The Art of Conversation Photo

Photographer’s Note

I could not say whether they were related, if they knew each other or if only the heavy load of groceries brought them together to sit on the same bench at the corner of the market hall. If they were not acquainted, they did not seem to mind the other's company: one was endlessly chattering, expressing his opinions on everything from the increase in the utility bills through the government to the butcher's new assistant. She did not mind, but wasn't particularly interested in it at all. The only thing that mattered to her right at that moment is the first drag of her much-pined-for cigarette. Once she could inhale, she could put up with any conversation around.

The red-haired bespectacled woman was a character no doubt. Her way of sitting (see a close crop of her in the Workshop) reminded me of the German Expressionist Otto Dix's Portrait of the Journalist Sylvia von Harden of 1926, now in the Pompidou.

pasternak, KevRyan, polter, dolin, eleparc, Rinie_Hoff, bantonbuju, alekpet, markoci, Mistral, rtome, broglia, sarahnatalie has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

oochappan (22032) 2006-06-09 13:05

Hi Sasa
something very special light in the orange zone, shades to red like her hair and his orange cap tone on tone contrasting with a diagonal to the rest, skin colors perfect and the interaction between the two is clear by their body language, natural, they didn't spot you.
A fine daily life scene with an attactive orange zone.
All the best
Henk

pasternak (13632) 2006-06-09 13:07

Maybe it´s the art of conversation, but yours is the art of catching the moment, Sasa! A fabulous photo qua colour also, but what I like most about your photos is that you always put them into the context of the world culture : Van Gogh, Dix, Tarkovsky... And so we see them with different eyes: not good for the purity of perception, but still so fascinating that you share with us not only the images but the associations...

Thanks!
Alexander

KevRyan (22418) 2006-06-09 13:12

very nice candid street shot Sasa - great characters both in their own way- beautifully caught in their respective moments - the yellow orange theme through hair, bag, hat, wall, stick, bricks and reflection on flesh is such a bonus!!

Nicely done!!

best wishes Kev

everlasting (10940) 2006-06-09 13:25

At the moment everything here in orange, Sasa. World cup fever in upon us, I thought for a moment you had captured two of our Orange Legion :)
A candid shot of these two characters, some of us (Kev) could tell a whole story from this scene, I expect. The light brigns out lovely skin tones.

polter (6168) 2006-06-09 13:40

Great painting-like composition made of bodies parts and shoping bag. And great scene. Reddish colours are... well, great they are. For sure you've got an eye of painter. Regards T.

entrelec (8342) 2006-06-09 13:49

All ius orange on top, hair,wall and cap.
You know, I just put my eyes on your note and incredibly I was just thinking to this painted portrait!
Are you sponsored by a wellknown great distributor, Sasa, you could ask him to upgrade to the Nikon D200, they have enough money for that!
Thanks for your comments.
Joel

cobraphil8 (11652) 2006-06-09 14:38

Hi Sasa,
really good moment and great composition...
A conversation topic will be interesting, isn't it?
Good WE and cheer for your eye :)
Philippe

ben4321 (9807) 2006-06-09 14:53

You've captured a great moment between this elderly couple, with the man in animated conversation and the woman lighting her cigarette.
I also like the repetition of the orange colour. Orange wall, orange hair, orange hat and an orange design on the shopping bag.
Its a very amusing shot, I think its excellent.
Ben

faubry (32415) 2006-06-09 15:30

i like this shot because it's atmospthere special with the orange color! very good daily life, very good captured!
bravo
francine

eleparc (24059) 2006-06-09 17:33

the overall orange tone is fantastic! including the Auchan bag... I remember W being so happy to go to Auchan and be able to buy some products he could understand the names of... and the contents also...i am talking back in 1998... This woman is a real character indeed! i love the close-up in the ws! your reference to Otto Dix is perfect and spot on!

Eric

Rinie_Hoff (9334) 2006-06-09 17:52

Good comparison, Sasa, with Otto Dix. You talk about her and her smoking as if you personally know how delightful smoking can be ;-) (Well, I know, I have smoked for 20 years). This is a lovely catch, and you can almost hear his arguments. And wow, shes' probably completely grey, and fell asleep with her henna in.
Nice couple, well seen.
Enjoy your weekend, Rinie

Furachan (0) 2006-06-09 19:07

Rarely has a visit to a country immediately yielded such good pictures. Of course you are not exactly a tourist ;o)The secret to this one is the predominance of the color RED in all its manifestations: on the wall, in the woman's hair, in the man's cap and on his bag. A paprika conversation for sure!
So well observed...
Cheers,
Francis

AmiBe (6042) 2006-06-09 20:04

Hi Sasa,
ah ah, I want to listen what they say !
I really funny compo with a strong personnage, I wonder where you are going to look for them.
Nice orange tones, well done

dolin (15647) 2006-06-10 3:42

Hi Sarolta.
Very funny moment.
J'adore cette casquette orange, ces cheveux roux et ce mur jaunatre....avec en plus le logo orange de Auchan.
Le moment est chouette, ces deux personnes assisies sur le bas entrain de discuter et avec de bonnes attitudes, le mec qui parle avec les mains et la femme qui allume sa cigarette.
Scène bien capturée et au bon moment.
Bien vu
Fred

