Morning Full of Wine Photo

Photographer’s Note

I like to walk over the Danube to the Market Hall, built by architect Samu Petz in the then fashionable Eiffel style in 1896, when I am visiting my parents in Budapest. The upstairs section, where no fruits or vegetables are sold, houses numerous stalls where wine and hard drinks are being sold from the crack of dawn. The men I found there early in the morning looked like they were regulars needing a glass of white wine at sunrise...
(I've uploaded the colour version in the Workshop.)

"Inside a broken clock
Splashing the wine
With all the Rain Dogs
Taxi, we'd rather walk.
Huddle a doorway with the Rain Dogs
For i am a Rain Dog, too."
-- from Rain Dogs by Tom Waits

I'd like to dedicate this shot to the mightily talented Maciej Dakowicz (maciekda) and because of this theme, particularly to his outstanding shots of the Glamorgan County Club in Cardiff.

delnaja, nwoehnl, pasternak, abulafia, devimeuxbe, broglia, bombilla, luisafonso, eleparc, tcht, bostankorkulugu, mpdre, rigoletto has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

delnaja (7708) 2007-10-21 5:47

Hello Sasa,
this light is really superb... and I really like the background, and specially the shadow on the left part.
A great b&w image as usual...
Take care
Fred

nwoehnl (118) 2007-10-21 5:49

Very nice one, Sasa, long time no see. So you went back to Budapest again. An exquisite interplay of light and shadows here, with the guy's interesting face shown beautifully amidst the classic architectural elements of the market hall. One more time I marvel at the way in which you do your b&w conversions, this one looks wonderful. Like a movie still from the 1950s in a way, lovely work.

pasternak (12964) 2007-10-21 5:51

Fantastic light on his face, Sasa, great use of light not only for that but also for this shadow up there...

Cheers
Alexander

abulafia (4802) 2007-10-21 5:53

This is great Sarolta
The light and shadows are really good, and the expression on the guys face is priceless.
Regards
Harry

devimeuxbe (55665) 2007-10-21 5:55

Hi Sarolta
One more interesting and surprising portrait.
The light is nice and well managed.
It's a nice work
Bertrand

Furachan (0) 2007-10-21 6:09

The centralized portrait would have been great on its own, Sasa, but what takes this picture into a whole other realm is the shadwo uper left...OUCH! This is photography and no mistake. Agree with your dedication wholeheartedly - I've been a vocal fan of Maciej's Glamorgan County CLub pics forever...
Great to see ya posting again,
Francis

ninaL (19268) 2007-10-21 6:52

Hi, Sasa.

Beautiful stolen sitution...
Wine in his hand is really impressive-most impressive, IMO, than the market hall wich is certainly an interesting construction and makes your backround very mysterious...
Light is superbe...
Your B&W belongs to the top class.

Best regards. Grazyna.

broglia (3341) 2007-10-21 7:09

Fine addition to your series from Budapest Sasa - a city seemingly full of shadowy characters. And I would agree with Francis that the shadowy figure in the background is the true star of this shot. Masterful management of light. The range of tones & shades in the B&W just puts it ahead of the colour version IMHO. Very best regards, Roberto

bwiti (402) 2007-10-21 7:23

Une question de vin...

Davidh34 (838) 2007-10-21 7:46

Hi Sasa

Excellent control of the light, and play of the shadows.

Azt hiszem hogy a fekete-feher verzio pont jo van. Ez a pasi ugy nezki mint szuksege van alkoholra! Szeretem a pasi hatran az arnyekban is, lehet o is gondolkozik az eletrol.

Regards

David

bombilla (3402) 2007-10-21 8:31

Obviously you know Béla Tarr, Sasa. Well, even if you don't, you do. Must be in the blood. Blood full of Tokaj. Well, I've been in this market and never saw that light, those shadows. It takes Magyarok to see Magyarok. What quiet acceptance of fate, under that lattice of shadows. That spirit is always there, drifting, right into the darkness over the shoulder, beyond reach, but never far away. Best, -Hugh

michiels (4170) 2007-10-21 9:52

hello Sasa,

I like the "oldfashioned look" and the special light. it is like a moviescene with the silhouet of the man in the back.
greetings, inn

chicken (1781) 2007-10-21 13:44

This picture has a fascinating play of light and shadows. I like how the side light gives structure to the mans face, makes his contemplating look very very deep. Even though I'm a great fan of your fine b&w work, I think this time I'm leaning to the color version. While here the background is mere decoration, in the color version it adds two additional subjects to the story: the cool ironwork to the right and the person silhouetted against warm light to the left. Very interesting picture with lots of things to explore.

