The GULAG lady, a photo from Podlaskie, East

Photographer's Note

First posting from the TE gathering in Poland 22-23. April 2006

The Gulag lady
We met her in a small village sitting on her bench opposite to the country church.

This year she will be 76.

In 1941 she was 11 years old. What threat she was to the communists of Soviet is not known. But she and all other women and children from this village were sent to a Gulag in Siberia to stay there for 14 years, until 1955.

We can only imagine the conditions when we learn from her that in the winter the temperature could be as low as 55 Celsius.

Within here time in the Gulag she would also meet with defeated German soldiers from the army of General Paulus the one who lost the battle of Stalingrad.

First after the death of chairman Joseph Stalin in 1953 the situation slowly improved and she was sent home in 1955, still only 25 years of age, but of course with her whole youth in the camp she would be marked for the rest of her life.

It was touching sitting together with TE member Jerzy and hear the story of the old lady from this small village.

ChrisJ, siolaw, bantonbuju, KevRyan, papagolf21, don_narayan, nwoehnl, jhm, david, bertolucci, rbcy1974, MarekP, RGatward, ellie, edcone oznaczył to zdjęcie jeko użyteczne

Critiques | Translate

ChrisJ (159996) 2006-04-29 6:45

Hello Jack

Good portrait of this steely faced old woman. Wonderful sharpness, dof, & color, with excellent graphism. Congratulations!

siolaw (38294) 2006-04-29 7:07

Hi Jack..
A fine portrait! great mix of textures, fine colors perfect sharpness and a story to go with it!
Good one
laurent

KevRyan (22956) 2006-04-29 7:13

She dresses warmly not for style, she looks wordly wise in the ways (and mistakes) of men - she knows her own strength and her own mind and as willing as she may be for her photo to be taken she has the strength to reflect on the weaknesses of the photographer - a powerful history and for such a plain simple picture - so much to reflect on - a very 'true' looking portrait.

best wishes Kev

bantonbuju (51815) 2006-04-29 7:16

what i wanted to tell her was: "please, let us photograph you and show it to the world, it is such an increadible story that you are telling";
and in polish - when you use proper words you show great respect what i tried to do;
but there was no need to say this - she was happy enough that we were there and listened to her story;
i like how this stright ans imple portrait goes well with the sophisticated story of her life;
great work, jack,
i have created a theme on our trip;
best wishes, j.

ps. finally we got home at 9 p.m.

papagolf21 (152599) 2006-04-29 7:18

Bonjour Jack,
Trčs bonne note d'accompagnement qui fait réfléchir ceux qui n'ont pas eu ŕ connaître de telles souffrances !
Le portrait est parfaitement réalisé et ressort ŕ merveille sur ce fond de mur crépi.
Le regard de cette femme suffit ŕ comprendre les blessures de sa vie.
Amitiés.
Philippe

[2]

don_narayan (2014) 2006-04-29 8:08

Hello Jack. great portrait, really touching story as well. Such an exprience, unfortunately common, sure would make life hard... but hey, young kids want to wear t-shirts with the soviet symbol or a picture of Lennin... I wonder what she would think when she sees young people romantacising over the old USSR. Anyways, the image is great, thanks for sharing her story.

Narayan

maki (0) 2006-04-29 8:26

Hello John,
Wonderful close-up for this old Lady. It was a good choice with the moment. She is looking like she's deep in her thoughts about past time. Well done.
Regards to You, I'm waiting for Your next Polish works. maki

nwoehnl (122) 2006-04-29 11:25

A fine portraiture work, Jack, that goes well with the touching story that the lady told you and that you documented well in your notes. A good character study and a nice framing to have her in the righthand area and posing in a very natural manner. I'm not exactly bothered by the sharpness but you might try this one with just a little more overall softness. Greetings from Milan.

jhm (202939) 2006-04-29 11:52

Hi Jack,
A very great story of this lady, this do me thinks an 61 years ago, the liberation of Dachau on 29.04.1945. through the Americans army! Today a anniversary!
But for 76 year old have the lady a very nice face!
Thanks a lot!
Have a nice weekend,
John.

david (3992) 2006-04-29 13:46

great shot jack. what's remarkable is the great background which provides a very nice texture. great framing too. she looks like a fascinating woman who would have some amazing stories to tell.

i think this shot is great, but i wanted to see how it'd look in b&w. so i made a workshop, just to satisfy my curiosity.

great shot!

[workshop] [compare]

eco (112) 2006-04-29 14:13

Hi Jack

very natural portrait,
I like this face, good quality, nice composition
good work, best regards, rafal

bertolucci (14052) 2006-04-29 16:13

Hi Jack, very good portrait of this ols lady who lived thru hell. The lines of suffering and experience but also of pride and defiance are on display here. Very good and well defines and framed one. Looking forward to the rest of this series.
Have a nice sunday,
Bert

rbcy1974 (20758) 2006-04-29 18:49

Hello Jack
The note illustrates perfectly the life of this ladym
very nice portrait and great txtures in the zall behind her. Regards
Daniel

Polonaise (5802) 2006-04-29 22:43

She still remembers her stay on "the inhuman land".
And at least she talks.
Once I knew a man who was, like her, taken to sovet gulag. Me and my friends (very young back then)were trying to get some details of his being there, and hardly any word he spoke. NOTHING. But you should see his eyes and his clenchded lips, when he looked upon us, shivering and silent.
Touchy picture. Touchy story.
George

MarekP (4750) 2006-04-30 18:02

Hi Jack,
After Jerzy's photo of the same lady it is interesting to see your point of view and comapre the two. Your one is more closer, but it doesn't make the biggest difference. The lady's expression differs more, I think. Well done.

Thanks,
Marek

RGatward (20086) 2006-05-01 10:49

Hi Jack, I thought I was having a deja vue until I got to the end of your note. SO you've around Jerzy, looks like a good trip. Worth having another shot of this woman on the site.

ellie (60) 2006-09-29 7:53

I love this portrait -- how it shows the strength of will and character to survive against the rough stony background behind her -- A true snapshot of her life's journey.