Tropical Venice Photo

Photographer’s Note

That image was took during a daily tour of the Mekong Delta with a long-boat.
In the Delta there are few roads. The channels are the streets and the biggest ones are the highways.
People live in and with the river: houses are built on the river, the water of the Mekong is used for all what they need.

*Scanned image*

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The Mekong is one of the world's major rivers. It is the 12th-longest in the world, and the 10th-largest by volume (discharging 475 km³ of water annually). It drains an area of 795,000 km². The extreme seasonal variations in flow and the presence of rapids and waterfalls have made navigation extremely difficult.
The river's source, and therefore its exact length, is uncertain, due to the existence of several tributaries in an inaccessible environment. Chinese researchers believe that the source is located in the Jifu Mountains in Zaduo County, Yushu Tibet Autonomous Prefecture of northwest China's Qinghai Province, which is some 5,200 meters above sea level. An earlier expedition, led by Michel Peissel, placed the source at the head of the Rupsa-La pass (further west, at an altitude of 4975 meters). Figures for the river's total length therefore vary between 4350 and 4909 km.
The river next forms the border between Myanmar and Laos for 200 km, at the end of which it meets the tributary Ruak River at the Golden Triangle. This point also marks the division between the Upper and Lower Mekong.
The river then divides Laos and Thailand, before a stretch passing through Laos alone. It is known as Mènam Khong in both Lao and Thai (แม่น้ำโขง). The Lao stretch is characterised by gorges, rapids and depths of as little as half a meter in the dry season. It widens south of Luang Prabang, where it has been known to flood to 4 km in width and reach 100 meters in depth, although its course remains extremely inconsistent. The endangered Giant Mekong Catfish was traditionally caught in this region once yearly, following auspicious rites officiated by the quondam royal family.
The river again marks the Lao-Thai border in the stretch which passes Vientiane, followed by a short stretch through Laos alone. This includes the Si Phan Don (four thousand islands) region above the Khone Falls near the Cambodian border, where endangered dolphins can be viewed. The falls are all but impassable to river traffic.
In Cambodia, the river is called the Mékôngk or Tonle Thom (great river). The Sambor rapids above Kratie are the last to impede navigation. Just above Phnom Penh is the confluence with the Tonle Sap, the main Cambodian tributary. Below Phnom Penh, it divides into the Bassac and the Mekong proper, which both flow into the Mekong Delta in Vietnam, near Ho Chi Minh City. In Vietnamese it is the Sông Lớn (great river), Cửu Long (nine dragons river) or Mê Kông.

From Wikipedia

arindam_thokder, gaby, Bien, fabio_ts, Gix, alejandroguzman, riclopes, oochappan, john_c, banyanman has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Bien (4727) 2005-11-23 4:01

Buon Giorno Paolo, What a absolutely terrific image! I very much like the mood you created here colourwise; it's all very mysterious and gives you a perfect sense of the rhythm of life along the channels of the Mekong river. This scene also has an exciting, adventurous jungle look. I also like the reflection of the man's white shirt in the river and the composition is truly perfect here. Masterly done! Sabine

barrufeto_77 (25809) 2005-11-23 4:03

Ciao Paolo.

Simply impresive daily life picture.

The colors are superb (and the note as well)

Regards, Oscar

Luan (15935) 2005-11-23 4:05

Good one Paolo, I like this emerald color tone. There is a nice blurry effect also, it gives to your composition a special atmospher for a beautiful place.
Well done
Luan

dolin (15647) 2005-11-23 4:20

Hi Paolo.
Mmmhhhh c'est doux, ca a un côté "rêve" et ces tons verts donne une ambiance spéciale qui me plait bien. Un joli cadrage sur cette belle scène de vie, avec cet homme en blanc qui contraste au milieu de ces teintes.
Belle prise.
Fred

fabio_ts (13674) 2005-11-23 4:32

Bellissima immagine Paolo, la palafitta con l'omino intento a lavare i panni completamente incurante del fatto che lo stai fotografando, ...ottimo lavoro, ...da National Geographic.. :o)
buona giornata,
Fabio.

