bushman dance Photo

Photographer’s Note

This photo is of the Kalahari Bushmen performing a tradional dance.

The 'Bushmen' are the oldest inhabitants of southern Africa, their home for the past 20,000 years. Only an estimated 100,000 remain today, most reside in the Kalahari desert. A number of Bushmen tribes exist and a variety of languages are spoken, each incorporating the distinctive 'click' sound. The Bushmen survived for thousands of years as hunters and gatherers. They hunt – mainly various kinds of antelope – but their daily diet has always consisted more of the fruits, nuts and roots. They make temporary homes from the wood that they gather. Many Bushmen have been forced off their land and are forced to live in settlements that are unsuitable for hunting and gathering. As well as eviction from their ancestral lands, the Bushman have faced home invasion, oppression and murder reducing their numbers from several million to 100,000.

Technical notes

A challenging photo situation as the only available light was from the fire. I focussed on infinity and shot in aperture priority with a 50mm lens. F1.8, Shutter speed 2 seconds. tripod used.

I look forward to your feedback.

thanks

timotey, maciekda, eelliott305, jhonny_blue, sulucas, eleparc, summer89, izanoza, Didi, smello, gg01 has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

timotey (1926) 2004-03-22 4:18

Absolutely fabulous. The light strenghtens faces and increases contrast. This composition is great. Fire is so well rendered. Beautiful.

maciekda (19599) 2004-03-22 4:22

what a scene! incredible! dark and this fire... and those people around - great composition.. wonderful colors - from white in the fire through yellow and brown to black... the only small flaw is the person on the left side - just turned the head at the moment of shoot - it would be so nice if all persons were sharp, but even now is very good. anyway, excellent picture, very moody.

clodreno (0) 2004-03-22 5:33

Great shot Brendan.. I love it. You had a difficult light here, and the outcome is beautiful. One of my favorite. Very well done.
The scene is also very moving. I don't mind if some people are not sharp. The main thing is the atmosphere of this shot. It's BEAUTIFUL...

eelliott305 (776) 2004-03-22 6:24

A wonderful shot, taken in such tricky circumstances. I like the way the people all look in different directions so some parts of their faces are lit and some in shadow. The skin tones are beautiful. Very well done.

summer89 (5414) 2004-03-22 7:32

WOnderfull photo Brendan.

It's fristh time I see your work and I like it.

This photo it's wonderfull, Great colors and ligth. Everythings it's perfect. Very good note, too.

well done.

jhonny_blue (4954) 2004-03-22 7:50

Wonderful Brendan ! It´s realy wonderful...
The fire, the people expressions, your composition !
Congratulations ! One of my favourites !

sulucas (229) 2004-03-23 2:42

This is such an atmospheric shot, Brendan. You seem to very good at capturing a mood in your photographs. I love the warmth of the glow of the fire.
Am I mistaken, or are there no adult men in the pic, that they are all dancing, and these are the spectators?

eleparc (24059) 2004-03-24 16:57

Brendan yet another fantastic shot...you did a perfect chot in harsh light conditions bravo! the compo is also optimum IMO. I am glad to see that you are using the nikkor 50mm f1.8. it seems to be very efficient. can you tell me more about it. do you like it? the aperture seems really great. do you confirm?

izanoza (777) 2004-03-25 17:53

Wonderful shot, Brendan! I like these live colors and light from the fire. The composition is perfect, notes is very good too. May be needed a bit more space from left the Bushmen`s arm is cropped. Still congratulations!

scalerman (25787) 2004-03-25 22:00

what a magical photograph. very nicely done. perhaps a little blurry but what can you do. it really sends a tone and mood across.

Didi (36452) 2004-04-07 14:27

L'Afrique réelle telle qu'elle fut découverte par Stanley et Livingstone.
Ce n'est pas du folklore, c'est un épisode de la vie réelle de cette tribu.
Le commentaire est très intéressant il est complété par une image très forte et bien composée.

Real Africa such as it was discovered by Stanley and Livingstone. It is not folklore, it is an episode of the real life of this tribe. The comment is very interesting it is supplemented by a very strong and quite made up image.

sengir (4946) 2004-07-14 15:48

great picture!

gg01 (355) 2004-09-03 14:23

Excellent cliché : couleurs, détails.
Très bien