He Still Weaves Shar Photo

Photographer’s Note

Shar, which literally means hair of human beings or animals, refers to a black woolen cloth in which other colors are used in the form of stripes. It is one of the ancient handicrafts woven in central cities of Iran ( Yazd, Kerman and Kashan ).
In yazd, it has been the main occupation for the majority of people for about 350 years ago, although this art is even older than this and dates back to the Sassanid era.
At first, it has been the women's job and they were doing it at home using simple weaving-looms. Then men started to weave Shar in the bigger looms and it turned to a profession just for men.
There are various products weaved in these looms; like: table cloth, shawl, curtain, handkerchief, Termeh ( a septicolored cloth and it is said that the word is originally Indian and it means a curved cypress tree), and so on.

The shot was taken in a loom/shop near the Jame mosque of Yazd ( the old part of the city ). It was a pleasure to meet the artist ( Mr. Rezaei ) who was still doing an almost forgotten art.

شَعر بافی ، یزد

daddo, PixelTerror, dareco, pauloog, m_ejah, patdeph, paura, parbo, trekks, gracious, saxo042, AiresSantos, danos, Angshu, axiotea, siolaw, skippy007 has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

rodgerg (23573) 2009-06-01 1:00

Hello Atousa,

An excellent scene of life very well collected. The attitude of this artisan are very well collecetd. I like too the excellent managemnt of light. A very interesting and very nice photowork.
Have a good day,
Roger

daddo (11275) 2009-06-01 1:13

Salam Atousa.Nice shot that shows the labour involved to produce this fine cloth. the light is spot on- a warm glow fills the space and enhances the colours. I saw a woman weaving fine cloth in Sarawak (Malaysia)and noticed that to make it easier on the lower back, she had a harness supporting the lower back and it was tied to the sides of loom. Regards. Klaudio.

aadilj (17950) 2009-06-01 3:44

The visual is superb Atousa as one sees the man bent over the loom in low lights but the note makes it even more inteersting. I love the whole combination here. Its superb and highly informative

PixelTerror (86038) 2009-06-01 4:03

Hi Atousa
A very nice image, well exposed in these dark conditions but the light is not overexposed, well placed on the diagonal and we get to see many details of the work going on, superb !
Have a nice day JY

dareco (17094) 2009-06-01 6:06

Very nice pov to show us this worker and his craft. Nice lighting, colors and detail. A very interesting post. TFS

pauloog (6334) 2009-06-01 6:18

Hello Atousha,
A well composed view in diagonal of this interesting acvtivity. Light well managed in difficult conditions. A lot of details to discover and a pleasure to look at.
Regards,
Paul

John_F_Kennedy (31055) 2009-06-01 23:38

Beautiful colour tones and work captured. Well done.
Best wishes,
Achim

MGHPARSI (74) 2009-06-02 8:39

salam Atousa,
besyar ziba.mamnoooon

MGH

patdeph (17626) 2009-06-02 8:52

hello Atousa
this is an impressive handicraft job,this is really beautiful,the machin is itself a piece of art,wwhose beauty is very well emphasized by your high POV!The room is superb,the colours splendid,and the ambiance has not been destroyed by the flash!Wonderful!
Regards
Pascale

paura (38116) 2009-06-02 10:57

Atousa,
Excellent photojob here! Great details and vivid colours to show the interesting scene. Thanks for sharing.

regards

Paulo

parbo (10966) 2009-06-02 18:30

Hello Atousa,

The lights from yellow bulbs are just fantastic in your very special scene. I liked also your skillful flash usage without loosing any details rest of frame. Of course his concentration to weaving shar is just priceless. An excellent documentary capture, congratulations.

Friendly Regards,

Ertugrul

dvlazar (6472) 2009-06-02 19:22

I like your framing of this weaving shot... and the light is nice too. THe eye is lead diagonally down to the man.

DAve

trekks (14262) 2009-06-03 0:19

hi Atousa

This is very rare to see nowadays. I think it is very fit theme for TE purpose of learning through photography.

