Jumping for joy, a photo from Porto, North

Photographer's Note

This is the Praça da Batalha, Batalha Square, in the Portuguese city of Porto.

The 18th century church is called Igreja de Santo Ildefonso, but while I wanted to use it as a background for the photo I was mainly interested in the people standing by the fountain in the square.

It was to be just another street shot and I don't think I actually noticed that a little boy was jumping to the ground during the split second when I took the photo.

But here he is, hanging for ever in the air. He's been there for more than 27 years now, since this happened in late summer of 1984.

I scanned this from a Kodachrome slide.

Sonata11, tyro, abmdsudi, annjackman, vasilpro, Budapestman, bayno, Kielia, ourania, bukitgolfb301, mkamionka has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

dale54 (5010) 2012-04-21 12:11

gert hi,very good pic for being scanned,like this scene alot,with that fantastic church in BG!nice color in this! tfs! dr

agjika (4103) 2012-04-21 13:30

Hi Gert,

Very nice photo. I actually like the oldy tones they give the photo a more timeless look. I like the atmophere very relaxed and people seem to have plenty of time. I wonder if the have as much time these days?

Thanks for sharing

Aleks

Sonata11 (28758) 2012-04-21 14:17

Hello Bert,
you captured this scene and architecture beautifully and flawlessly. I like when you catch the boy in the air. Wonderful colors, sharpness, clarity, light POV and DOF as well. A very elegant photo you posted today. An excellent work. I love the calm atmosphere in this image. Perfectly well done.
All the best and have a nice WE,
Barbara

siamesa (27455) 2012-04-21 16:05

Boa noite Gert

I like the jump of that boy. Very beautiful church. Excellent composition.TFS
Abraços
maria

tyro (13585) 2012-04-21 17:40

Hello Gert,

Is it not indeed amazing that photography can really capture just a tiny moment in time which has existed for perhaps just a fraction of a second so many years ago? The memory capabilities of the human brain are miraculous but our memories are tempered, modified and enhanced with time and no-one could ever remember an incident such as this! Nor in such detail.

And just look - not only is the boy in the foreground jumping but there's another young fellow climbing out of the fountain in the background too!

A fantastic capture of a tiny moment in time! And, of course, an excellent scan of the faithful Kodachrome. Wonderful colours, contrasts and details and just so fascinating!

Wonderful!

Kind Regards,

John.

P.S. Do you ever think how wonderful it would be if we could see digital images of Caesar's invasion of Gaul or his defeat of Carthage? Or Nero's rebuilding of Rome? Or any other moment in time so long ago?

abmdsudi (27118) 2012-04-21 20:41

Hi Gert
Another good old photo, just one more of your quality scans again depicting a daily life scene there, quite sharp and good colors. Males only spot it seems crowding the fountain but you have made the back drop as strong focal. I particularly like the detail on the igreja even from this pov it is pretty visible and the blue color is a very nice touch, but equally exciting too is the foreground with lots happening there. Not one but two boys are frozen there and they color this shot the kind of street photo worth analyzing; their features, clothing, hair style, the atmosphere and of course the charm and character of this place. It must be very memorable experience, good or bad you see it all. My pleasure to view yet another good documentary shot. Congrats. Have a good Sunday.

P/S We use the similar word Gereja for Igreja just for your infor.

Warm Regards

annjackman (13463) 2012-04-21 22:37

Hello Gert,
It is good that you have such a wealth of interesting images from the pre-digital era. A lovely moment captured with the boy jumping - well done.
Kind Regards, Ann

vasilpro (40233) 2012-04-22 1:56

Hello Gert,
Beautiful photo from the old days with film cameras, a very nice scenery, TfS!
Have a nice Sunday, Vasilis.

Nard (6915) 2012-04-22 3:34

Hi Gert
A beautiful typical architecture with nice colors on it and a daily life scene where evverything looks very quiet. But effectively the principal subject is the kid who seems flying. A shot done at the right moment.
Regards
Bernard

saxo042 (31862) 2012-04-22 8:08

Hej Gert,
A funny capture of this little boy. May he is a member of TE today and will see this picture. I guess you aimed your camera against the beautiful church in the background and obviously found the persons here to be more interesting. A fine snapshot!
Hälsningar
Gunnar

wolf38 (28300) 2012-04-22 10:05

Hello Gert. This blue-painted tiles are typical of Portugal. Finally, I have admired those tiles on the island of Madeira. The Fountain Square attracts people like a magnet. Above all, children have fun. The movement of the bouncing boy seems frozen. Overall, a remarkable and vivid picture from the last millennium :-))
Rgds, Wolfgang.

