Closely Observed Trains Photo

Photographer’s Note

Closely Observed Trains
(PL: Pociągi pod specjalnym nadzorem)

There is a train station, the one before the last before the border with Poland.
Not much going on there. No many trains stopping by. No passangers. Just these two fellows. Friendly, open, eager to have a chat with accidental Pole willing to photograph their place.

In the workshop you may see the equipment they use there. Very charming.
"Please photograph that. When Japaneese see that they will copy the model, for sure ..." said one of them. I simply love the sense of humour of our Czech brothers.

PS. And please be so kind and do not comment on yesterday's disaster... :-((

pasternak, mapek61, elihesamian, sergecross, designsoul, riclopes, MarekP, zips has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Furachan (0) 2006-06-10 3:41

Beautiful title (echoes of something for sure...a movie...!!!) And for me a great capture, full on, alive and superbly timed.
Cheers,
Francis

pasternak (13644) 2006-06-10 3:55

Hi Jerzy,

This is a shot from a Kusturica film!!!

No, really, the scene and the man who´s looking at us remind me his last movie "Life is a miracle". Now I know what inspired him!;)

A nice daily life shot, very much alive and with some nice graphics (this smoke...). The WS is lovely also.

Thanks
Alexander

jussipee (10) 2006-06-10 4:18

Hehee, very interesting athmosphere there in border train station.
Humorous fly trap at table, blue and red cap mans at their own table sides.
Many equipments, tilting picture with mans smiling look is working.
Regards
Jussi

mapek61 (3927) 2006-06-10 4:22

Witaj Jerzy
Jak w "poci±gach pod specjalnym nadzorem", tylko kolorowo. ¦wietna scena, szcczególnie podoba mi siê ta packa na muchy, ale i ludzie te¿ ¶wietni - ca³o¶c rewelacja. Bardzo mi siê podoba.
Pozdrawiam
Marek

elihesamian (26091) 2006-06-10 4:26

A nice daily life shot and a fine close to those who works in train station,look at the sweet and real smile of him ! nice one,Jerzy,
graet use of DOF,excellent sharpness and quality and nice to seee details in tis place in your frame,and look at that instrument for kiiling the flies and insects on the table :),very fine one,Jerzy,Thanks,

Best to You
M

coco (28106) 2006-06-10 4:49

Hi Jerzy.
Look so natural, so real. Is one of that photos where the photographer seems invisible. And that's good.

The light is also very good.
Thanks for share.

jinju (14265) 2006-06-10 5:25

Yesterday's disaster Jerzy was a bit of a mix of bad luck and bad refereeing..NO way was that goal for us offside and no way was the 2:0 goal onside. Some posts and crossbars and we lost. Better luck next time, eh?

A bit of a humorous shot here, the happy go lucky lok on that guy's face is so doifferent from the Polish officials who always wear a frown. Good daily life photo jerzy, good people photo.

faubry (32417) 2006-06-10 6:34

hello Jerzy, very nice daily life, the man had a funny smile! and i like your expression" "Please photograph that. When Japaneese see that they will copy the model, for sure ..." said one of them..... very sympathic
well done
have a good day
francine

sergecross (3438) 2006-06-10 8:14

Jerzy, nice scene and this image looks like the old times and the theme is very intersting. The angle, the focus, that's a beautiful composition.
Sergio

keithl (4) 2006-06-10 8:51

I really like this one. It's replete with the atmosphere of that little room with its battered door, aging wallpaper and well-thumbed ledger. And it's all brought to life by the guard with his skew-whif cap and lived-in face.

designsoul (21394) 2006-06-10 10:26

Haha, Jerzy, this is so utterly funny! Had you desaturated it, I would have thought you took it from Forman's film! Excellent shot with these phenomenal vintage phones and the expression of the railway man that belies his sense of humour... yes, I live with a Czech man, and you are right... his humour saves me.
Have a great weekend, take care,
sasa

riclopes (33131) 2006-06-10 11:20

No problem. I won't comment, J.
Excellent tiltness one, with a funny note. I like that guy looking at us. He really makes me laugh and seems to be a joker that don't take the life very serious. I also love the details presented in this space - the fly catcher at left foreground is a precious one. I'm glad that you didn't convert this one in b/w, which could be an option.
Ricado

jasmis (50979) 2006-06-10 13:04

Protestuję, kolega daje tu jakieś sceny, które są niereprezentatywne. A gdze pieczątkowanie pośladków? Pozdrawiam.

