ksssh..ayam...ksssh Photo

Photographer’s Note

We were lost in the rice fields walking our way to some famous Toraja graves. I saw a house behind the woods and went asking for the way "selamat pagi, di mana...?".

There were two old ladies 74 years old each : I knew later they were twin sisters. At first their dog came barking "ksssh...anjing..ksssh" one said firmly "calm down doggie".

They were wearing head scarves : when my daughter came behind me and showed her blond hair, one of the old lady took out her scarf and showed her white aged hair and compared..."sama rambut" she laughed, same hair color...

I asked whether I could take some images of her and her sister she said "boleh!", that's ok you can...
She sat but the hen came picking the dust around "kssssh...ayam..kssshhh" she said. Bugger off, chicken!

MKING, torben, Isabelle, manny, Galeota, maciekda, omritoppol, carolynanna, hantulaut, Steely, Proxilva, Riz, supereira, MLINES has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

flydragon (0) 2004-06-21 18:30

nice shot and composition
its nice to read your note
we can feel how u enjoyed to travel and
be there thx for share
Simon ;o)

torben (3084) 2004-06-21 18:41

- and then you had your photo. Good capture of a moment, lively and natural.

Isabelle (9014) 2004-06-21 19:34

i wish i could give you a smiley for each document here: one for the lovely note, the other for the beautiful composition, Luko.
sensitive and delicate.

maciekda (19599) 2004-06-21 23:59

very nice one Luko, nicely composed, i like the pose and expression of the woman - so casual. i wish the big chicken wasn't escaping the frame. nice B&W, very good work

Galeota (10334) 2004-06-22 4:19

As most of your photographs, this one has the advantage of being illustrated by an extremely interesting note. The event isn’t so special in itself, but the way you introduce your images in a few, striking, words is IMO what allows us to be there with you looking at the two old ladies and capturing their image.

You say in your “intro” that every photograph says something about its photographer. That is true. But it is also true that every phrase says something about the writer, and perhaps even more.

I like the way you combine your photographs with your texts because they suit each other and raise a visual element to the status of an objective and comprehensible event.

Some others say that an image should convey its message through its own representation, without any exterior support. I understand them in a certain way. But, in my opinion, the visual perception of the world is poorer when not accompanied by a specific type of language.

That’s why, some of your photographs (thinking about the glasses of the old lady in the museum, or this one for example) are fascinating to me, although they’re not technically perfect or even very creative. You know how to tell a story. A real story. And that is already a quality in itself.

manny (21378) 2004-06-22 12:08

As usual, another great picture from you. The composition with the woman is almost leaning on the frame is very dramatic. The motion blur on the chicken and her chicks is well-captured and a good dynamic to this shot.

Luko, this picture is even made more special because of your note. You had picked up a lot of the Indonesian language and I am impressed. I have been here in Thailand for more than ten years and my Thai is not even as good as your Indonesian/Malay. Some sort of a trivia: our forefathers are Malay settlers and our dialects picked up a lot of the Malay words. I am an Ilonggo (from Iloilo, central part of the Philippines) and do you know that "ayam" is dog and "manok" is chicken. Exactly the opposite in Bahasa, isn't it?

omritoppol (826) 2004-06-24 5:26

They say a picture is worth a 1000 words, but sometimes, a few lines can make the picture 1000 times worth.

kaychambers (1196) 2004-07-12 22:21

Yeah, not bad.

Steely (895) 2004-07-13 5:24

hahahaha, i love the story Luko! :D
looks like you caught her shooing the chickens way but i could be wrong, nice pic :D

Rustic :)

MKING (3050) 2004-07-17 12:45

Wonderful grass roots photo story as always Luko, life as one never sees when stuck on a speeding tour bus...

I think the three chickens and the three utensils (pot, basket, cup) on the seat, three sections in the wall etc -- great parallels that are offset by the woman, that necessary dynamic element. I'm just going to sit back and enjoy.

bfly (5737) 2004-08-05 4:31

:)
I came to your profile to send you a mail thanking for a workshop you did for Manny..giving an action list for sharpening..(that's really great and it really works in almost all pictures very well..how nice of you to teach this here)...

I guess you are on holiday
very nice picture and great great notes :) made me smile like melting cheese..I will memorize kssss ayam ksss for my coming trips to my village..:)
all the best
fusun

Proxilva (2157) 2004-08-05 15:04

hi Luko... this is a unusual photo, i llike the look of te chicken that runs out of the frame avoiding a kick in the ass...

surfing trought the workshops i found out that you are a true workshop master, i like that very much TE is a teacher for many of us including me ( and maybe you to)... i found many of your workshops quite useful, so thanks for that... forgot to rate them now i think of it :o)...
salut...

hahaha seeing Fusun thought the same after i posted this.......

cyril (2748) 2004-09-06 11:22

Hi Luko.
I've been trough your pictures and I really like the way you shoot.
In this one I like the movement and the composition. You really imagine the old woman using her feet to play with the chickens.
Great work
Cyril

clodreno (0) 2004-09-17 11:16

a great image. It seems to me that the woman is about to follow the chicken in the same way..

Benedetto (437) 2004-09-20 8:05

This one is great!!
So many compliments.

supereira (9576) 2004-09-20 8:59

Great shot and composition.
Good POV.Nice note.

cessy (13647) 2004-11-26 8:39

today I spent the whole day seeing your pictures, all are amusing, with even more amusing stories. One thing I note is that you always make communication with subject of your photo, even you talk in the native language. which is really excellent. I laughed even more for this one, as I am indonesian. thanks for sharing Luko.

Hasvelt (259) 2005-12-12 10:09