(I come back)

sabyasachi1212 (19546) 2006-06-10 4:37

Hi Sasa,
Do you know what I like most about your images? It is the stories they tell. Just like the first few chapters of an engrossing new novel. Like two strangers meeting on a bench and strike up a conversation....you begin to wonder what next!
Thanks for sharing, it is always a pleasure going through your gallery.
With Greetings from India
Sabyasachi

jinju (14265) 2006-06-10 5:17

Hi Sasa,

That sure is an orange photo! The orange background, her hair, his hat, the groceries bag. I agree with Francis..your photos from Hungary reveal a more thorough understanding of the place you visited. Personally, I think I only feel comfortable shooting in Seoul, I never achieve good photos in other places. So I do envy you because from what Ive seen youve really done well on your trip.

Izobretenik (1264) 2006-06-10 7:37

That's funny to see the brand on the old guy's groceries bag : Auchan. I went in Hungary a few years ago and Budapest was inaugurating the first Auchan Supermarket opening in the suburbs of Budapest. My friends and I were very curious about this opening and we went there to see what was different from the supermarkets in France. In Hungary, there are so many little shops all over towns that I thought it would never be successfull for the habits of consummation were different. Looks like I made a mistake.

The story about the cigarette is also something I know. A bad habit for sure but for I am a heavy smoker, I can tell you when you have to smoke a cigarette, noone's story will be interesting enough to make you forget about this little tube of tobacco.

Izo

AMZINCHIA (1082) 2006-06-10 13:22

Sasa,
Your image reminds me of a poem by Paul Eluard, the French poet, saying 'La terre est bleue comme une orange' -the earth is as blue as an orange-. Indeed it is today with this great daily life, candid, yet so evocative shot. These two are so damned human. We are so damned like them.
I like the cinematrographic feel of it too, very Cassavetes. And of course, I LOVE your story, and the Otto Dix connection. Bravo, Sasa --amz

bantonbuju (48796) 2006-06-11 1:33

hi sasa,this is pretty good, with that intensive orange;
a nice story in the note, i must say i know that feeling of desire-for-first-inhale (luckily i do not need it any more :-))
and this image perfectly portrays that "must-have-a-smoke-right-now";
tc, j.

kensimage (8543) 2006-06-11 12:38

Wow, they look like two real characters, Sasa! It's great how the man's hat and the woman's hair match each other, and the wall. She looks like someone with quite a few stories to tell, not all of them necessarily suitable for General Audiences; the body language you caught brings out that aspect.

I used your phrase "eerie desolation," which I liked so well, as the title for my most recent posting from Trona.

Regards, Ken.

vapours (7913) 2006-06-11 21:30

My type of shot Sarolta, a couple of very funny looking characters going about their business. She has been caught at the perfect time lighting up her ciggy, that moment seems to add a heap more to her persona. A great orange theme also.

alekpet (4659) 2006-06-12 7:54

Hi, Sasa.

They look like two youngsters, don't they?
Her funny hair style, the skirt she's wearing (rightly so, good legs!), her stylish smoking, his boyinsh baseball hat and his right hand in a position of having the cigarette lighter in it. A see too much red colour cast, or maybe I'm wrong?

all the best, Aleks

MiguelP (14336) 2006-06-12 17:43

Yes, she could be an old Sylvia Von Harden, or a client of the Kit-kat-Club in "Cabaret" by Bob Fosse. What I like here is this feeling of "what the hell is oldness? I feel young therefore I´m young" that her actitude seems to be probing. We also have the supermarkets the plastic bag of the man it´s advertising. A piece of reality I guess. I love old people. Thanks Sasa.

markoci (3917) 2006-06-14 3:11

oh the dutch soccer fans will go crazy over this one! this is all about colours imo, one of those photos with a lot less punch in a different colour cast... definitely not an anti smoking poster :-) did i mention the awesome colours?

Mistral (13776) 2006-06-14 17:19

Ciao Sasa,
great background for this lovely scene. Both of them has interesting expressions and your compo is beautiful.
I like a lot also your note about her similarity with the portrait.
A smile (and thanks for your suggestion).
Luca

mrbialy (2568) 2006-06-15 13:35

I really like those couples. Very funny scene(remaind me scene from one of my photos -""Small tear in tights""). That lady is just amaizing, wonderful model , and he smoking??? amaizing. Very good cought moment with try to smoke lady and her boyfriend with his one hand up. But this colours disturb me much. Is to many changes in photoshop- their skin, hands, legs, faces looks sooo orange or kind of yelow.

cgale (62) 2006-07-27 16:58

Fantastic shot! Great candid - the composition really pulls you in - I can almost hear ther conversation and smell the smoke. The colors are so vibrant. I'm impressed with how artfully you capture the everyday!