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The Very Dapper Mr. Ruiters
This gentleman has quite a long name: Isaac James Raymond David Ruiters. Born 1933.
I should have asked him why the long name, but did not think of it. I came across him at an intersection on a secondary road, where he was looking after some parcels that someone was going to pick up later in the day.
He is from the Griqua town of Kranshoek (Griqua: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griqua) and a very proud descendant of the 'big mister' Adam Kok (http://cape-slavery-heritage.iblog.co.za/2009/03/27/adam-kok-iii-the-griquas-trek-to-kokstad-and-the-end-of-self-rule/)
Mr. Ruiters struck me as a terribly proud man, but in such a humble and sweet way. Every question that I asked him about his past (farm worker & builder), and his view of the future, was answered in religious overtones, and on my departure he took my hand and thanked me for taking his picture, and for spending time with him next to the road, and so forth. In view of Bob's forum posting, where he tells how difficult and restrictive things have become, even to photograph his own market town, the experiences that I have when going home is so pleasant, and refreshing. So it should actually be.
In this vein I can assure you that I obtained verbal consent to submit his photo for publication:) However, given his probable poor understanding of the WWW, and the fact that he did not sign the required model release form (sic), I guess that it is quite possible to still string me up for infringing some or other invasion of whatever:(
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Jackie Sheen 1 year ago
Wonderful portrait!
Schnette 2 years ago
What a GREAT portrait!!

Congrats, Andre!
Sounak Sinha 2 years ago
great portrait indeed.
One little question - did you ask him to tilt his head a little or was it his natural posture. I am asking this question because this tilt makes the picture looks nice but people very rarely give such posture. I am also not sure is it good to ask the subject to create some mood,angle,smile etc or wait for a natural shoot.
dorothée rapp 2 years ago
that*s a remarkable portrait! thanks for sharing :)
Soeren Friberg 2 years ago
What a great portrait of this gentleman!
Thanks for sharing!
With regards Soeren
Balazs Pataki 2 years ago
That's fabulous Andre. Maybe you should stick to that Nikon after all...
Ricky Siegers 2 years ago
My Goodness...Andre.
Nice strong picture....
Cheron 2 years ago
What a stunning and impressive portrait !
Bravo.
Al Seyedain 2 years ago
Andre,
A wonderful capture with "depth"
Brilliant!
Al
Helmut Schadt 2 years ago
A wonderful portrait with soul!
Andre du Plessis  Thank you Helmut. Soul - sure, this old gent have bags of it. Just so happy that I spotted him. Really fortunate for me. Regards, Andre
Another wow-portrait!
LandyMan
Andre du Plessis  Hi LandyMan - many thanks for looking and the feed back, best wishes.
toothpilot 2 years ago
This is a true Andre!!
Fantastic portrait my friend.
Hendrik
Andre du Plessis  Hi Henk. Sorry to hear that you cannot make London Calling on Saturday :( However, have a lovely trip to France - my favourite country outside SA. Thanks for the comment, Andre
Very strong portrait Andre!
Andre du Plessis  Thanks for the positive comment Marcus
Shafagh Kalhor 2 years ago
Great shot
Andre du Plessis  Thanks Shafagh
Luc 2 years ago
Hello Andre, what a stunning portrait of what seems to be a fantastic person! Where do you keep finding these people!!

