The Coin Counter Photo

Photographer’s Note

This scene of a shopkeeper in the Old City in Jerusalem cointing coins attracted me because it combines many timeless elements (a shopkeeper who could have come from a 17th-century Dutch painting) with a few modern elements, like light bulbs and cardboard boxes. That is part of the charm of the Old City.

cjmm, roamermark, Flavia, gilad33, Glint, banyanman, Ramy, rafid76 has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

roamermark (1588) 2006-05-16 14:53

Ken,
I think you are right...this is indeed a timeless shot (apart from the electric light bulb). This is a beautiful environmental portrait that clearly shows the activities of your subject. The soft light is gorgeous and your composition is absolutely top notch.
Cheers
Mark

kevinos (6927) 2006-05-16 15:03 [Comment]

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jkos (981) 2006-05-16 15:09

Nice shot. I love the timeless
atmosphere. And reminds of one
of my shots, of the popcorn sellers.
TFS,
Joel

pastadog (12821) 2006-05-16 15:12

Hi Ken - I love this shot, the light is amazing, and the scene so well seen and captured - and the goods are so typical of the Old City, great! Congratulations, Daniel

delkoo (34754) 2006-05-16 15:32

hi ken

you have done a beautiful shot, the yellow hue from the light makes it timeless.

cheers

didier

deneye (97) 2006-05-16 15:35 [Comment]

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besnard (31064) 2006-05-16 15:35

Bonsoir Ken
Superbe cliché de la vie quotidienne. Le portrait de ce vieil homme est magnifique. On se croit transportés dans un autre siècle.
Merci pour le partage.
Amitiés
Nicole

anesugur (16998) 2006-05-16 15:50

Hi Ken,
Excellent composition.

Light, colors and POV are perfect.
I like it. Uğur

parbo (11006) 2006-05-16 16:13

Hi Ken,

Your scene is like centuries ago. Very mystical and fantastic. Congratulations,

Best Regards,

Parbo

Flavia (10202) 2006-05-16 16:34

Hi Ken,

The light and warm colors here are really beautifull. The soft grain add value to the scene. The compostion is a masterpiece, you caught the man on a precious moment counting his coins.

Regards,

Flavia

phi75 (0) 2006-05-16 17:05

so nice!!! wonderful shot, the ambiance is so good, and this old man, who look at the few coins he got for all the day of work...
thanks for this nice shot!
regards,
philippe

Cormac (26455) 2006-05-16 17:10

Wonderful shot Ken! This definitely has a timeless quality to it, making it appear to be a scene out of the city's long and interesting past. Great work!

euryan (8351) 2006-05-16 17:58

Ken
This looks like something you might find in an old National Geographic magazine. I love it. Nice use of your telephoto zoom to get a good tight crop without disturbing your subject. I really like the warm light from those hanging light bulbs. This is A+ material.
Regards,
Ryan

valdec (7058) 2006-05-16 17:58

Piêkny portret cz³owieka z jego nastrojami spokojem...

AnimeshRay (8886) 2006-05-16 22:05

Absolutely wonderful frame, Ken, a soft and muted portrait. I was going to mention Dutch painting, then I read your comment....I cannot agree more. A sublime photo.

faubry (32417) 2006-05-17 4:58

hello Ken, ici on ressent toute l'ambiance tranquille donnée par cet homme, et els deux ampoules.. belle composition, bravo
francine

devimeuxbe (56334) 2006-05-17 5:10

Hi Ken
The light is fantastic here. The old man seems to be in a bible scene. Very nice and interesting composition.
Congratulation
Bertrand

david (3978) 2006-05-17 9:56

ken! this is awesome! as a composition, this is absolutely amazing. i really like the feel of this shot. i like the light bulbs, they add to the scene.

a very accomplished photo. and yes, quite a romantic and old world view. nice capture!

cjmm (4019) 2006-05-17 11:56

Hi Ken,

I like very much the composition, with the man on one side of the image.

The exposure is also very good, with great light and colors (and coming from film, I love that grainy feel of the '400).

Of course, on top of all technical considerations, the image is great for what it shows (you hit right on the bull's eye with the comments in your note).

Best regards,
Carlos

gilad33 (14094) 2006-05-17 13:10

Wonderful and touching

Glint (3068) 2006-05-17 20:12 [Comment]

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banyanman (7737) 2006-05-22 9:37

This is definitely one of the best you have posted for a while, Ken. Perfect exposure (often difficult to achieve when there are light bulbs in the frame) and excellent composition and DOF. The colours are very natural too. I like the soft light and 'dusty' feel to this. Cheers . . . David

oochappan (22032) 2006-05-23 10:28

Oh that's a beauty, how intens this man is looking to his coins in this moody light with all his colored salesware in perspective.
Outstanding Ken
greetings
Henk

Ramy (771) 2006-05-23 13:38

Hi Ken,
This shot have stunned me. The sharpness of the man and the matching colors are just phenomenal or more commonally said "Out of this world!". Marvelous work!
Regards, Ramy.

lara (915) 2006-05-29 13:20

Wonderful with all those spices around him. The face is great and the way he looks at the coins...
Very well done, Ken!

rafid76 (2611) 2006-10-02 13:48

what a great shot although its a bit noisy.
your note is perfect. one thing i dislike is the light bulb in the shot it completly ruins it.

royh (577) 2006-11-27 1:19

I was actually thinking of the same Dutch (?) painting you mention, of the man and his wife counting coins when I saw this photo. Timeless quality. In my mind I can smell the cumin and hear the noises of these alleyways. TFS,

Roy

tomescuc (2837) 2008-10-22 11:07

This one's a gem. The man's total concetration on his coins, the ambiance and color tones make this a special one.
cheers,
CT