Good work despite the difficult light condition but it just goes to show how the man works on his machine despite such tough condition, a tradition which will be lost soon.

Good work.

tfs, bill

gracious (20017) 2009-06-03 11:25

Salam Atousa,
Thank you so much for this beautiful image on the artist who is doing the ancient weaving which came with the most informative notes!
Excellent pov with perfect exposure and focus also in great details
my sincere regards
greeting
Tony

saxo042 (15404) 2009-06-03 12:33

Hi Atousa,
Excellent management of the light conditions. Also a very fine composition with the strong diagonal line here. This is a photo that really shows full concentration!
Kind regards
Gunnar

berek (28834) 2009-06-03 19:40

Merhaba Atousa,
nice inside taken. I like working composition your light management here. balanced framing.
Best wishes.
Burak

Waylim (10717) 2009-06-04 0:18

Sabaidee Atousa,
Love this daily life image, as well as a work of art in progress, great to see the handy craft carries on in this part of the world. In this case, it is also very interesting to see a man doing such handy craft, in Asia, it is usually a woman's job. Very nice shot, good details with the low light. Beautiful colors and pattern of the shar. Very nice POV and composition. Thanks.
Way

AiresSantos (41738) 2009-06-04 2:55

Hi Atousa
Fine picture of this man at work
I remember to see the same im Portugal some years ago.
Excellent perspective and details
Thanks for sharing and have a nice day
Aires

ElAprendiz (7370) 2009-06-04 11:49

Salam Atousa:

So beautiful image, like his noble profession. I like the attitude of Mr laborious, and the treatment you've given to the handling of light in a dark scene.

Great job, my friend. Congratulations

John

danos (32090) 2009-06-05 5:37

Hello Atousa,
very nice snapshot of the daily life of Mr.Rezaei that works even in this age to produce these pieces of fabrics.Excellent presentation of the shop's scene at the old part of the city.Well done.

Have a nice weekend,Danos

kschanna (2630) 2009-06-07 4:22

Salam Atousa,

I dont know what to say. You've composed the shot so well and captured beautiful light. I am loving seeing Iran through your eyes.

Thanks for sharing
Kamran

stego (22348) 2009-06-08 11:31

Salaam Atousa,
Another superb image that is as effective as documentary as it is a beautiful photo. THe compo is very accomplished, with the use of the diagonal by the fabric. I like very much the (few) colours and the fine, slightly subdued light which is very well managed.
Regards,
José

Angshu (33487) 2009-06-09 3:39

Salam Atousa
A fantastic shot, especially in such low light conditions. You show well the entire loom & how Mr. Rezaei works on what looks like a carpet. For a variation I might have wanted a close up approach of the artist & his work. If you have such a shot, I would look forward in seeing it!
Best Regards
Angshu

axiotea (16021) 2009-06-10 21:29

Salam Atousa
A marvellous image for which I was a bit surprised it shows a forgotten Art. You made an adequate framing and exposure using perfectly the fill flash. A well timed capture on the man in action and colors nicely rendered. Love to see the Mosque with the women giving a sense of scale to it...
Cheers
Marilyn

siolaw (25720) 2009-06-15 11:07

Salam Atousaa,
Hope you are OK and safe, as I see some trouble in Tehran on TV...
Nice diagonal compo in low light but fine details are visible.
Interezting scene
Friendly regards
Laurent

skippy007 (6935) 2009-06-16 2:45

Salam Atousa, A superb image, excellent light & rich natural colours, enhanced by the light from those light globes. It is a craft that I expected women to dominate but your well written & very informative note explains the change from female domination of this art to what has become very much the domain of men. With all these type of labour intensive crafts I wonder how much longer they can survive, for a very long time I hope.
Thanks
Regards
Santo

brano14 (1858) 2009-11-02 13:28

Great scene and very good story,for many people that is something unknown. I saw that in my homeland,but over there it is women's job.
Thanks for sharing!
Brano