Congo: the first one on TE!

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Congo: the first one on TE!
Photo Information
Copyright: Alberto Piubello (albertopiubello) Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 360 W: 46 N: 827] (2465)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2007-04-02
Categories: Architecture
Exposure: f/4.8
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2007-04-06 13:23
Viewed: 1662
Points: 24
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
For one colonial ruler, honor in his african home! It’s not every day that an African country erects a 20-foot-tall statue in the busiest part of town to honor a white man.
But Brazzaville has always had a trend-defying relationship to its first master, Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza.
All across the continent, names that smacked of colonial rule were quickly jettisoned after independence. Leopoldville, the capital of the Belgian Congo named after King Leopold II, was renamed Kinshasa shortly after the country became first Zaire and afterwards Congo Democratic Republic, Delamere Street in Nairobi, Kenya, named after the head honcho of white settlers, Lord Delamere, became Kenyatta Avenue. And so on and so on.
But Brazzaville was an exception, because Mr. Brazza was actually liked by many Africans, who considered him a kinder, gentler Victorian explorer type, someone who charmed his way deep into the African jungle, unlike his rival, Henry Morton Stanley, whose shotgun and bullwhip approach earned him the nickname Breaker of Rocks.
When it came time to tell the Brazza tale, the government of Brazzaville decided to do it in style — building a gleaming white marble mausoleum along the banks of the Congo River, complete with a museum, sculpture garden and giant statue. The remains of Mr. Brazza and his wife and four children were flown back to Brazzaville, and in mid-December, the mausoleum is scheduled to open.
Mr. Brazza died in 1905, in Senegal, en route to France to deliver an embarrassing report about the brutality of colonial rule, and the return of his bones was supposed to mark the 100th anniversary of his death.
Mr. Brazza was born in 1852, near Rome, the son of an Italian count with French connections. Young Brazza loved sailing, joined the French Navy and at age 23 offered to chart the Congo River at a time when European powers were scrambling to carve up Africa and corner the wildly lucrative ivory and rubber trades.
Mr. Brazza used his youthful spirit to win over African chiefs, though in the end he handed them the same cheap glass beads and bolts of cloth that other explorers traded for thousands of miles of territory.
His most famous deal was signed with King Makoko in 1880, in a little village along the north bank of the Congo River, paving the way for the establishment of the French Congo, with Brazzaville as its capital and Mr. Brazza as governor. Since independence in 1960, Brazzaville has remained just that.
Brazzaville and Kinshasa, which stare each other down from opposite banks of the Congo River, are famed as the two national capitals closest to one another.
diasman, Silvio1953, Deepforest, atilgone, brevbrev14, lestans, vincz, vonp, maximage, Angshu, VeeJayCee, delic has marked this note useful
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Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To vonp: Ciao Paoloalbertopiubello 1 04-10 04:14
To lestans: Ciao Livia!albertopiubello 2 04-08 04:26
To grigand: Ciao Andrea!albertopiubello 1 04-07 06:09
To Silvio1953: Ciao Silvio!albertopiubello 1 04-07 04:58
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Critiques [Translate]

Grande prima Alberto, colpo grosso su TE con una novità assoluta, bravo!
Interessante monumento a Brazza, bella foto con bella luce e ottimi colori, buona la composizione e poi è la prima, spero che nei ptrossimi giorni ce ne saranno altre, buona Pasqua, ciao Silvio

Ciao Alberto
Che emozione .. immagini dal Congo, se ne vedono poche, mi piace la composizione.Da qui sembra un luogo tranquillo, lo spero per te ...
Ciao
Andrea

Hi Alberto,
interesting shot and note. Good composition and details. I like so blue sky...
Well done. Happy Easter,
Andrzej

Hi Alberto,

Nice point of view. Congrulatains with your first Congo picture on TE. Well deone.
TFS
Kind regards,
atilgan

Ciao Alberto!

grande informazione questa!! Ci racconti la storia del conte Savorgnan di Brazzà, che era di origini friulane. Il castello di Brazzà è situato a Moruzzo, sulle bellissime colline moreniche a nord di Udine. Sapevo che si trattava di un personaggio davvero speciale in Africa, e fa piacere leggere la storia che tu ci racconti per motivare l'immagine di questo monumento.
Bella la foto... una premiere!! E non sembra quasi Africa tanto tutto è lindo.

Spero di vedere anche altre tue immagini dal Congo!
Intanto ... grazie per questa e complimenti, come sempre!

Livia

  • Great 
  • vincz Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2899 W: 87 N: 4820] (16692)
  • [2007-04-07 19:02]

C'est incroyable qu'il n'y ai aucune autre image du Congo sur TE. Tres belle premiere avec une superbe note tres intructive qui illustre parfaitment cette photo prise avec une si bell lumiere.

De Kuala Lumpur en route vers Hanoi!

  • Great 
  • vonp Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 370 W: 0 N: 290] (2187)
  • [2007-04-08 4:00]
  • [+]

Ciao Alberto!
Finalmente è arrivata! Ultimamente frequento poco ma ero proprio curioso di vedere le immagini che avevi promesso... Bella la composizione, bellissima l'idea di sapere che arriva da un posto così lontano e così poco battuto.
Buona Pasqua
A presto...
Paolo

ciao ALberto!
che onore vedere la prima immagine da un paese!!
bella la composizione e la luce anche!!
bravo!
e grazie!!
ciao!
Valeria

Bonsoir Alberto,
La première photo du Congo sur TE, C'est incroyable!
Belle architecture spéciale et originale pour le Congo je pense! Très bonnes informations avec ta note intéressante.
Amitiés.
max

  • Great 
  • paura Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 3448 W: 8 N: 2202] (17408)
  • [2007-04-10 18:40]

Beleza de composição aqui, Alberto. Um primoroso ponto de tomada e ótimos ajustes das cores para obter tão significativa fotografia.

Excelente trabalho.

Paulo
P.S.: Queria felicitar você por suas atividades na África. Tenho um irmão, médico, com especialidade em doenças infecto contagiosas, que faz trabalho semelhante na selva amazônica e sei o quanto isso é importante.

  • Great 
  • Angshu Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 4473 W: 152 N: 6712] (21936)
  • [2007-04-16 3:35]

Ciao Alberto
First of all thanks for sharing a picture of a new country in TE with us. The statue is impressive in front of the colonial architecture of the building. Good off-centre framing for the statue & a very informative note
Regards
Angshu

Hi Alberto. This is a well proportioned image with good colour and contrast. A very interesting note also.

  • Great 
  • delic Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1312 W: 63 N: 1649] (5750)
  • [2007-07-30 2:30]

Hello Alberto,
Having developed a keen interest in African matters, I ran into this photo of yours while browing through the Africa section of TE. I read through the well-written and informative note. The picture itself is well-composed from a pov that includes everything relevant. A polarizer would be useful here. Regards,
Hakan

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