Blessings

Hand Of Fatima

Some people have presence, and this is one portrait that I wasn’t going to let get away from me. Her magnetism and depth drew me, and in Paris where personal reserve is an unfortunate obstacle for me to overcome, people like this young woman are to be prized. The necklace has the Koran, and The Hand Of Fatima. I have several of these hands, and mine are clearly Israeli. I was never sure of the difference and now I know that the Hand Of Fatima that she wears is with the outer fingers turned up into almost a semicircle, and mine are rounded. Street portraits are a combination of many factors, and great ones only come together when everything works harmoniously: background elements, available light, the emotions and flexibility of the person I’m hoping to make a portrait with and whether or not I’m able to relax and take it all in so that I can make a quick decision while the ambiance lasts. I never pose people so I rely on their instincts and whatever occurs spontaneously. Sometimes photography is an intrusion, unless someone lets you in because they have a love of being seen, of being acknowledged in some way by the abstraction of potential viewers. Sometimes the best pictures combine permission and intrusive elements….a person can allow you to make a photograph, but be entirely unaware of what is outwardly apparent to others, and what the final image will reveal.