L Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

I remember, when I was a kid, to wait patiently for the low tide on the hot days of summertime. The sand surface extended then for almost 30km from where I lived down to the South. I would then rush outside to play football with the kids from the neighbourhood.

If I close my eyes, I can still feel today the touch of the wet sand against my feet naked skin as I was running after the ball, letting my instincts run free. The smell and the sound of the Atlantic Ocean are still around, sometimes, before I close my eyes at night. Since then, civilization took over our lives, consolidating its process as it does with every man and woman. So much distance in between as if our social educational process would tear us apart from the basics of our human inner expression. The more we tend towards a “civilized” world, and the more we seem to become like schizoids unable to take full advantage of our human dimension potential. Shadows of our own selves.

I took this photo in my hometown, where I grew up. Taken with the memories of an adult man, but with the eyes of a child.

ballyna, starbug, bnallama, emanuela, leonine53, Mapeix-Br, eleparc, pitai, z_nenith, Clairedelune, Oldtree, Quentin, Rinie_Hoff, tjanze, Porteplume, PixelTerror, fixed, nwoehnl, bibiweb, ewag, Fixfocus, isabela_sor, maphoto, elihesamian, jafadabret, alainh, RGatward, recepyuksel, cherryripe, rhizomes, sarju, capthaddock, sined, luisafonso, goodwill, Dari, Telo, ribeiroantonio, broglia has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Zepi (22848) 2005-11-24 15:16

Hello Gal,
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmh !
Très graphique tout ça !
Bien vu le coup de la rotation…
Moi aussi j’en suis tout retourner !
Superbe passage en B&W !
Fidèle à toi-même, tu places la barre très haut !
Superbe graphisme….
Bien joué !
A++
Sébastien

itamaratiya (539) 2005-11-24 15:16

Hey Gal,

Very nice idea, and very good use of B&W. I like the way the light create beautifull shadows on his back.

Very well done,

Itamar

designsoul (21394) 2005-11-24 15:17

Gal, this is BRILLIANT. One of TE's best, ever. A marvellous capture, so many layered, and then there is the twist on it, wondering which is the shadow, which is the real, which is the one that rules our lives, which is vertical, which is horizontal... excellent. Just so superb.
It goes right into my favourites!
Amazing work.
Sarolta

ballyna (1689) 2005-11-24 15:20

gal,
very nice presentation for F;just genius.and the sepia tones add your compo.
regards

Yamada (2309) 2005-11-24 15:29

Great shot. The B&W fits the composition very well. VEry original cropping and good contrasts. Good job.

kaZ (396) 2005-11-24 15:43

Je trouve (comme tout le monde) que cette photo, très graphique, est superbe.

starbug (6924) 2005-11-24 15:47

It was a great pleasure to read your note. the composition, the tnation, the light and the long shadow are wonderful, corresponding with the melancholic mood of the note, and I like the idea of rotating the picture- it's original and places the shadow in focus- the shadow of our own selves which you're writing about, the shadow that becomes dominating and making it vetical makes perfect sense here...
best regards

bnallama (3755) 2005-11-24 15:51

Hi Gal, very thoughtful note.. I miss those my childhood days as well. Sometimes it is good to go back to my memories..

This very graphical shot to go with your lovely note. Bala

pilpel-adom (3016) 2005-11-24 16:05

Good POV, Gal! I like the dramatic shadow and the sephia tonnality which enhances the graphic charcter of this picture!
Great picture!
TFS
Chen

emanuela (1257) 2005-11-24 16:21

very expressive, great and beautiful, so graphical, what a nice warm color and sharpness for this eye from a child and memorie of an adult.
a real artwork
emanuela

onmax (843) 2005-11-24 16:22

Hola Gal Eota, creo que has tenido una buena idea sobre todo para aplicarla a la publicidad, los detalles y colores son muy buenos, tiene muy buena luz y la sombra es interesante.
Pienso igual que como fotografia me gusta mas verla de la forma correcta.
Saludos.

