"Always Clean Your Hands Before Meals" Photo

Photographer’s Note

The 5th post of a series with Zelal, one of my favourite child models in a little village close to the Armenian border (NB : if you click on the next photo, you'll be guided to the 4 other ones and finally come back to this image).
(Not totally satisfied and I see now little mistakes that I should have corrected ! I had to de-tilt a bit but decided not to crop and to leave all the surroundings as I thought they are interesting).

I was the guest of the family for 3 days, they are not poor at all, it is only that the kitchen, the sink etc are not the place the most important to be decorated - in one of the other posts, you can see a part of the living room (behind is not a bedroom, but a sort of storage ; the house compound is quite big).

This family is now spending its first winter in Ankara to be near all the sons (including the husband of the woman here) who work in the construction business ; they had just sold their big herd of cows (price was not good I was told, too many animals sold together), to buy an appartment in the suburbs of the capital : winter is too harsh in those high altitudes. Still, they'll return for the summer and they keep a huge nostalgia for the village of their birth ! (I heard this many times from migrant workers in cities and in Cappadocia) (Lot of intermarriage and consanguinity but as the village is rather big and close to other such villages, there are no health problems unlike in some smaller villages in Cappadocia, for instance).

japiey, siolaw, TopGeo, gelor, adelune, berek, SamB, ChrisJ, delkoo, cknara, feather, hgupta, Dionysos, Glint, manatee, gurselerdener, hispic, cirano has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

japiey (9515) 2008-01-04 6:54

Hi Dear Cath,

Lovely image from life..
Her care and love for her kid is well in frame..
ALL THE BEST FOR YOU..
Take care, enjoy :)

jean paul

gulnilgun (1966) 2008-01-04 7:24

Hello Catherine,
the young woman is so beautiful.. the expression of her face and the child is fascinating,
i love the light, colors, POV and comp of your photo,
really good job,
thanks for sharing,
nilgün

Manamo (3474) 2008-01-04 7:43

Ce que j'aime dans ces photos Catherine, c'est de voir l'environnement dans lequel les gens vivent. Oui, la scène entre les deux est intéressante. Oui, il y a un beau rayon de lumière leur tombant dessus. Mais moi c'est les détails de la pièce qui m'intéressent le plus. Le mur irrégulier, les fils passant dans le plafond, la boîte d'aluminium bleue, le lit par terre dans l'autre pièce, l'évier, le plancher. C'est très différent de ce que nous avons ici, ça m'ouvre les yeux.merci
Au revoir,
Marc

siolaw (25830) 2008-01-04 8:12

Salut Catherine,
Tu nous fais partager l'intimité de cette famille et c'est bien intéressant. La lumière difficile est bien maîtrisée, le cadrage vertical concentre la scène. Tu nous fais découvrir des intérieurs somme toute, assez rudimentaires! ;D
Bonne soirée
Laurent

TopGeo (22181) 2008-01-04 8:43

Hi Cath! Very good your picture and with big extensions. I love this type the receptions that are moments from the daily life, in scenes that creating in my big pain and sympathy, you I praise also you I thank..
Geo,,,

gelor (3224) 2008-01-04 8:50

Bonjour Catherine,
Bonne année 2008. Tu nous fait partager la vie de cette famille ce qui est bien dans l'esprit de TE. Bien vu et bien fait à l'exception de la zone grillée entre les deux personnages que tu pourrais, je pense, rattraper en post traitement. Merci.
Gérard

adelune (2) 2008-01-04 9:24

Formidable! Réellement formidable! Du grand art! Merci de tout coeur Catherine pour toutes ces "merveilles" que tu nous offres! Admiration x2! alain

[workshop] [compare] +

gezimania (5774) 2008-01-04 10:26

Hi Cath,
I wonder if you want the woman not to look directly to the objective. :) I think she's smiling not to be seen as posing, her face is really attractive and the most impressive expression is the little girl's looking, she's so natural although aware of your camera.
The light and colours are so good, congr.
Selnur

gunergok (2332) 2008-01-04 11:03 [Comment]

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Ferrus (787) 2008-01-04 11:56

Hello Cath,
wow, such a wonderful scene...so natural :)
It reminds me on my childhood in Halfeti, really sweet.
Thanks for sharing!
Regards, Ferhat

abdulkadir (2324) 2008-01-04 14:01

Sevgili Catherine merhaba;

bu da diğer kars kareleriniz kadar etkileyici çok hoş bir kare olmuş..ellerini yıkayan genç anne ve genç kız çok hoş bir kompozisyon oluşturmuş..belgesel tadında etkileyici bir kare olmuş..

ellerinize sağlık..

berek (29005) 2008-01-04 14:09

Hi Catherine,
this is realty of life. nice daily life composition and great note. have a nice weekend.
Burak Erek

crckt (7094) 2008-01-04 14:18

Hi Cath,
OH! so cuuute! I love the kid, this is an amazing capture.
Warm regards,
Shaeri

SamB (1948) 2008-01-04 23:24

Hello, Catherine--
Nice work here, you used the ambient lighting well. A nice moment here, although i wish the girl was a little bit less self-conscious. Compositionally, the biggest distraction is the blue triangle to the right of them... other than that, i feel like it tells the story well.
Thanks!
sam

