A Year of Days: Day 4 - A Sunday drink with Albert
Today we followed our usual Sunday morning routine - mass at the Abbey followed by a drink (or three) in the Bar de l'Abbaye just opposite. Shortly after we arrived, Albert came in and proposed a drink together to celebrate the new year.
Albert is quite a character: he was diagnosed with cancer of the throat, larynx and oesophagus about 18 years ago and underwent major surgery where all those parts were removed. For the next 12 years he was fed a liquid diet direct into his stomach and, of course, he lost all powers of speech, permanently.
Albert knew that reconstruction surgery was possible but he could not find a surgeon who would undertake it because of the high risk of failure with consequences that you can imagine. Finally however, he found a surgeon in Paris who undertook the reconstruction over the course of several long operations, and today Albert can eat and drink normally although he has to follow a restricted diet - and he drinks lemonade. He still can't talk of course but communication and conversation takes place anyway. He always has a big smile on his face and never, but never complains - an object lesson for us all.
I learned a lot about using my new pocket compact today too - if I took this again, the quality would be very much better... but there's not much light in the bar!
I liked the photo, but even more so after I had read your story. What an amazing guy - thanks for sharing - he'd be proud to have his story told in such a caring way.
A story of never giving up. Wonderful laugh on the face. Another great entry to your photo journal because we should be surrounded by people as well as scenery and things.
Great portrait, Richard. And a great story to accompany it. Looking at the photo I never guessed he'd had so many serious issues. He was brave to undergo the surgery but I imagine he's very happy he did.Fav.
what a wonderful face and a marvellous story - people like Albert are the reason I always try to stay happy and positive ( even though I have little slips ) because there is always someone less fortunate
@tigerdreamer The metering mode was on 'Matrix' and as Albert was back lit by the bar window this had a large effect on the exposure leaving his face underexposed - a classic case for fill-flash, but not appropriate in the cicumstances. In pushing the shadow detail in processing, the noise level rises which is what you see in this image. I should have exposed for the shadows using 'spot' or, at the very least, 'centre-weighted' metering and let the highlights blow-out, which is what I did in processing anyway. Whilst the sensor in this compact is much larger than most, it is still a small sensor compared with the full-frame cameras I normally use and where the handling of noise is much better. It's easy to forget the basics when switching between very different cameras.
Would you agree with this Karen, or would you have a different take?
I see that now. I'm not good at seeing noise. Not sure why. Maybe because it doesn't bother me. I see it as a ... Style? Like blur or saturation, just another form of picture.
@tigerdreamer The noise per se doesn't bother me - indeed I sometimes add 'grain' to B&W images for a more authentic feel - it's the loss of fine-detail and the reduction in global contrast that come with rising noise levels which are the real enemy.
What would be different next time?
Would you agree with this Karen, or would you have a different take?