ONMAX

Burnham (2426) 2005-11-24 16:31

Another Gal Eota favorite of mine. I like how send me this secert message by a subtle use of the first letter of my name (Am I pushing it here? ;o) No, it's a beauty and your note however sombre, sentimental an true actually somehow left me slightly uplifted ?!
You truly are one of TE's grand masters :o) I seem unable to bring anything constructive, and now I stooped low enough to take up space pointing it out. have a lovely evening.

dolin (15647) 2005-11-24 17:14

Salut Gal.
Ohhhhh, pas mal vu ce retournement, l'effet est très graphique.
Ca lui donne plus d'ampleur et elle attrape plus l'oeil, c'est très bien pensé.
Ton n/b légérement teinté lui va comme un gant et cette ombre qui contraste à fond ressort à merveille.
Très chouette compo, originale et graphique.
Bien vu
Fred

ALSOM (6616) 2005-11-24 17:16

Hi Gal,

Never trust a shadow, it always gets you more slim that you are ;o) !

Fantastic b/w, a really great idea with the vertical shadow that first attracts your eyes then you are to figure the origin of it.

Lovely composition with the feet prints that spotting the sand.

Thanks for the note, lot of nostalagia.
TFS, Al.

leonine53 (1904) 2005-11-24 17:22

Bonjour Gal,
Très originale ta photo j'aime bien, fallait y penser , ce que tu as très bien fait
Bravo / Marlyse`;-))

Luko (13902) 2005-11-24 17:51

Je suis bien content que tu postes cette photo de dynamitero photographique, "à la Jorrit" on va dire. Je disais, il n'y a pas plus tard que deux minutes à Maciek, que je trouvais TE bien morne ces temps-ci, bien prévisible... ça me fait plaisir de te voir tranquillement bousculer l'embourgeoisement des notables... peu de photographes auraient osé cette présentation!

Bon après, les apprentis tilteurs, ils peuvent se rhabiller : m'sieu Gal c'est du 90 degré horaire ou ça ne l'est pas ... ça pose son homme, quand même, pentu et goutu... c'est comme le rhum : à moins de 51 degrés c'est pour les caves ou les fiottes, tous les Bacardi de l'univers, y peuvent bien se taper le Coke par terre. Vous vouliez un truc VRAIMENT innovant?...et bien tâtez moi les deltoides de cette rotation vignettée à la main. Une bonne photo bien rafraichissante comme un coup de pied dans les c....

D'ailleurs, le tilt, il s'en cogne Gal, il a fait ça les yeux fixés sur l'horizon, sans même y penser, parce qu'il sait que ça ne nourrit pas son intellect... continue donc à nous faire des photos intelligentes!

Mapeix-Br (251) 2005-11-24 18:07

Great Job! What a sence o opportunity you have! Whith your permission, I will add it to my favourite pictures!

eleparc (24059) 2005-11-24 18:44

tres bien trouvé gal! tu mets le spectateur en lévitation;-)) photo simple mais si percutante! bravo
Eric

vapours (7933) 2005-11-24 19:28

Wow quite an amazing shot. Brilliant quality shot and great artistic appeal.

Homerhomer (4005) 2005-11-24 20:41

Yes, this is truly unique and surprising. The tilt is taken to the next level and works just fine, I don't imagine this image to be horizontal, my neck doesn't want to twist the monitor, I want to look at it the way it is.
He is his shadow, his shadow is him.
Never seen anything like this before.
Bravissimo,
Peter

Clairedelune (4885) 2005-11-24 22:43

Allo Gal,
Après tout ce concert d'éloges, il est difficile d'arriver avec un commentaire original! J'ai vu cette photo dès qu'elle fut postée, mais je n'ai pu écrire. J'étais un peu, comment dire... renversée? J'ai aimé son côté minimaliste, dépouillée, épurée. J'ai aimé ce "L" si graphique. J'ai vibré à ton commentaire nostalgique. Et pourtant, je ne savais qu'écrire. Il y a de ces photos qui nous touchent et nous laissent sans voix, pas parce que c'est un "wow!", mais parce qu'elles soulèvent des mots qu'on a juste envie de se chuchoter en-dedans de soi-même. Merci pour cette magnifique oeuvre...
Claire

