From Russian Royalty to Far Northern 'Tarzan'

[marcotrov]

Hi guys thought I'd share a couple of capture from a series I took of local identity and remarkable man, Michael 'Tarzan' Fomenko. I took these grab shots all but 200 metres from work on the main highway into Cairns. I've included an article, many features have been written about Michael, who lives very,very,very simply in the hills near Gordonvale south of Cairns and on a regular basis jogs into Cairns CBD ot conduct some business with just a sack over his shoulder and the handle of a machette you can just see protruding from the potato sack. Strange but true! Seen him over many years jogging. Lord knows how many KM's he's clocked on foot. He is very old I think approachin mid to late 70's know and still going! Amazing.
I have always wanted to capture him on film but always very hard to do and always in difficult situation. I pulled over out of the blue on a major highway as I watched him approach and pulled out the trusty D70 and 80-400VR. Terrific character! Doesn't say much though.
[url=http://www.questia.com/PM.qst;jsessionid=FqyS92h5G8GHpddxg2h79BNbpNxdC1dwn45hyhn9yL4hy1shx3Nn!812724775?a=o&d=5007930657[/url]


Not sure about my treatment of the subject here though? C&C always welcome and appreciated.
cheers
marco

[ozimax]

Great image and story, a unique character no doubt.

[stubbsy]

Marco

Interesting images of an even more interesting man. The second image has more appeal as it feels lonelier somehow. I'm ambivalent about the "streak of light" treatment you've used to set him off a little from the background. It fails in #1 and works in #2 - go figure. The referenced article is an interesting read too. I found this quote a fairly telling comment on society's requirements for conformity:

Word about the `semi-naked wild white savage' living in the jungle in the far north reached the police and in the mid-Sixties a sergeant and an Aborigine tracker set out to hunt him down. They spent a week on his trail, travelling 130 miles through the rainforest before they caught him and overpowered him after a fierce struggle in a lagoon.

Fear and ignorance had caught up with Fomenko. He was handcuffed and dispatched under guard to Brisbane, 1,000 miles away to the south, where, after numerous forced psychiatric tests, he was found to be suffering from nothing more than an aversion to society.

Armed with a certificate declaring that he was `sane', he returned to the jungle.

[Willy wombat]

Very interesting subject to photograph. In the images you have posted i seem to see a light halo/aura around the man that looks a little strange. Was that deliberate?

[sirhc55]

Great story and pics Marco. Just look at the calfs on the guy, not bad for an old’un

[marcotrov]

I agree Peter, I prefer the way the second image responds to the treatment. Yeah steve it was deliberate and I guess overdone. Instead of using a gradient fade out I used another technique and it hasn't really worked well, too obvious. Thanks Chris he is remarkable I just remember what he use to look like 25 or so years ago. I suppose we all have to age. But if I can keep motoring like Michael at that age I'll be one happy dude.
True Peter, quite an indictment on society generally.
Thanks for the feedback. Might muck around a bit more or better still try and get lucky and try for a better image
cheers
marco

[Glen]

Marco, great images and story. The treatment is too strong for my liking, but might suit some.

[marcotrov]

I'm not sure whether B&W works better on this series?

cheers
marco

[rflower]

The top photos in colour do look strange with the bars of dark and light. I like the B/W version though. It equalizes it (or something)

Russell