truth and Beauty


Beautifully done!!!

And I love this... "I relied on the vast array of great photography in the gallery of my mind and years of practice in good seeing."



Mar 15, 2014 at 12:01 PM
Jonathan Huynh
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Truth and Beauty


Jonathan Huynh wrote:
Very nice. Did you shot this with Canon 85L II wide open ?

All were taken with the Canon 85 f1.2 wide open except for the first shot which was set at f4.0 at 1/3000. That shot was badly underexposed and would have been a failure in film days. It was easily corrected in the RAW conversion and needed no further attention. Thank God for Photoshop!


I own this lens and used it for every shooting saturation, this is one of my Canon favorite lenses.



Mar 15, 2014 at 12:39 PM
CW100
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Truth and Beauty


good 'beauty' set


Mar 16, 2014 at 01:02 PM
Prevelige
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Truth and Beauty


I have to say, the pictures succeed in capturing a moment, and the emotion that follows. I think it's your explanation of the thought process during the capture that's most interesting to me. Thanks for sharing your work and thoughts.

Bob



Mar 16, 2014 at 05:58 PM
Damianshaw
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Truth and Beauty


nice work!



Mar 16, 2014 at 07:29 PM
LLarouche
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Truth and Beauty


Her beauty is revealed in shot no. 1; gorgeous, technically excellent.


Mar 20, 2014 at 04:29 PM
mpawel
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Truth and Beauty


Love that first shot and you catching her hair flying all around her!


Mar 20, 2014 at 04:38 PM
Laszlo Bencze
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Truth and Beauty


Thanks to all for the many kind compliments. I think that one thing this series of images shows is that it is nigh impossible to capture a person in one picture. People are too complex for that. Even though certain portraits are iconic (think of Karsh's Winston Churchill) and cemented firmly in our minds, they omit way more than they capture. That's one reason I like doing albums in which the viewer encounters the same person in many different circumstances revealing different aspects of their personality.


Mar 22, 2014 at 01:54 PM
laurenlizana
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Truth and Beauty


So pretty and clean


Mar 30, 2014 at 10:46 PM





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