half asleep Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

Aaah... Luang Prabang, the city of dreamers!

Spent 4 days half awake/half asleep in Luang Prabang :
- at the end of the third, I was so relaxed I thought my 3 weeks holidays were already finished,
- at the fourth I went looking my e-mail in a net café, somebody home wrote to me that my flat was flooded and most of my hardware was lost. I thought "never mind, just don't care, don't awake me, I'm in Luang Prabang".
- in the morning of the fifth day I discovered I was already late to take my plane, though it was scheduled at noon...

Yeah, Luang Prabang,a place where bothering someone in his nap might be one of the most criminal thing occuring downtown...(if it ever happened...)

The famous Luang Prabang rythm : a silent frenzy (well, Luang Prabang style) of monks in the morning, a eight hours nap till dusk, either a gorgeous sunset on the Mekong or a cntinuous rainfall for one hour, then silent rows of candlelights through the night and people whispers covered with the sounds of the cicadas in the Hmong night market... already time for the night rest...

once again grainy and contrasty Lith print technique.
Just to show the difference with this technique, figure it's printed on the same paper as this one. Weird, eh?

Riz, migtey, eleparc, Cool-ice, robiuk, rage_tm, saurabh, lewiz has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Riz (0) 2004-10-13 18:16

Luko-

I really think this is a fine capture, I think the composition is superb I think a horizonally shot might work here as well I like it how it is just being honest, thankd for sharing this moment in Luang Prabang I also like the grainy fell this shot has it interesting tonal range is good
great job Luko!

RandomCameraGuy (3063) 2004-10-13 18:35

Luko, another nice slice of life. Excellent out-of-the-ordinary shot, I just wish the background wasn't so messy. It's a little hard to make out the foot, and the vertical bars on the tuk-tuk are camouflaged. Still, it's a fine capture. Cheers!

eleparc (24059) 2004-10-13 19:36

great photo Luko and so Lunag prabang!! i loved the place too and must have a similar shot somewhere ... but in color;-)) nice compo;-)

Cool-ice (5289) 2004-10-13 19:42

Interesting, this B&W.
The composition with only the legs is original, even disturbing, and the grain gives all its charm to the image.
Something special here...I like very much !

robiuk (10763) 2004-10-13 20:01

Hi Luko,
The cropping is very good and I doubt the vertical composition would work here (see Davian's comment).
Tonal range is superb here as is the composition where legs oppose vertical bars on the vehicle and the wooden fence behind. Also, a slight sepia works very good.
Though, for the legs' position of the subject - he must've been very tired to find it comfortable resting his legs this way!? ;-D
Thanks for sharing!

rage_tm (623) 2004-10-13 22:28

Hi Luko, there something in this shot that expresses reality of life.
Great compo and nice DOF. The grain also add simplicity and mood to the overall image. I like it. thanks for sharing.

maciekda (19599) 2004-10-14 6:08

it is a simple but good picture. good compo with lines coming from the corner, parallel to the border... good work with leaving legs only. and your B&W tones are great. nothing to suggest here - good stuff

avis2avis (4260) 2004-10-14 6:10

I really like the tones here. Not too many shots I have seen on TE come close to this in terms of color tonality. What I dont ilke here is the vertical composition which leaves very little space widthwise for your idea to develop. I am looking at just the legs here and on both the left and right sides, the frame abruptly ends. IMO, a horizontal would have been a better idea.

Proxilva (2157) 2004-10-14 7:54

It's indeed very strange... is that because this negative was overexposed more? or adiffernt time in the doka? I have never done it (lithprinting i mean ;)) but iread that all this factors counted... hmmm...

but i like this effect even more than in the other, I think it's the awesome colortone and the different grain that adds soo much mood in the photo...

the compo is a bit busy for me :)

greg (2835) 2004-10-14 9:57

You know, Luko, until I read your note, I thought this was a corpse. True, his feet have a healthy sheen to them, but perhaps especially because of your printing technique, it reminds me of some gruesome image from a history book. The tones are absolutely beautiful - no question, but I'd sooner see his hands behind his head and a sleepy smile on his lips...

Mrg (823) 2004-10-17 14:30