jinju (14265) 2005-11-23 5:21

This one is grat for me compositon wise Paolo. I love these kinds of photos where the background is shot tight like this. No sky, nothing but house. With my old Sony I was forced to do this as I couldnt get any bokeh so I had to use the background effectively. Now I can create bokeh but it seems the Sony trained my eye for this kind of background and I still look for it;) Super colors too, I must say that your recent scans have been really good.

gaby (19793) 2005-11-23 7:24

Paolo bonjour - splendide image très mystérieuse avec des couleurs glauques - c'est vrai qu'en afrique, on a les mêmes problèmes avec les fleuves et les rivières -
Merci et bonne journée
Gaby

arindam_thokder (3946) 2005-11-23 8:17

Hello Paolo,

Nice Composition, I like the greenish tone through out this picture. The tree almost coming out of the house, and the old man probably washing his cloth, or catching fish.

Excellent capture.

Arindam

Gix (3559) 2005-11-23 10:12

Ciao Paolo,
vedo che anche tu hai trovato il modo di coinvolgere... la Serenissima!
Caspita, questa sì che è parità dei sessi, ho però dei dubbi sui risultati per la biancheria... ;D))
Ottima immagine, curata e molto ben bilanciata nella composizione. Lo scanner ruba un po' di dettagli nelle ombre, ma non toglie l'impatto visivo.
Eccellente lavoro, thanks!
Giorgio

starbug (6924) 2005-11-23 10:25

hi Paolo, I really like the dominating green tonation here, the colours almost seem to melt to each other. the photo looks also a little , just a little misty, and that creates a great atmosphere...wet, humid, tropical...great composition too, I really like it:-)
greetings
Aleksandra

Graal (57995) 2005-11-23 14:18

Hi Paolo,
interesting view from Vietnam. Nice colours, it's as painted image. Good note. I like it.
Rgs, Aleksander

rbcy1974 (20742) 2005-11-23 17:41

Hi Paolo
I love the prevailing colour in this picture,
the man is very well placed as and the background house is very well caputred,
very well done
regards
Daniel

Zepi (22848) 2005-11-23 18:04

Hello Paolo,
Belle lumièpre du soir!
Chouette scène!
J'aime ce rendu sur l'eau
Beau travail
Merci pour le partage
Amicalement,
Sébastien

dsidwell (9745) 2005-11-23 18:17

I enjoy the gentleness of this scene, Paolo. The scene is mostly devoted to the river and the structures, but the man is there on the right, doing his everyday business. Very nice.

riclopes (33003) 2005-11-24 3:29

Hi Paolo,
Hi love this kind of daily shots by the river. It's one of the images that I have in my had from Asia is seeing people squatting down by the river, in front of their houses. Actually you made me remember one shot I've got from Thailand...
Anyway, the atmosphere of your shot is great, with a nice lighting. Very well captured and composed. Good work!
Thanks,

Have a nice day,
Ricardo

carobnica (1336) 2005-11-24 7:06

what to say paolo.this is magical photo. this is the feeling that it gives me. almost unreal place on the earth. I guess this is cause all this beautiful and a bit blurish colors.
wonderful shot,
ciao
ana

oochappan (22032) 2005-11-24 21:27

I like here this dominating green colortone Paolo of this almost mysterious scene of this man well placed in the frame with his house in the background, a very pleasing readable shot.

TRASH (0) 2005-11-26 10:06

Had the sharpness been better and the color of thatch roof accurate, this is the kind of photograph we only see in National Geographic Magazine shot by masters of photography.

Thank you.

john_c (24635) 2005-11-26 10:58

Hi Paolo,
What a fascinating shot! Despite the low light conditions, you captured great ambience here and fine detail of ordinary life on the river. This shot exemplifies your point about living on and literally in the river. I really like the POV here, the play of light and shadows, and the positioning of the man in the frame. First rate work, Paolo. Regards.
John

eloisa (182) 2005-11-28 3:03

che ambiente!!!!!!
bella reazione. ottimo scatto.

banyanman (7716) 2005-12-16 12:32

You have captured some lovely soft colours and light here, Paolo, as well as the atmosphere of these river bank communities. I like your framing and the interesting reflections of the garment that the man is washing in the river. Cheers . . . David

DizzyMonk (0) 2006-03-22 19:12 [Comment]

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fiedziu (1762) 2007-04-06 2:16