brevbrev14 (370) 2007-10-22 1:31

Dear Sasa, the light here is wonderful... and also the silhouette of another man in BG....
very good the choice of BW here..
a very good dedication to a great photographer..

ciao!
Valeria

luisafonso (858) 2007-10-22 1:36

Great photo and nicely deserved dedication. I save some precious memories from the Budapest Market Hall so first of all thanks for refreshing them... I like the color version very much but this sasaesque b&w is perfect. The way you played with light is... what to say... perfect. (Gosh, will I stop always saying that in front of your pictures...? Guess not...) The light in his face is very good, everybody must have told you that by now, but the omnipresent shadow on the back is what really strikes me here. How do you do it? Do you have stencils that you glue into your lens everytime you want to take a picture? :))) It's a great portrait. What can I say more...

PS: I may be flying to Canada in November for a business related working week. I don't know the details but I am sure I will have a free Sunday. I think we are going to Toronto. Of course, I would love to meet you. Is that possible?

cbrman (18679) 2007-10-22 2:20

Hello Sarolta,

Une photographie qui semble tout droit sortie d'un film impressionniste !
J'aime beaucoup l'ambiance qui règne ici ! Un très bon portrait noir et blanc !
Bravo !

A+

Dominique

Paolo (40635) 2007-10-22 5:28

Hi Sasa, excellent portrait with a wonderufl game of light & shadows and perfect quality and exposure!
Thanks, ciao

rbcy1974 (20742) 2007-10-22 6:51

HellO Sasa,
Your latest Budapest shots are awesome, they have a certain Dickensian timeless quality to them, excellent management of the light conditions, very well done.
REgards
Daniel
PS I read in one critique of yours that you dream of going to Yemen, I will be going there in the end of the year, feel free to sign up if you want to come

Darren (6815) 2007-10-22 7:39

He reminds me of Alex Baldwin, I am not sure why. Great tones, you sure do monochrome conversions well. I like the shadowy guy in the background a lot, but I have to say I wish the main guy wasn't quite so centered. Not sure how to keep the former while still decentering the latter though.

This version looks miles better than the color version IMO.

eleparc (24059) 2007-10-22 15:27

I like the shadowy figure in the BG and the light on his face and glass! It has a turkish touch...

Eric

tcht (7280) 2007-10-22 16:28

Hi Sasa
what a portrait! u not only caught that amazing light but also, quite importantly, the sihlouette leaving the scene. lovely patterns and textures too in bg...beautifully done
Cheers
CH

bantonbuju (48334) 2007-10-22 23:32

hi sasa,
just outstanding...
the play of light and shadows is exceptional, it really creates an atmosphere of don't-tell-my-wife-i-come-here-so-often conspiracy...
good work,
bw, j.

vapours (7913) 2007-10-24 4:39

Excellent shot Sarolta, such a complex and deep shot with the many shadows and lines in the background. A great portrait.

bostankorkulugu (33330) 2007-10-25 12:19

both versions are good but this is more sarolta of course... i like the light on his face and his hand in the shade... it has your sign written all over it... congrats my friend...

take care...

korkut

mpdre (1585) 2007-10-25 20:14

Dear Sasa,
You make us travel to another époque... Are you sure that you did not go a century back to take this photo?!! This one really makes me think in some characters of Dickens’s novels, maybe under the influence of films like “Great Expectations” by David Lean where the light had a similar dramatic effect. I love the whole scene: the gentleman holding the glass of wine, the room covered by dark shadows, the enigmatic figure in the second floor, the light... A jewel!
Andre

yanseiler (20) 2007-10-26 2:23

Hi Sasa, this is quite nice, a nice play with the shadows and a nice expression, the superb silhouette in the background is a winner... A very nice moody one...

coco (27574) 2007-10-30 1:14

Hi Sasa.

I love how you use the light and the black and white in this photo.
That man looks great and also the expression in his face.

Great work.
Thanks for sharing.

rigoletto (25934) 2007-11-10 16:14

From the thumbnail, i thought it was the wax statue of Abraham Lincoln. Yet it is found out that the shadow on his face made me misjudge already :))
Whoever he is, wherever he is, are of less importance when you consider the atmosphere. He looks like Bilbo Baggins, and the shadow should belong to Frodo, who is trying to hide the ring from him. There is a definite "Shire" atmosphere in it. And yeah, i like it.
Cheers,
Deniz