Sacrificing Color

I went to the DiF center in Chapala for a ribbon cutting for a new mural by my friend Jesus Lopez Vega this week.  (He did the murals around my house doors, on my garage door and nicho, the detail work around all my arches in my house and many of the paintings you’ve seen inside my house.)  During the two and a half hours of speeches, folklorico and indigenous dances, I got caught up in the interaction and contrasts between the dancers and the characters in the murals, which depicted the different social services that the DIF center offers: education, medical care, food for the aged and needy and support of indigenous cultures.  My settings weren’t right to catch good detail with all the movement, so I started cropping and playing with light, detail, filters and saturation and found that often, in spite of losing the brilliant and varied colors, that switching to sepia brought out the narrative in the pictures.  Here are some of my “finds.”

This was a so-so shot of the drummer, but even more interesting to me was the contrast between the woman taking the picture with her smart phone, the little girl and the drummer.

And I thought the narrative was better expressed through cropping and the use of a sepia filter.

Both croppings of the sepia of this photo remind me of a magazine illustration in the fifties or perhaps of an etching. I’m interested in which version you prefer!I don’t know what Jesus had in mind when he placed this scowling little boy in his mural, but he seemed to me to be expressing extreme disapproval with all that was going on.

And in this shot, seems to have cloned himself and to have entered into the dance.

This little girl was in complete contrast to scowling mural boy.  She expressed total delight all afternoon.I think this dancer looks like he’s standing in line to be seen next by the dentist.

Below are a few more color shots of the afternoon.
 

Really wonderful odd balls here this week: http://ceenphotography.com/2015/09/06/cees-odd-ball-photo-challenge-2015-week-36/