Oldtree (2457) 2005-11-25 1:58

Very, very, very good idea. High score for idea, photo and title :o). Thanks Gal

Quentin (5278) 2005-11-25 2:24

Salut Gal
C'est superbe, grande idée d'avoir tourné l'image! Ca colle parfaitement avec ta belle note. Cette ombre immense nous replonge dans la vision du monde que peut avoir un enfant. Ton image me rappelle une scène de Peter Pan. Bravo!
A bientôt
Quentin

geist_21 (652) 2005-11-25 2:45

Hum... I am still not very sure if I like the angle how you put this photo. The length of the shadow, the composition and colours you chose makes already a very good photo. For the perspective you used, it is bold, and it took sometime to look at it, but in the end, well... you won, I like it!

Rinie_Hoff (9334) 2005-11-25 3:14

Bonjour Gal, I bow at such a creative and beautiful image. I love you for these renewing angles, and in your note you're top of the bill. That's when you're at your best! This one gets a nice place among my favorite other pictures.
Your note is nice to read, and I can imagine it so well. For years I could taste again the salt water of the South China sea, when re-living fond memories.
Thanks, Gal for this highly creative image.

Furachan (0) 2005-11-25 3:24

Voila du brillant indiscutable, c'est presque affolant comme perspective, et comme le dit si bien Luko, nous autres tilter amateurs (forgettabaoutit!). Une image d'une originalite extreme mais non moins intelligente, sans parler des superbes tonalites NB, un peu sepia...Je me demandais quand tu allais poster, et bien, bravo, Gal, tu nous epates!
Amicalement,
Francis

ishai (4093) 2005-11-25 3:25

What a clever presentation, Gal
Just so simple but very special somehow
I like the play with shadpws and light
And this is very good too
Ishai

... later

Porteplume (3257) 2005-11-25 4:33

I was already getting a bit seasick of all the "artistics tilts" and now this one made me fall.. :o) - As for this rotation, I would have placed it on TrekLens though.

Wonderful note. But I just feel very stupid... Because I've copied the picture and rotated back and I prefered it the "ordinary way"! Sharp, smooth, timeless, intriguing, in the 90 degres rotation : questionning, provocating? ;o)

In one single word - when levelled - GREAT!

* Mais, pour faire ouvrir les thumbnails, comme l'a dit quelqu'un avant moi "Il fallait y penser" :o)))

naxius (16679) 2005-11-25 6:44

Salut Gal,
Alors puisque le dit Luko; c'est une photo intelligente qui permet de se sentir plus intelligent visiblement. Ce qui est sûr c'est que ca ne laisse pas indifférent. Pour ma part, je ne suis pas complètement convaincu de l'intelligence de la photo mais il faut dire que j'ai encore beaucoup à apprendre, alors je regarde, je me laisse bousculer et au bout de 5 mns, j'ai mal au cou à force de tourner la tête! Merci Gal.
Alex

pitai (3925) 2005-11-25 7:42

hello Gal,

great creativiy here. I love that long shadow and perspective. Is original, very well composed, and makes you rotate your head to take a pick of the other angle. lol!!!

Very well done,

Gabriel

jcandeli (40) 2005-11-25 9:59

very clever! LOVE the vignetting! Very sharp with nice sepia tones. Great idea. Nicely done! JP

fixed (3831) 2005-11-25 11:21

hello Gal
COOL que tu postes !!
je dois dire que j'étais triste ;) ces derniers temps de ne pas te voir poster ! ;))
J'aime l'anti-conformisme
c'est donc une photo qui me plait ...
toute l'attention va cette ombre aux allures néandertaliennes, c'est un peu le reflet de l'Homme que l'on voit ici ;) ...
bref, merci de nous surprendre !
bravo
Arnaud

nwoehnl (120) 2005-11-25 15:40

Hi Gal. One of the best shots I have seen on TE lately - pretty much the exact opposite of what I usually do, but I guess that's one of the reasons I like it so much. The photo would already be a fine composition when presented "conventionally", but turning it 90° to get the L-shape is a brilliant idea that obviously enhances the graphical aspect of the guy's long shadow at the best. The tonal range found in the b&w is great, too. Congrats.