Nicou (98775) 2012-04-22 11:59

Hlelo

fantastique cadrage et compo sueprbe vue et iamge avec la fontiane en premier plan et cette église en fond quelle vue e tiamge fantastique captage.

bravo et amitié

Nicou

Budapestman (82620) 2012-04-22 12:39

Hi Gert,
a very lovely daily life photo with superb composition and I like the beautiful architectural details and the attractive POV, full of life atmosphere, Tfs! Have a nice Sunday! Kellemes Vasárnapot kívánok!
György

bayno (16423) 2012-04-22 14:05

Ciao Gert,
beautiful cathedral and excellent depth to be able to see well, the scene reminds me a little of my childhood when the fountains of Rome was full of kids make bath, including myself, many details but all in the right places, good work like always...
warm regards,
Valter

batalay (32930) 2012-04-22 20:07

Hello Gert,

I thought this was Porto the moment I saw it. Last summer on August 4th we visited the charming city on hills, and high bridges, but where the most memorable site became the Lello and Irmao Bookstore. In your shot showing a lazy scene around the fountain, you have indeed frozen time. The boy who you caught in mid air must have been about ten then, and would have been 37 now.

Warm regards,

Bulent

kato (7086) 2012-04-22 22:13

Hello Gert,

You're capturing well this daily life shot by a good composition, so it's impressive to see the spectacle that people are gathering around the fountain in the square. The adult are watching and the children are playing happily. You catch well the moment a child jumps down, too. And, it's impressive in old church in behind with interesting design.

Kind regards,
mikio

Glint (5579) 2012-04-23 2:21

Hello Gert, I was about to congratulate you on your good reflexes at catching the jumping boy, then I read that you were unaware of his jump at the time. So a lucky shot. But it is worth congratulating you for finding such an interesting an relaxed seeming place.As someone as already noted, this is the place for the men and boys to hang out. No doubt the women were busy shopping etc.The church makes a good bg to the fg interest and its blue an intersting contrast.
best regards,
Bev

Kielia (20657) 2012-04-24 3:28

Dear Gert,
what a wonderful document of a lifestyle! The composition is excellent and it is a pleasure to see how the children are enjoying themselves. The title is also very nice. Thanks for sharing!
Warm regards
Harriet

John_F_Kennedy (41368) 2012-04-24 3:41

Hello Gert,
An interesting photo with an interesting church as well. Good capture of this scene.
best wishes,
Achim

patdeph (35738) 2012-04-24 13:13

hello Gert
it's what I try to do as often as possible, to use a beautiful monument to give a background for the street scene, and you have done it perfectly here.The boy whi is jumping adds something funny to the scene.Very well done.
Regards
Pascale

TopGeo (38000) 2012-04-26 11:28

Hello Gert! Excellent idea this composition with a square and characteristic architecture of blue-painted tiles are typical of Portugal
A great photographer said, and here I will talk then silence!
"You do your work as a photographer and everything becomes past. Words are more like thoughts; the photographer's picture is always surrounded by a kind of romantic glamor - no matter what you do, and how you twist it."
Robert Frank
Best regards
Georgios

ourania (13085) 2012-04-29 11:36

Hello Gert,
I really love this picture for the well composed view of the square and the lovely and interesting architecture around it, for its colours that bring us to the past (I think the cloudy day and the lighting give it a timeless quality)but above all for the people's leisurely attitude towards life and time. They are people of different ages, at different postures sharing this lovely moment that you've captured. They are all at ease, none of them posing. Such pictures seem insignificant at the time of capture but become priceless with time. The clear view of all kinds of details is marvellous. Well done and thank you!
All the best, have a great week,
Ourania

bukitgolfb301 (30401) 2012-04-29 17:14

Hello my dear Gert

I overlooked this wonderful image shot! Perfect framework and great compostion via wisely using the round fountain! Wonderful color tasete and much day lights are as usual. Thanks for your sharing with your best job and have a good start of new week, best regards,

Takero from Tokyo

mkamionka (24808) 2012-04-30 10:19

Hi Gert,
I really enjoy your series of archival photos. Looking at the date it seems it happened not such a long time ago but we can clearly spot the difference in style of clothes. I have been in this place but I don't remember it so well to compare to the more recent times. I am sure people who are from Portugal will be able to tell what has changed since that time.
Excellent photo, I like very much the people and the variety of their activities around the fountain.
M

macjake (39998) 2012-05-11 21:53

Hi Gert
how could anyone not enjoy this photo from the past!
I'm surprised that its actually from the 1980's, it looks older than that.
good timing to have the boy high up in the air, in fact I think he's the tallest person in the scene :)
love the architecture and its rustic nature.
cheers
craig

papera (13760) 2012-05-12 11:44

hanging in there for 27 years... if that's not an achievement, I don't know what is :)
you took this picture in 1984 but it looks more like a scene from the '70s - but I guess in those years Portugal was just coming out of their decade-long dictatorships and what I associate with the"looks" and the fashion of the '80s had not set foot in Portugal yet...
the jumping boy is surely the most eye-catching detail here - but we also have the kid in swimming trunks climbing the fountain, the balding man in those unflattering cream clothes, Mr. I-love-bluejeans on the right... plenty of locals to fill up the foreground and keep the viewer busy :)
have a good weekend,
c.

pitai (3979) 2013-02-02 3:11

didnt knew there was a fountain in that area. love this kind of pictures because it makes you travel back in time. so colorful and alive. so many things going on at the same time. TFS.
Will go there and try to make a frontal picture to compare how it looks now. hehehe.