"Ma Che Dici?" Photo

Photographer’s Note

I intended to put an enigmatic, nostalgic or even a sombre title after someone remarked that the two gents are probably dead by now. But then I decided to let the photo speak for itself.

It made me think about all those moments of anger, pride, cruelty, posturing, self-absorption that we manifest in our dealings with others. All those words spoken in the heat of the moment. Years later what did they all mean? When one is dead and gone, what did they all mean?
There are better ways to live one's life and many sages have pointed the way.

I shouldn't be saying this, but this would be one of my favourites from my trip to Europe all those years ago. As I already wrote, it was Winter and both Rome and Venice were practically empty of tourists. The light was soft, giving the distant buildings a ghostlike appearance.It was a wonderful feeling to observe the local people, to walk without being crowded, to move in their tempo.

The image was scanned from a B&W film strip.

gentedilivello, macondo, Buin, yedirenk, bracasha75, ahmet54, holmertz, Clementi, Vasa, fanni has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Jeppo (11716) 2009-10-17 2:14

ciao Klaudio,

a blast from the past. this is the power of black and white. and the grainy patter of the film adds some more to this vintage sensation

tfs
silvio

gentedilivello (1759) 2009-10-17 2:43

I Klaudio,
really a suggestive shot. The image is perfecly composed, The bridge faded in the background is simply lovely. Congratulations.
TFS.
Have a nice weekend.
Gabriele

macondo (13009) 2009-10-17 3:12

Hi Klaudio.
The photo is incredibly clear - must be from scanning directly from the negative. I like the way you have that unmistakable Venetian bridge architecture peeping through the haze in the background. This reminds me a little of Santo's recent Italian b/w upload - it's the two men conversing on the left in the middle distance. Very Italian, I think. Very well done.
Regards,
Andrew

kevinos (6923) 2009-10-17 3:31

Hi Claudio. I like your predilection for black and white and you certainly seem to have mastered it. This one in particular has wonderful graphic quality. You are right! It does have a retro feel to it and seems to have been composed with the Care that was used in earlier times. In black and white it has a lovely, gentle mood which is delightful. Regards Kevin

faubry (32225) 2009-10-17 3:33

wonderful daily life scene, like a old picture!! superb!
congratulations
francine

Buin (37178) 2009-10-17 3:50

Hallo Klaudio!
A really intriguing photo'! You show this world famous place here with its inhabitants - not crowded by one-day tourists. It's a really special atmosphere in this one - also caused by the dimly visible Rialto bridge. When I was there a hustle and bustle was in the alleyways - and taking a photo nearly was impossible.
Greetings from cool and rainy Germany!
Frank

yedirenk (7221) 2009-10-17 4:04

A GREAT PHOTO,KLAUDİO..VERY NİCE DEPTH AND DETAİLS WİTH SUPERB B/W CHOİCE..WONDERFUL ATMOSPHERE VERY NOSTALGİC,VERY İMPRESSİVE..TFS
GREETİNGS

CEVDET

nicol_g (759) 2009-10-17 4:39

That's beautiful and interesting, Klaudio! Venice like I've never seen it before!
Love the characters (the men caught in the conversation, the lady and the little girl-her clothes! she's adorable) and the atmosphere! Good composition, too.
I don't know, I can't explain it properly 'cause technicalities are not between my strong points, but I feel the picture a bit 'flat' / 'compact'. I've opened it several times, and I still cannot say for sure, there is something..
I like it very much, no matter what. Thank you for showing it!

bracasha75 (21858) 2009-10-17 8:15

Zdravo Klaudio
Koliko je svet i sve bilo puno lepsi i jednostavniji nego sada .Sve je islo polako svojim tokom a danas ni traga osim po koja lepa fotka tog davno izgubljenog vremena
Izvanredna fotka
Pozdrav,Braca

ahmet54 (2227) 2009-10-17 9:14

Zdravo Klaudio,
great b&w picture. It is the conservation of one moment in the past that is fascinating. The Rialto bridge is plaing only a side role. TFS.
Selamlar,
Roland

bergese (513) 2009-10-17 9:23

Bonsoir Klaudio
une image de Venise loin du cliché touristique,une scène de la vie quotidienne qui n'a que trente et un ans.Je trouve la photo trés belle et de bonne qualité.
Isa

holmertz (9420) 2009-10-18 2:09

Hello Klaudio,
One of the fascinating things with this picture is that there is only a glimpse in the background of the Venice that tourists usually care about. Your focus was entirely the Venice of the local Venetians. And like you, I often feel a bit sad when watching my old pictures and realizing that so many people I have photographed are probably dead since many years. This feeling adds another quality to the photos. At least in this case it does.
Thanks again for sharing these pictures.
Gert

Clementi (43269) 2009-10-18 2:12

Ciao Klaudio,
bella atmosfera d'altri tempi, mi piace il momento che hai catturato, hai ragione sembra proprio dire ma che dici???? questa Venezia ancora a misura d'uomo senza l'orda dei turisti è meravigliosa, il modo di vestire mi riporta alla mente il mio di quando ero ragazzo,
Splendido Bianco & Nero ottimo lavoro
Giorgio

Vasa (5202) 2009-10-18 5:13

Zapravo, Dado, tvoje Slike iz sedamdesetih su toliko dobre da si ponovo skrenuo pažnju na moje interesovanje i za tvoj rad i za taj period pre digitalnog orgijanja. Ovde je i slika ubedljiva a i nota je dobrodošla da podrži tvoju ideju. Eto, mnogo razmišljanja pokraj jedne slike.

Hvala ti i čestitam ti na ovom vrednom radu koji si sačuvao zauvek.

Branko

grigand (12546) 2009-10-18 6:10

Ciao Klaudio,
Ottima la scelta del BW per questa immagine d'altri tempi, ottima atmosfera,bravo.
ciao
andrea

Dyerco (8932) 2009-10-18 18:38

Hi Klaudio
This would be one of my favourites as well. Great B&W with strong blacks and lots of grey tones through to white. Excellent interaction of the two gents and an amazingly good scan.
Phil

delpeoples (5608) 2009-10-20 0:44

Ciao Caro Klaudio, this title made me smile and when combined with those two anziani to the left of the image, and your thoughtful Note, it made me feel very nostalgic. The woman and little girl in the FG stand out beautifully and I like the BG fading away into the distance. It's a very good scan and use of the vertical frame. Ottimo lavoro, e grazie per il condivisione, Lisa.

brano14 (1858) 2009-11-03 11:06

Zdravo Dado,
Ovo je gotovo historijska slika,ko ide u Veneciju u zimu i plus crno bijela slika,vrlo stara,u svakon slucaju nesto sto ne vidimo tako cesto.
Jako dobar kvalitet,dobra scena,kao iz starih filmova,interesantan naslov.
Pozdrav iz suncane Pennsylvania-e,20 celzija, upravo sam osisao travu u vrtu.
Brano

fanni (8729) 2009-11-09 1:43

Hello Klaudio,
perhaps pretty often an excellent composition is the main thing that attracts my eyes at once when I see a thumbnail of the photo which I yet have to "explore" in detail :)
Very, very, very interesting photo, and again it reminds me of a scene from an old B&W movie... an Italian movie? :)
Yes, a ghostlike appearance of the building in the background adds a LOT to this scene... a touch of mystery, a touch of another world..
Excellent scanning job!
Warm regards
and very best wishes,
Elena