Credit: David Constantine[/caption]
David Constantine’s photography expresses a dignified humanism. His images are often striking, but they are also infused with humility. Rather than seeking out photos that are highly unusual or conventionally dramatic, Constantine documents people and places with a gentle but illuminating manner.
The result is photography which has spiritual and emotional depth and clarity—a quiet wisdom, a form of observation which deemphasizes the photographer and his or her exploits, which drives so much of contemporary photography. His work instead favors deceptively simple portraiture and rendering of social interactions around the world.
Most of Constantine’s photos are not from the Middle East, but his images from Morocco reflect his restrained style. There is a pita seller with two children presumably purchasing bread from him, and another of a mother and daughter walking in the street, the daughter’s bright pink backpack contrasting sharply with the earth tones of much of Morocco’s cityscape and landscape.
Constantine’s photos from Afghanistan are particularly striking. In one, a boy sits beside Afghani elders in a school setting. The elders are handsome and weathered, their age creating a dignified juxtaposition with the youthfulness of the boy. One wonders what they have seen and know, and what wisdom they will impart to this child. Another photo depicts an Afghani girl in a classroom looking at the camera with a beautiful, generous smile, her fellow classmates facing forward.
Constantine also captures exuberance in surprising contexts: a well-built Nicaraguan farmer strikes a pose for his camera with an enthusiastic smile and robust confidence, clearly delighted to be documented and doing his best to communicate the strength of his physique. The result is a portrait of a Nicaraguan farmer that is highly distinctive and utterly compelling in its almost baroque gregariousness, from the smile of the farmer and his playful pose to the intensity of the sun.
There are also poignant photos whose power is understated but deeply felt. Constantine visited Poland in the early 1990s; he took a photo of two men speaking in front of a Polish synagogue in Krakow. Their conversation looks light and natural, with a deep smile on one of their faces. One is wearing a large, lavender-coloured Jewish head covering. Given the decimation of Poland’s Jewish community in the Holocaust and the tiny surviving Jewish community that struggled with anti-Semitism for many decades, it is a hopeful, moving, and intimate moment that captures two members of the Jewish community just as it began to reconstitute itself and grow following the collapse of Communism and the greater religious freedom, democracy and protection of human rights that followed.
Constantine’s portraits consistently reflect a photographic style that is refreshing and vital because of its simple, direct, and unembellished documentation of life. This is what makes Constantine’s photography unique and quietly compelling.
To see a selection of David Constantine’s photographs, visit:
http://www.sittingimages.com/
