Saturday morning and Andrey and I decided to spend the day in Merlo. We were staying in Carpinteria, not very far from Merlo. It is such a beautiful town where you can walk, grab a bite to eat and enjoy nature.We couldn´t believe our eyes when we arrived in town. It was packed! An art exhibition was the centre of attraction. Oh jippie I thought to myself. I want to be here because I saw photo opportunities everywhere. Andrey could see my excitement and secretly I knew he was feeling the same.
I had my first opportunity when I saw an elderly man crossing the street.He had such a sad face and his eyes showed the burdens of life. He looked at me and immediately I felt guilty for intruding.
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| The man with the sad eyes |
Artists were busy setting up their canvasses and paintings and there were a lot of packing and unpacking going on. They took great pride in their work.
It was a day for the whole family to enjoy. The younger ones were tagging along and the elder ones were also admiring the art. One girl in particular could not decide if she liked it or not. I smiled because she kept on looking back at one particular painting.
People took their time to look at the paintings. An elderly couple were discussing each piece in detail. It must have been somebody that they knew.It was lovely to watch them.
By now I have lost my husband. I have been in a world of my own and didn´t even pay attention to Andrey. I started to look for him. As I made my way through the crowds I suddenly stopped dead in my tracks. In front of me was a group of people and the man in the middle immediately grabbed my attention. He looked completely different than the rest of the people. I just had to photograph him!
I think the man must have been pretty annoyed with me because I was photographing him from all angles. Eventually Andrey came to his rescue. I laughed when I heard hubby was also photographing him from another angle and that was when he saw me!
People were enjoying themselves and talking was at the order of the day. It was a beautiful and sunny day and hard to believe that two days earlier we had snow.
I was just about to put my camera away when I heard a group of elderly people giggling. I looked around and saw them admiring a piece of art. It was such a happy group and I had to capture the moment.
Where: Merlo, La Provincia de San Luis, Argentina
When: 25 May 2008
Sounds like an enchanting day…beautiful weather, beautiful and provoking artwork…doesn't get much better than that! 🙂
Wow! Sounds like you had an adventurous day! It's nice that hubby shares your interest in picture-taking. Mine wouldn't even know how to hold a camera LOL
Loved the photos!!!
Great photos.
You take amazing candid shots of people. Love the first photo. That's a lot of life etched on that man's face! Wonder what his story is.
I am here after a long time…and its a pleasure to see these wonderful pictures…a treat to my eyes.
I love traveling and Argentina is definitely on my list. What an interesting face that young man had. Looks likes he was wearing eyeliner his eyes were so defined. The man with the sad eyes probably has some great stories to share… Nice pics! http://lyricfire.typepad.com/lyric-fire/2011/09/lyric-fire-look-at-my-fabulous-life-episode-6-.html
Wow..wishing I'm there..I would like to view the cultural differences in the artwork..
Reading your post gives me chills, Nelieta. Being a photographer myself I love seeing other exhibits. Also LOVE setting up my own exhibits. This is what being an artist means. Awesome post. Awesome photos too.–Chris
Wonderful photos, love the young girl.
Nelieta,You have captured some great moments. I love the toothless old man and the young man in the hat with the beautiful blue eyes….xoxoxoJessica Brant
Thank you Martha!
Thank you Janaki 🙂
It was such a lovely day Jessica! I love it when people use their creativity to brighten up the world 🙂
We did Mary! When I saw my husband for the first time we were both photographing a sunset. We both love photography and it is such a wonderful feeling to be able to do this together. LOL..but I guess he is good at other things 🙂
Thank you Syed! People in Argentina are very creative. I love admiring the art and what they do. I think you will enjoy it!
Thank you Jan! She had a very interesting face 🙂
Thank you so much AJ! I really like to photograph people. My husband is good at photographing buildings and nature..I love people. That man has such an interesting face and I bet he had a tough life. I have never seen anything like that before and every time I look at the photo I feel sad.
Hi Alpana, missed you and glad you are back! Glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Thank you for your lovely words Chris! It was wonderful to watch these artists setting up and displaying their work. I could see the pride and how people enjoyed looking at all the pieces. It is wonderful to watch! Glad you liked the photos 🙂
Hi David, I agree with you! People make such interesting subjects and when I have my camera and people around me I never have a dull moment. There is always someone interesting to photograph. Thanks for the visit!
What a great portrayal of a community. But i have to say i think i'm going to go to bed dreaming of the 1st gentleman with his sad face as you called it.
Enjoy the pics of folks out on the street…it's interesting to look at facial expressions on unsusupecting subjects. Thanks for sharing!!
Hi Jess, thank you! They were both very interesting. I felt so sorry for the old man because he saw me taking a photo of him. I felt like I was intruding and immediately looked away. The other guy was so interesting! He was dressed differently and I think I must have been staring at him…I am bad 🙂
You captured a life in one photo..congratulations. I know it is not easy, you feel like your intruding and someone is going to blow up at you lol. Nice work here Nelieta… I am really proud of how much your photography is growing
Thank you Larry! Oh no, I didn´t want you to leave my blog with the image of the 1st gentleman..come back and have a look at the last photo. It is a happy photo 🙂 I must admit I will never forget his face. I guess he has a very interesting life story but I guess sad.
Now that you mention it Melissa! I have photos of the art work but I got side tracked by the people. Next time when I write something about art in Argentina I will use some of my images. Great observation that you have made!
Oh I was surprised that you didn't photograph art works…The exhibit became more interesting with the people around it… I love the facial expressions of the people you took 🙂 Very interesting… and very lovely!The images are so dynamic 🙂
Thank you Jim! I still feel bad photographing this old man..the sorrow really showed in his eyes. I much rather prefer to take photos from a distance. I feel more comfortable. Thank you for the compliment Jim 🙂
Ace post! Love your photos too.
Thank you Kris! Glad you liked it 🙂
I will surely have a great time snapping photos of people on this bustling place. Did you talk to some of the artists?
Oh Claire I did have so much fun! Unfortunately my Spanish was almost non-existent. It was my 3rd month in Argentina. My husband spoke to them. I attended a photography exhibition not so long ago and spoke to the artists but they did not want me to take photos of their photos…understandable but I was a little taken aback.