Greetings, Luc
Andre du Plessis  Hi Luc. On the roads, or in little clusters of cottages along the stretch of highway between Cape Town and Plettenberg Bay. No shortage of photogenic people down there, and all willing to play along. Thanks for asking.
Eliza Deacon 2 years ago
hi andre, i love this portrait and his slightly quizzical expression. your words give him such soul and depth. what a lovely man :)
Andre du Plessis  Thanks Eliza. This was my favourite frame of him - precisely because of his expression. This was after I pointed to the centre of the lens and asked him if he can see my eye through the lens:)
gerard sexton 2 years ago
Great image great narrative the thought police are on the case!
Andre du Plessis  I know...I know. Who's that coming up behind me?! Regards, Andre
Phyllis Clarke 2 years ago
Oh Andre..your too good. I cannot find even one pixel of a highlight. :) This one is really near perfect..what a look on his face..so pleased with something. I hope it is life itself. I will come back to read the bio..carefully thanks for including it. :) Phyllis
Andre du Plessis  You are not supposed to look that closely:) Thanks a stack Phyllis.
MARYAM SAHAFZADEH 2 years ago
I love the perfect title more than your nice shot.
Andre du Plessis  That is good enough for me:) Thank you Maryam!
Alex OBrien 2 years ago
Andre this is an absolutely beautiful portrait with such an emotional side to it. A favourite indeed. I miss your words of course, yet the image clearly speaks for itself.
Andre du Plessis  Thank you Alex. That is very kind of you. I had my reservations about Isaac Ruiters's photo, as it is quite a straight forward portrait, and as such might not have the wow. However, on reviewing my images from my trip, I thought (and hoped) that Mr. Ruiter's character will come through in this. He is such a spiffy old man.
Semir 2 years ago
great portrait. well done
Andre du Plessis  Much appreciated Semir.
sasson haviv 2 years ago
superb!!!
so much emotion
Andre du Plessis  Thanks Sasson - I appreciate that.
Rui Pires 2 years ago
That hand gives so much strength to composition, André. Another masterpiece !
Andre du Plessis  That is very nice of you to say Rui, and the way things are going now, I guess that bottle of '58 will have to wait till World Cup year. Regards.
Rui Pires  "Oporto wine, as old as bether", is a traditional Portuguese "quote" ;)
Polonaise 2 years ago
Plutarch once said: " The hands are the most important element when photographing a human face "

And, who the heck I am to discuss those things with the wise one ?

.............................

PS: Going to have a nightmare with this face tonight, Andre. ( wink, wink )
Andre du Plessis  That is very close to my heart what you have just said. Sometimes hands can tell us so much. Sleep peacefully, Andre
Polonaise  Sleep peacefully ???

For god sake... Andre !!!

:-))

................
Zivko Risteski 2 years ago
characterful portrait Andre
Andre du Plessis  Much appreciated Zivko
Intensive, expressive in a very good b/w ... fantastic portrait Andre
ciao, Maurizio
Andre du Plessis  Dear Maurizio. It is so good to hear from you. And thank you for the lovely comment! Andre
JBA 2 years ago
Wonderful close up. I love the detail in the face and the beard hair. I wonder where his eyebrows went ;-)
Andre du Plessis  :) - I never noticed - especially the one on the left.
Codrin Lupei 2 years ago
Excellent work, Andre, as always, a very close portrait, wonderfuly captured! Great, like it a lot!
Andre du Plessis  Many thanks Codrin.
Lucian Olteanu 2 years ago
Strong one!!!!
Andre du Plessis  Thanks Lucien.
ANDU 2 years ago
great portrait!
Andre du Plessis  Much appreciated ANDU.
Kim Ayres 2 years ago
Wonderful, Andre :)
Andre du Plessis  Thanks Kim!
Morkel Erasmus 2 years ago
such nice crisp detail Andre...and a friendly face. congrats!
Andre du Plessis  Thank you Morkel - this was easy, as for once I was in good light.
Tommy Str 2 years ago
Excellent
Andre du Plessis  Hey Tommy. Nice of you, thanks.
doron.nissim. 2 years ago
Close & Exciting
Andre du Plessis  Many thanks Doron:)
Thomas Holtkoetter 2 years ago
Mr. Ruiters is fantastic - specially the details of his beard !
Andre du Plessis  Indeed, he is a very nice old gent, thanks Thomas. I wrote a bit on him below Colmar's comment.
Colmar Wocke 2 years ago
Andre,

Congratulations to you and Mr. Ruiters!

Colmar
Andre du Plessis  Thank you Colmar. This gent is the sweetest person. I saw him at the side of the road where he was looking after some boxes - waiting some someone to come and pick them up. Had a long chat with him about things like his pride on being a Griqua, how the Griqua's came about, and how he sees things in South Africa. I took this portrait in the shade under a tree, and shall make sure that I drop off the print at the 'big shop' at Kranshoek.
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Equipment
D700, Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8s ED MK I, ISO 200, f/3.2, 1/500.
Location
South Africa
Date
2009
Unique views
13977
Comments
37
Category
Portrait
 
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