Back to the Fifties Photo

Photographer’s Note

Returning from our hike and walking back to our homestay in Listvijanka, this motorcycle and sidecar was coming up to us, quite some smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe, and with a lot of noise too. As the backlight was great, I suddenly realised it was a nice moment to take a picture of, so I had to be quick.
The result was that it was out of focus, but I nevertheless wanted to share this picture with you.
For me it portrays the feeling I sometimes experienced being in that small village at Lake Baikal, as if time had come to a standstill.
It seemed as if time went back to the fifties, I therefore converted it to B&W and added some noise.

Cloned out a person in the distance, (she was too much a 2004 person), cropped rather high so that the reflection of the sun on Lake Baikal was still visible through the trees, converted to B&W, added some contrast and some grain, and finally adde a small frame.

alford, Michael_Gan, rage_tm, avigur_11, Hanssie, nwoehnl, bertolucci, jhm, bfly, pamastro has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

alford (3897) 2005-01-21 8:35

Very good choice of B&W, Rinie! And very nice title! This is a nice decisive moment photo, and you did a good job capturing it. It's always difficult to focus on objects going aways or towards you, so the out of focus here is understandable. Nice composition! rgds.

Michael_Gan (2772) 2005-01-21 8:40

Rinie, rather out-of-focus as you already mention in your note. But nevertheless this photo evocates a very nice nostalgic feeling, especially with the B&W and added noise. And isn't the way a picture moves us much more important than technical perfection? This photo reminds me of a movie that I recently saw: "The Motorcycle Diaries" which is about the young Che Guevara travelling through South America.

rage_tm (623) 2005-01-21 9:08

Hi Rinie, The out of focus still have worked well considering its coming from a moving vehicle. The BW choice gives that mood that this was taken during World War Era. :) Good composition and PP done. Good catch!

avigur_11 (21307) 2005-01-21 9:13

A ebautiful photo, with a nice atmosphere of the 50's, Rinie. B/w is excellent here. It reminds me one of the old Marlon Brando's movies. A very interesting catch from Lake Baikal.

RGatward (19751) 2005-01-21 9:13

Well yes, you had to be quick, so I can't complain too much about those details that might have been a bit better if you'd had more time. So overall, a fine shot which conveys the atmosphere that you describe. One of those occassion where tech quality can be overlooked in favour the compo.

jmfarace (345) 2005-01-21 10:48

Nice shot Rinie!!!... Good choice for Black and White...

Straight out of the movie "Motorcycle Diaries"... 1952, high-spirited travel diary of Guevara and Alberto's eight-month motorcycle journey across South America...

Porteplume (3257) 2005-01-21 11:21

Very moody shot, perfectly composed with necessary grain, blur and tilt, just enough to be perfectly enjoyable! Well done.

Je weet niet half hoe erg "Back to the Fifties" dit foto is Rinie... :o) - Er moet nog ergens in Frankrijk 'n doos vol foto's zijn die vergelijkbaar zijn met deze. Mijn vader en moeder op de motor en ik in 'n aardappelkistje onderin de sidecar! En daar in was er nog 'n ouderwetse tent, 'n benzinebrander en heel de kampeerkeuken en kleding voor drie weken! Ha, ha... Maar dan voel ik mij wel niet zo "piep" meer hóór!

Hanssie (9133) 2005-01-21 14:54

And this is really an old scene and the soft B/w-tones are very well chosen, the grain, the light, it's nice done, Rinie !

nwoehnl (120) 2005-01-21 16:44

Nice scene you caught here, Rinie, very retro indeed. Given the short time you had to set this up, I think you can be really happy with the result - the "around-the-bend" compo with the motorcycle and sidecar came out very enjoyable, and your post-work was successful in making the viewer forget about any technical shortcomings. Well done.

bertolucci (12022) 2005-01-21 17:32

Indeed outta focus and noisy, Rinie....but this is indeed no prob 'cause this shot is so atmospheric and appealing! Love the very well conveyed retro feel of it. The compo is spot on - the bike/sidecare led into the pic thru the curved road.

cgrindahl (6109) 2005-01-21 21:16

You did a wonderful job rescuing this photo with your post-processing work. Of course, you won't be offended if I play with it a bit. I want to try a bit tighter composition and see what a touch of color would do to age this image. See what you think good friend.

[workshop] [compare] +

flydragon (0) 2005-01-22 4:05

Hello Rinie
i like the mood of thus pics ;o)
good choice about the square frame.
i like the grain maybe your pics need
a bit more contrast.
have a nice weekend Rinie ,o)
••simon••

bfly (5737) 2005-01-23 5:25

hi Rinie,
different picture from you :)..I liked the composition and feeling very much..I guess the grains you added took away some of the contrast (as spread over blacks too..)..I recommend to spread them on different lit zones in different sizes (resizing the pic back and forth)...
hugs
fusun

sohrab (7423) 2005-02-18 3:27

the quality is noce very good, buti still like it a lot
too bad they don't have the old riding glasses on :)
have you tried this one with a slight sepia tone to enhance the feel of nostalgia??
take care

jinju (14265) 2005-03-01 20:11

Wow, it truly does have a feel of a very old photograph. Everything from the technical side to the subjects. I like it eventhough its a bit blurry.