PAJ (143) 2005-11-25 16:15

Original and surprising. Simple form and colours give very nice impresion.
Best wishes,
Ola

ewag (94) 2005-11-25 16:30

Impressed I am! not only by the composition but also by the note. imressive. i'm speechless

Fixfocus (9377) 2005-11-25 16:55

Wonderful work Gal,this is no tilt this is
creativity at it´s best.Superb tonal range and graphism too.
regards,
Hermann

partha (13677) 2005-11-25 20:54

I can ony say it a Extraordinary shot.
u have really a good eye.

maphoto (8076) 2005-11-25 23:55

Hi Gal, a very nice and creative composition, great graphic and wonderful conversion, all perfect, congrats on this one, beautiful, thanks for sharing.

PixelTerror (87137) 2005-11-26 4:38

Salut Gal,
Ben ca alors c'est du tilt qui dechire !
Des fois il faut pas grand chose, juste la bonne idee au bon moment pour faire la difference et ca donne le resultat que je contemple maintenant, comme les autres j'applaudis !
Bon week end,
Jean-Yves

elihesamian (26091) 2005-11-26 6:20

...with the eyes of a child...
This is great words in your note and here about the shot,and this made me nostalgic a lot,really a fine artistic and deep work you did in this point,excellent medium you drew and managed (sepia),and very well seen as a child's eyes to the world,great sharpness,excellent contrast and ...nicely composed,Congratulation Gal!

Yours
M

bibiweb (8) 2005-11-26 11:32

Salut Gal,
Contente de te retrouver sur TE!
Géniale l'idée d'avoir tournée cette image de 90°.
J'adore le résultat!!!
La conversion en B&W est superbe aussi, mais ça, ça fait longtemps qu'on sait que tu maîtrises cette technique!
Je te souhaite un bon week-end.
Brigitte

jafadabret (40601) 2005-11-26 11:42

Gal, cette photo est en même temps très belle et très humouristique. Notre ombre nous donne souvent une image idéale, ici on dirait que l'ombre est du Brancusi alors que l'homme qui est à l'origine paraît plus ordinaire.

alainh (35391) 2005-11-27 16:30

Bonjour Gal
certains ont un style, une signature et tu fais partie de ceux que je pourrais reconnaitre sans que soit affiché ton nom sous la photo.
que dire de plus, c'est bougrement bien pensé et non moins bien réalisé.
bravo et bonne semaine à toi.
alain

RGatward (19751) 2005-11-27 17:29

Haha Gal, good to you back after such a long break, with this very orginal shot. Oh, some days ago, I missed it.

cgrindahl (6109) 2005-11-28 14:26

Wow! This is really a statement Gal, a creative exercise built upon a leap of imagination. This photo would have been distinctive even without the rotation you chose. That decision raises the level of excellence considerably, a fact certainly confirmed by the fine response the image has justly received. When coupled with your beautiful note, at once self revealing and insightful of the human condition, the whole exercise becomes worthy of celebration. Ironically, the exercise is an antidote to the anomie of which you speak in your note. It is the creative instinct that rises above the mundane that envelopes us so easily. Hallelujah for that! You have a fine eye Gal, as well as excellent skills with both camera and computer. You're investment in both camera and lenses is producing wonderful dividends. Thanks for sharing your work with us all.

momo80 (847) 2005-11-29 9:05

Photo très artistique et très graphique j'aime beaucoup. L'ombre est devenu humaine et l'homme c'est changer en ombre. Très belle effet.

Merci du partage

recepyuksel (17786) 2005-11-29 17:03

simply-neat-sensitive...
very well done..
regards.