ChrisJ (70443) 2008-01-05 0:46

Salut Catherine

A superb daily life scene that makes you appreciate washing machines & all the other mod cons we take for granted. Good colour, lighting, & sharpness. Good eye contact with the small girl. Tfs!

nirvana73 (8830) 2008-01-05 0:46

Merhaba Catherine
Türkçen çok iyi bence
doğal ve güzel bir kare
herşeye rağmen mutlular (this people are happy after all)
paylaşım için teşekkürler
selamlarımla
Özhan

Silvio1953 (42725) 2008-01-05 0:47

Ciao Caterina, questa è la più carina tra quelle, tutte belle, che hai postato di recente, deliziosa scentea familiare, splendido il soriso della madre ed altrettanto l'espressione della bimba, foto come questa sono una gioia per gli occhi e per il cuore, brava, con Amicizia
Silvio

jonathan_hart (22623) 2008-01-05 1:13

hello Catherine
encore une photo qui nous plonge dans l'intimité des gens, avec une lumière intéressante, même si il y a un morceau de l'image surexposé, qu'est-ce qu'on en a à faire ? c'est authentique, et l'expression de ces deux visages est belle, tout simplement !
jo

faubry (32415) 2008-01-05 1:51

bonjour Catherine, tu entres vraiment dans le vie des gens et c est ce qui me plait, encore un bel exemple ici , cette image a une merveilleuse lumiere naturelle et aussi dans le regard de cette jeune femme; a très bientôt
francine

delkoo (34726) 2008-01-05 1:59

bonjour catherine
encore une scenede vie quotidienne rudement bien réaliseé ou tu nous fais completemnt rentrer dans l'intimité des familles, la technique passant en second plan sur ce genre de sujet descriptif.

didier

hatti52 (12654) 2008-01-05 2:44

Hi Dear Cath,
another lovely image
everybody smiling to you
i think because of you have got kindheart)
ok it is really wonderful
compliments
sevgilerimle

cknara (567) 2008-01-05 5:09

Nice daily life shot.Photo has brought the rural home in a lovely way.

hgupta (1321) 2008-01-05 8:21

Hi Cath,

Really interesting shot. I loved the choice of subject which is really swwet and cute. The expressions on both the faces are priceless.
Regards,

Hemant

feather (50122) 2008-01-05 8:22

Your collection of images of this family are perfect for telling how they live. Of course the little double portrait is the most important part of the image, but it's wonderful to see the surroundings too.
Kath

Clementi (45101) 2008-01-05 10:31

Ciao Catherine,
Lovely image from life,the expression of her face and the child is fascinating,
The light and colours are so good.
Giorgio

Dionysos (1234) 2008-01-05 10:38

Hi Cath,

Could I write in Turkish ?
Isik,kadinin gulumsemesi, cocugun kameraya bakisi,geri planda evin ic detayinin gorulebilmesi, cerceveleme...hepsi bir arada cok guzel bir fptpgraf olusturmus.
Tebrikler.

Glint (3058) 2008-01-05 13:46

Dear Catherine,
you have so many wonderful phoyographs and I can hardly keep up with them! I haven't critiqued for a wile because although i see each one I can't give them the time that they deserve and feel that my critiquing is inadequate. maybe I should just comment and say each is fantastically interesting and that i don't know how you have the energy to visit so many peple and places anf find out so many interesting things to tell us. You are a one woman National Geographic!
The little girl here is cute but it is her surroundings that are of interest.You always show lots of etail which i enjoy so much,
best regards
Bev

lousat (16022) 2008-01-05 15:46

Salut Cathy,mes compliments encore pour un autre merveilleux enterieur d'une autre maison...bonne Dimanche,Luciano

Angshu (34089) 2008-01-09 1:39

Hello Cath
A 'ritual' we practice every day. She's so cute & her mother too very beautiful. You got good eye contact with the small girl. Fascinating sets of pictures, love the pic with Zelal & the cat. Excellent!
Best Regards
Angshu

manatee (4295) 2008-01-12 17:16

Beuiful i like this picture.
When i was in my vacation I remember you, because I saw many woman and I was thinking to ask her for a photo, but is very difficult than a woman acced to your petition here in Mexico they are shy and I was thinking int he exelnt pictures you made of this persons, and how you made to ask them for a pic. Still I made somoe shot I used another techniques to do it, but will be nice to make a pic as yours
Have a nice weekend

Elias

Polonaise (5638) 2008-01-18 10:48

In the very middle of it...

It = human existence...

.......................

I see this place... I smell this place...
I see the warmth of it...

Enchanted and amazed

g.

gurselerdener (972) 2008-01-18 14:53

Bonsoir Catherine
İşte Türkiye'nin gerçek yüzü, güllük gülistanlık gösterilen ülkede müthiş bir yoksulluk belgesi.
Congratulations
Best wishes from Ankara
Gürsel

hispic (7399) 2008-05-26 2:48

An existence of lovely Zelal and her mother Inci have very strong impact. you have captured them in the good moment with a composition that can understand their life.
Of course with beautiful light too.
Have a nice day, Hisashi

hforati2002 (45) 2008-06-12 10:37