Those were the days, a photo from Istanbul, Marmara

Photographer's Note

Capture yesterday in Eminonu, close to the Egyptian Bazaar, at corner of the flower market.
This old man was sitting at a corner and most probably thinking "those were the days".
But another interesting thing is the plastic jar at right to hise head's level. In it you can see hundreds of leechs, which are also sold there in the flower market.
People, mainly in spring use them to clean their blood !
A method utilised since the antiquity.
The European medical leech, Hirudo medicinalis, and some congeners, as well as some other species, have been used for clinical bloodletting for thousands of years.

Bu kareyi de dün Mısır Çarşısı girişinde, çiçek pazarında çektim.
Bu yaşlı amca bir köşeye oturmuş, muhtemelen "neydi o günler" felsefesi yapmakta.
Bu karedeki ilginç bir ayrıntı, resmin sağ tarafında baş hizasındaki plasitk kavanozda yüslerce sülük oynaşıyor. Şimdi iikbahar, ve kış ayları boyunca kirlenmiş kanı temizlemek gerek !
Binlerce seneden beri uygulanan bir metod.

Kofman, Kielia, Sonata11, Buin, vasilpro, s_lush, HFASSOURAKIS has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

mauro61 (52527) 2011-05-06 0:43

ciao Mesut,
una espressione ben colta, con gli occhi quasi socchiusi, immersa nei pensieri o nella vista di qualcosa di interente...
Buono il taglio con gli elementi di fondo che legano l'uomo al luogo e danno colore,
un saluto
maurizio

archimatica (20004) 2011-05-06 1:34

Nice portrait, I like very much.
Tfs
Renzo

Kielia (20657) 2011-05-06 1:38

Hello Mesut,
it is nice to have you as a neighbour today!
This is a fascinating daily life shot accompanied by a very nice note! The man is obviously reflecting on life. Thanks for sharing!
Warm regards
Harriet

cagla (3716) 2011-05-06 4:24

Merhaba Mesut Bey, ben de tam o kavanozun içindekiler ne diye düşünüyordum, cevabı varmış..Kesinlikle geçmişi düşünüyor, bu görmüş geçirmiş, olgun ifadesiyle, bakışıyla, tipi ve duruşuyla, tertemiz ütülü gömleğiyle çok hoş bir portre olmuş. Elinize sağlık.

holmertz (27182) 2011-05-06 7:48

Hello Mesut,
A picture right out of daily life, where you cannot arrange the background according to any aesthetical principles. It's a fine portrait of the old gentleman, and the background becomes very ineresting thanks to your note. Spring cleaning of your blood! Those were the days.
Kind regards,
Gert

wolf38 (28280) 2011-05-06 10:14

Hallo Mesut. Die alten Männer in der Türkei und überall auf der Welt sind ein wirklich interessantes Thema. Meistens sieht man sie ja in Gruppen. Dieser Mann mit den Krücken scheint ganz mit sich beschäftigt. Er hat die Faust geballt. Wer weiß, worüber er nachdenkt. Mir gefällt dieses subtile Photo sehr gut. Gruß, Wolfgang.

TRB (12389) 2011-05-06 10:44

Merhaba Hocam,
Mükemmel bir portre.
Çok doğal, olduğu gibi, sanki yanındaymışım gibi canlı.
Sülüklere gelince hala kullanılıyor, var öyle cesaretliler demek ki..
Tebrikler, selam ve sevgiler
Tülay

Alfoja (672) 2011-05-06 14:32

I like this portrait and also the background with all that confusion.

A very good job.

Ciao

Sonata11 (28726) 2011-05-06 20:42

Hello Mesut,
a very beautiful portrait of the old man. Good quality, great POV. Fantastic excecuted this picture. A very nice information. Thanks for sharing. Well done.
All the best and have a nice WE,
Barbara

emka (58944) 2011-05-06 23:33

Hi Mesut, dear friend,

Happy Birthday to you!! Very nice portrait of this old man. Indeed, he may think about the old days, as we often do with nostalgy. This jar with leechs looks interesting but i wouldn't like to clean my blood in this way:))

have a great weekend

Malgo

pablominto (53744) 2011-05-06 23:35

Hello Mesut,

This is an impressive portrait, so full of emotion and sentiment!
Excellent details, an accurate DoF isolates the subject well...
A balanced composition too, and nicely reproduced colours!

Greetings,
Pablo -

jhm (123068) 2011-05-07 0:30

Merhaba Mesut,

Congratulations, your birthday today, I hope yet a lot years in excellent health.
Also this portrait is a very nice good composition, old man with beard and glasses.
A pity perhaps a little bit difficulty moving.
Very well done, TFS.

Tebrikler ve selamlar,
John

Silvio1953 (99133) 2011-05-07 10:08

Merhaba Mesut, happy birthday to you my friend, is it your selfportait?
Beautiful portrait with great expressions, seems remember all his life, perfect focus and lovely BG, very well done my old friend, have a good week end, ciao Silvio

TopGeo (38000) 2011-05-07 11:27

Hello Mesut! Interesting picture of the elderly always have something in mind or anything! The medical leeches (or nature leechs) on sale here sometime, but now is almost nonexistent for sale! And dangerous!
Regards
Georgios

Buin (42088) 2011-05-07 21:24

Lieber Mesut!
Wieder ein schöner und interessanter Beitrag. Ein Portrait der ganz besonderen Art - mitten aus dem Leben. Die Blutegel muss man hier in der Apotheke bestellen. Ich habe ihre Anwendung schon gesehen. Gewöhnungsbedürftig - aber wirkungsvoll!
Alles Gute aus dem staubtrockenen Siegen!
Frank

danyy (0) 2011-05-08 0:20

Bonjour Mesut;
joli portrait qui incarne la sagesse et le vécu, dans une grande qualité technique, je parle des lumières et couleurs parfaites, mais aussi de la mise au point précise et le profondeur de champ réduite qui donne du relief.
Mes amitiés.
Daniel.

vasilpro (40231) 2011-05-08 0:33

Hello Mesut,
Wonderful composition with an old man and his thoughts, lovely light and colors, excellent POV.
Have a nice Sunday, Vasilis.

Fis2 (73596) 2011-05-08 14:04

Witaj Mesut!
A very interesting face.
Good frame and depth.
I like colors and sharpness.
Well done.
Best regards my friend
Krzysztof

s_lush (15636) 2011-05-09 0:04

Hello Mesut,
This daily-life scene has been captured by you absolutely masterfully, with the thought-out composition, a lot of interesting details and very high photographic quality. The note is very interesting and informative too. Perfectly good job!
Best regards,
Sergiy

HFASSOURAKIS (4) 2011-05-30 8:57

fantastic moment my dear
excellent colors and well made shot
a little bit sad but this is life and we must used to it.
afterall reaching his age maybe will be big achievement for my generation (i am 43)

good day Mesut

Photo Information

Copyright: MESUT ILGIM (mesutilgim) (68556)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2011-05-05
Categories: Daily Life, Decisive Moment
Camera: Nikon D 5000, AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED, 2GB Sandisk Ultra II
Exposure: f/4.3, 1/391 seconds
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2011-05-06 0:36