Luan (15935) 2005-12-04 8:51

Hello Gal,
un compos destabilisante, je dis bravo pour avoir su rendre une image qui etait a l'origine belle, encore plus belle est atypique. Je n'ai qu'un mot : SUPERBE
Amities
Luan

rosiegirl (2042) 2005-12-05 18:45

This really is an amazing photo. I would have never thought to have the shadow standing upright, and the man a result of it in a different demention. I like the tone your put over the b&w- really great job.
Rosie

flydragon (0) 2005-12-07 12:29

hello Gal
un peu tard ;o)
mais pas besoin de mon commentaire pour dire
que cette photo est vraiment bien vue
un travail de qualité et tres original
j'aime bcp ce noir et blanc au tons chauds ;o)
y a tjrs des gars qui triche avoir une ombre plus grande
que soit ;o) vue ma taille je devrai y penser
a plus GAl
bonne soirée
••simon••

maciekda (19599) 2005-12-07 13:24

ok Gal, let me make it a 100shot. very nice image, even if each time I look at it I tilt my head to the right. very aesthetic work

cherryripe (19237) 2005-12-11 12:14

Bonsoir Gal
Excellente idée de nous présenter cette photo dans ce sens car c'est très dynamic. Comme grandir et perdre quelques kilos en même temps. I like the textured sand too.
Nikki

Cpamoi (10329) 2005-12-20 2:09

Hello Gal,

superbe, graphique à souhait, vraiment très bien pensé j'aime beaucoup.. à quand le reste de l'alphabète..

Raphaël

rhizomes (15325) 2006-01-04 13:06

Hi Gal,
Very new impressive picture !!
Very poetic note and good choice of the B/W !
Great and simple idea to put the picture in portrait format !
Christophe

sarju (5308) 2006-01-11 15:52

Excellent work here.
I am very impressed with the way your mind visualized and executed this photo.
congratulations
cheers ... sarju
PS: Sorry, there is no drawback that I can find in this photo, i can just let you know my appreciation .. thanks for sharing this

Abadpour (49) 2006-01-20 10:02 [Comment]

Show Comment

capthaddock (28640) 2006-01-25 11:11

Hi Gal - brilliant, simply brilliant, very creative work of art and the sort of idea that would never have ocurred to me. The position of the arm's shadow creates a trully bizarre side effect. Excellent meaningful note as wel.

toni_al (15476) 2006-01-26 17:39

Salut Gal
Tout a ete dit, dans le sens normal une photo sans autre, mais avec cette rotation c'est du delire elle prend toute autre dimension. GENIAL
TOni

joseelias (367) 2006-02-01 11:21

Já há algum tempo que ando para criticar esta imagem, pois para além de ser muito interessante faz-me lembrar outra bastante semelhante aqui posta no TE à muito tempo. Para além de bem visto, as tonalidades e a suavidade da imagem são muito boas. Boa nota.

Dá uma olhada nos links abaixo:

A tal foto semelhante:
http://pt.trekearth.com/gallery/Europe/Portugal/photo31930.htm

E uma no mesmo estilo e uma das mais engraçadas que alguma vez vi no TE, especialmente por causa do titulo:
http://pt.trekearth.com/gallery/Europe/Portugal/photo32151.htm

sined (4483) 2006-02-01 11:28

merci pour ces mots de lumiere ...

cobraphil8 (11652) 2006-02-09 4:24

Fabuleuse idée et réalisation, je m'empresse de la rajouter au thème graphisme car elle a toute sa place dedans...
Il me semble que quelqu'un avait fait toute une exposition avec les lettres de l'alphabet, mais je ne sais plus qui?
Félicitations
Philippe

everlasting (10942) 2006-02-09 7:13

The one thing I like about TE is suddnely findign someone new, for soem reason I have never really seen your gallery but now.........you have great artistic appeal. and this is so simple so graphical, so sybolic. Such nice warm colors and sharpness. What is the shadow and which is the for real?

