“Portrait Of A Working Man” Nikon D800 ISO 50 1/80sec @ f3 85mm f2.8 PC-E Tilt-Shift Lens

His name is Joseph. He went from riches to rags…as he tells me. Wife, home, Mercedes…two daughters.”Now I do this” he says to me, as he holds up the cup holding a modicum of tips he’d amassed from the drivers who were human enough to not pretend as if they didn’t see him… hobbling there. His bent leg and cane lending to a gait that could not possibly be ignored. Especially when he is the only person standing on the side of the road… at the top of a hill, with a traffic light that seems to grab more cars in its path than it flashes the green light to. Yes, certainly they see him there. It is only two lanes. the road is narrow.. Joseph is tall. He waits at the top of the hill with a smile. For the those who fill his cup and those who stare sternly forward. Everyone gets a smile.
He saw me taking photos just around the corner as I was perched above the expressway,making rush hour traffic into a focusing game with the manual focus 85mm PC-E Tilt-Shift lens I have on loan from B&H, for a review of the new Nikon D800 I am doing for www.SeriousCompacts.com The lens is manual focus only.. and The distance above the traffic lent itself perfectly to test my ability to quickly focus such a large unforgiving lens while maintaining a narrow band of depth of field. I was in deep concentration to say the least when Joseph approached me. He greeted me as if we were on a pier, and I’d had a fishing pole in my hands…”Gettin any good shots!??”, He quipped. “I’m hopin so!” “Few keepers” I replied. We both laughed.
It was as I was headed on my way to leave that I saw him again. I was on the other side of the street.. nowhere near close enough to warrant a donation.. and I only mention this because he noticed me.. and wished me well.. said he hoped I’d gotten some good ones! He was sincere and warm.. and not out to try to even make a penny off of me. He simply was sharing a smile, albeit a toothless one, with a stranger. His kindness struck me, and I instantly realized it was warmth like this that needs more attention in the world. I spun right around.. went back and told him… I have x amount of dollars in my pocket. I’m going to give you half. That’s half of everything I have right now. We both laughed. He thanked me heartily and asked me what I was shooting. I explained. Then I said to him.. ya know, I’d love to make a portrait of you. He was thrilled and flattered. I was adamant about expressing how I was in no small way attempting to buy his sitting, in fact I’d best save the money for the models who charge for it. I simply wanted to share a lil because he seemed like a good person. He told me it didn’t make a difference. He would gladly sit either way and was happy I asked.
So I picked a spot… we talked. I shot…I spend 15 mins with him according to the EXIF data on the images. This was the first portrait I made with the incredibly challenging lens, and I’m quite happy with it. Many more will follow, I just hope they have half the heart and character that Joseph does!

~j.j.

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