SILENCE Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

This is the first photo that I took of the guard in a lush and wild garden, when I was invited into his shelter because of pouring rain outside. When my eyes had adapted to the darkness, I saw this peaceful man smiling faintly, leaning on his wooden stick, not paying much attention to the foreign woman who had invaded his place and waiting patiently...

He agreed to be taken in photos and I just asked him to remain as he was and not to move at all (ISO 100, with the same Canon Ixus)... Result is as grainy as the other ones as I had to regain some light and sharpened the floor probably a bit too much.

What title for this photo ? I was hesitating between Patience, Serenity, Meditation... I was struck by the void of the room and the simplicity and austerity of his shelter - behind him was a cat purring very loudly in the deafening silence (with just the rain outside), you can see him here...

andante, rigoletto, Floydian, riclopes, adelune, japiey, bostankorkulugu, Glint, Didi, crckt has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

rigoletto (27112) 2007-12-20 5:48

Why grains in ISO 100, i really don't get. It looks like a scanned photo, but i am not that much into the quality. Superb situation of light is what captures me here the most. These dark void photos from Morocco can be gathered up in a series.
Compositionally, i think you could crop from the left a little bit.
Best wishes,
Deniz

andante (7092) 2007-12-20 5:52

Hi Catherine, the light on this photo is amazing! It adds so much character to the man. Both images of this series are very good. TFS.
Enrique

ngraha (137) 2007-12-20 6:08

have you added post sharpness filters? It looks that way - which may have caused the frame to appear more grainy?

Nice subject however - but shame about image quality. TFS

Nick

Floydian (30970) 2007-12-20 6:38

Hello Catherine,
I was impressed by the beauty of this with the pose of the man half in the light and shade. The simplicity of it does it all. Only thing is that it needs is a bit work on that wall which i did in a Workshop and also a tighter crop...hope you like it.
Regards, Henk

[workshop] [compare] +

CaptainJack (0) 2007-12-20 7:46

Hi Catherine, very dramatically cool shot. Especially like how the light is coming off his cane, and how it sort of splits his being into two parts, almost like representing light and darkness all in one. I'd almost suggest the title have something to that effect in it, though the chosen "Silence" works for me too as it does work with the mood frozen here.

nirvana73 (8896) 2007-12-20 8:09

Merhaba Catherine
çok güzel bir kare
ışık ve gölgeler harika
adamın bakışı çok etkili
paylaşım için teşekkürler
burası da çok soğuk
selamlarımla
Özhan

adelune (2) 2007-12-20 8:39

Encore une fois Catherine, rien que du tout bon! C'est vrai qu'il est difficile de choisir le titre le mieux adapté à cette photo... entendait-on la pluie?! Et pourtant tu as choisi "Silence"!... Il doit bien y avoir une raison... Quoiqu'il en soit, merci pour ce bonheur des yeux que tu nous donne! Admiration! Et amitiés, alain

japiey (9531) 2007-12-20 9:03

Hi Cath,

SILENCE is his life now..
PATIENCE is his life now..
SERINITY is his life now..
MEDITATION is his life now..

A man and his shelter... is his dream now...
Excellent concept.

Namasthe:)

jean paul

PierreMorel (1168) 2007-12-20 9:24

Bonsoir Catherine,
J'ai une préférence pour cette version, plus orientée vers le personnage, comme je l'avais suggéré dans mon WS. La lumière me semble par contre un peu moins douce ici.
Amitiés,
Pierre

mesutilgim (37597) 2007-12-20 10:37

Hi dear Cath,
Amazing pov and amazing light. Very sensitive scenery. Nice warm colors . And very nice technical notes as well. The problem of grains in digital photography is a well known common problem, specially under atypical light conditions. But sometimes I accept it, as it can give a very special accent to the scene.
TFS ane best regards
MESUT ILGIM

faubry (32521) 2007-12-20 11:47

ah te revoici avec cet homme, une photo tres intimiste avec toute l ombre, j aime beaucoup le rais de lumiere qui eclaire une partie de son visage.. bravo
amities
francine

mariandrea (973) 2007-12-20 12:24

The expression of the man is amazing, great capture, the darkness of the photo accompanies his feelings, beautiful... and great notes too.

MarcT (21105) 2007-12-20 12:50

Salut Cath,
Une image d'une série remarquable pour son ambiance.
Ici,l'esquisse de portrait en fait tout le charme.
Amitiés
Marc

bostankorkulugu (34212) 2007-12-20 13:27

beautiful shot cath, with this mystic light on the man... i like the way he leans on his stick and i like the darkness of the room, probably a sign of his own hard life... a simple compo yet a very strong one, congrats dear...

all the best

korkut

lousat (16492) 2007-12-20 14:13

Salut Cathy,il y a une magique et mysterieuse atmosphere dedans cette photo,les jeux de la lumiere sont fantastiques,merci de partager,Luciano

riclopes (33159) 2007-12-21 0:41

Gorgeous situation, Cath. Time to time, Floydian gives us a present...His WS is really good and improving your composition and impact of this amazing darkness. Not too dark for me, love it this way. Not sure if too grainy, but I like very much the texture it gives. The mood here is powerful, although the one with the cat is also very good - he is for sure a good person ;-)
ric

Partha_c (1985) 2007-12-21 1:20

Dear Cath. The dark tone of the shot I liked. The look of the old man who invited you 'to his shelter' does not give an impression that you had 'invaded his place' -- though may be 'waiting patiently'!

The shot of the man resting his chin on the cushion of his crossed fingers placed on the top of the stick gives me an impression that silence sometimes turns out to be the best communication. So many notes are exchanged through a glance without uttering a word, without heaving a sigh. Well done. Regards.
Partha

hgupta (1321) 2007-12-21 7:21

This is a marvellous paint like picture. The subject is really interesting and the treatment of the subject still greater.
I salute you.
Regards,

Hemant

Silvio1953 (43458) 2007-12-21 11:42

Ciao Caterina, bello sprazzo di luce in un volto scavato dal tempo, non so come hai fatto ad ottenere questa grana, ma l'effetto è fantastico, brava.
Con Amicizia Silvio

Glint (3120) 2007-12-22 14:36

hello again Catherine,
it is the void and the light striking the mans' face that is special here(of course).I agree with Deniz about cropping a little on the left.
regards
Bev

Merline (6578) 2007-12-22 16:27

Bonsoir Catherine,
tout a été dit sur le grain et le cadrage, la lumière et en plus pas mal d'infos intéressantes + le ws de Floydian, je me concentre donc sur le feeling...Elle a accroché mon oeil, le titre aussi, et en l'ouvrant je n'ai pas été déçue par ce qui s'en dégage...je trouve cela magnifique. Le naturel, l'attitude de cet homme, le clair-obscur même si très fort font ressortir le silence. Très bons tons sourds. Celle avec le chat est forte aussi, beau sujet vraiment!

Cela me ferait plaisir de te rencontrer un jour que tu es à Bxl, pour un café:-)

Amitiés
Michèle

Didi (36712) 2007-12-23 3:44

Bonjour Catherine
Intéressante scène mais le WS effectué est bien fait car il elimine les parties inutiles et met en valeur le sujet.
Intéressante ambiance locale.
Cordialement.

crckt (7102) 2007-12-23 18:32

Hi Catherine,
SILENCE is an apt title, the atmosphere you've here makes this an haunting image. There's something about the man's eyes that is unforgettable. Remarkable shot. Thanks for sharing.
Regards,
Shaeri