luisafonso (858) 2006-05-04 9:17

Caro Gal, obrigado pelas palavras que me deixou na minha foto. Não apenas pelo que lá está dito mas principalmente por me ter dado a oportunidade de encontrar a sua fotografia aqui neste espaço tão vasto. Bom, antes de mais vou adicioná-lo aos meus favoritos. A qualidade e a sensibilidade que emprega no seu olhar é realmente fabuloso. Palavras serão poucas neste momento para descrever um sentimento que se quer perene.
No que diz respeito a esta foto em particular há duas vertentes: a qualidade técnica e estética da mesma e aquilo que nos provoca em termos criativos o facto de ela ter sido colocada nesta perspectiva. A composição é belíssima, assim como o é a qualidade da luz e das sombras. Adoro as pegadas na areia, a tonalidade do preto e branco e o grafismo nos calções. Há uma suavidade que me fascina. No que diz respeito à visão de 90º deu-me que pensar... E isso é bom. No fim do dia, gostei do efeito e do que oferece. Permite que brinquemos com a foto, que a queiramos agarrar, que faça parte de nós.
Muito boa mesmo. Obrigado

PS. If by any reason you can't read Portuguese, please drop me a line and I'll translate it for you. Since you write me a note in a so fine Portuguese, I am assuming you can read this too :)

goodwill (4033) 2006-06-04 2:13

Inner expressions! I agree with you. Simple, loving and highly effective portrait.
Regards

rajeev

Dari (24) 2006-06-21 4:54

Wonderful work, Gal. Not much to say.. very atmosperic, very well done, sensual note...great. Masterpiece.
Dari

ribeiroantonio (22054) 2006-07-31 19:03

Estive a ver a tua galeria e só posso dizer que as tuas fotografias são de uma qualidade extrema. Tens-nos mostrado um trabalho excelente. Obrigado por teres comentado uma foto minha. Déste-me assim a oportunidade de te conhecer, o que foi magnífico. Para retribuir a tua amabilidade, escolhi esta maravilha. Foi a que mais me impressionou devido à perspectiva que escolheste. Nunca me passaria pela ideia rodar a imagem e colocar a sombra na vertical. E, a escolha do P&B foi perfeita. Ajuda à sensação de irreal que o conjunto apresenta. Parabéns.
António

Don_Gusti (0) 2006-10-21 6:22

Simply Brilliant Gal :) 100 points for the idea. TFS

Gusti

pgorod (1122) 2006-11-29 12:00

Congratulations Gal for this amazing photo, one of my favorites in TE.

I really like it when photos play with concepts (like the 'L' letter here). I thought one could even try to create photos with other letters and build a series of photos forming a small word.

EDIT: I found a very similar photo here, worth comparing.

claudiaf (4406) 2006-12-02 5:32 [Comment]

Show Comment

diencia (22) 2007-01-20 18:16

Excelente!!!, la idea es muy buena y la foto expresa exactamente lo que nos dices en tu narración.
Muy buen trabajo.
Saludos!
Diego

dumanica (5054) 2007-02-25 8:00

It's a very striking composition in terms of positioninig of object and shadow and the contrasts (size of the actual object and its shadow as well as the vertical position of the shadow compared to horizontal positioning of the object) Duman:)

Ay_Ca (0) 2007-05-20 6:10 [Comment]

Show Comment

rbcy1974 (20746) 2007-07-12 4:39

Bonjour Gal
Superbe composition. L'ide de trourne la orientation de la photo est superbe.
Tres bien fait
A+
Daniel

ninaL (19640) 2009-11-04 3:23

Bonjour, Gal.
Une photo géniale dans sa simplicité.
Le concept est ingénieux : simple mais il faut le trouver...
Une formidable esthétique aussi.
Amitiés, Grazyna.

PainDivine69 (145) 2009-11-04 3:24

Hi Gal,
WOW... a wonderful picture. Great composition and lovely presentation.

Have a nice day! Björn

Photo Information

Copyright: Gal Eota (Galeota) (10334)
Genre: Places
Medium: Black & White
Date Taken: 2005-07-06
Categories: Daily Life
Camera: Canon EOS 350D, Tamron 28-75 f2.8 DI
Exposure: f/6.3, 1/500 seconds
More Photo Info: view
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): Technical, Graphics / Graphisme 1, Twins (IV), Alphabet, Intersting Photo's on TE [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2005-11-24 15:12
Favorites: 18 [view]