KevRyan (22418) 2006-06-10 13:58

Lovely shot J - I am in two minds about the soft focus on the forward guy - but perhaps if he were sharp it might almost look likke a set up advertising shot for something - it is good though - the fly swat and the cigarette, the expression and humour ...but no I'm afraid I have to come down on the side of a single smiley - just a personal matter of style on this one - another great moment caught though.

The light is a little intrusive - you know i even think a portrait of this guy on his own would be great - good work at it but not 100% for me this time....I know that in a way this doesn't matter when the filmic moment is so good but it just tips that way ......

best wishes Kev

...had to come back because I like this one so much - OK this time my focus is not so much on the 'values' judgement and i can enjoy the moment more - for me the criticism still holds though - I can just see from the thumbnail how much better it would look (for me) if this guy were in focus - I would be jumping it into my favourites then I think..as it is now I'm even more into seeing the moment I can grow my smile into a broader version.....also my friend needs a smile right now......and rafal.....and rafal.....and george......and...well there are so many Polish friends here....

....you know I wouldn't be so bothered if it were in B&W - it would work easily....interesting to discover these differences in stylistic preference.......

ahmetgedikli (22094) 2006-06-11 1:33

Hi Jerzy,
A daily life picture, wonderful atmosphere and good timing. Thanks for sharing.
Happy sundays.
Ahmet

izmirli (3283) 2006-06-11 4:52

merhaba dear jerzy
very nice daily life picture.beautiful composition and note.
best regards.
gürkan akçakır.

Polonaise (5638) 2006-06-11 14:03

Yet another close, very close observed situation. Precise shot into close encounter of an unspecified kind.
Dear Jerzy...Those people smiling broadly into your camera...Do they even know you are there, ready to photograph their souls and sell them to us, in a most charming way imaginable? (I'm beginning to understand that primitive tribes' fear of 'taking' their souls by photographer). The skillful photog can take that 'inner thing' residing in every human being and throw that 'it' into our bewildered faces. The skillful cinematographer can do that. The skillful actor can do that willingly and shamelessly to the millions watching his act.
Picture's tilt...? Brilliant trick...Helps to create that moment of surprise and spontaneity , and adds some valor to the mess on the table and in the background (note: The above statement applies to this pic only).
"If you have a fly swat and a cigarette's smoke in your image - you gotta tilt it" (Confucius).

Polskie tlumaczenie powyższego tekstu (slowo po slowie)...
Drogi Jerzy...Najbardziej brakuje mi owych jędrnych, dziewczyńskich półdupków, jakże wyśmienitych do stemplowania (a o których z rozżaleniem napomyka Jan Cz.). Gdyby nie ten powazny mankament techniczny twojego zdjecia to kto wie..? Moze nie "Ostre Sledované Vlaky" bylyby moim favorytem na półce, i nie Jiří Menzel, ale Jiří Bucki latał by teraz po wszystkich maglach i statuetką Oskara świecił nam po oczach!!!
No coz, zabraklo ci talentu...
(Nie tobie jednemu na TE, nie tobie jednemu...!)
Sam jem se ostal, niestety...sam jeden jak ten palec...!

Jiří G.

Angshu (34093) 2006-06-12 4:23

Excellent photo Jerzy...I like the way you've used the title of Jiri Menzel's film & I can almost relate to some scenes of the movie. I like the tilt & the full on approach. The man's face is worth a thousand words.
Regards
Angshu

jlynx (11380) 2006-06-12 6:49

Witaj Jurku,
Dobry kadr, konkretna opowie¶æ zawarta w reporterskim kadrze. Jak zawsze konkretny, dobry kolor no i ten nastrój s±cz±cy siê po dusznym pomieszczeniu. Dobry klimat!
Pozdrawiam,
Jurek

luisafonso (858) 2006-06-14 5:39

I love the tilt, the orange telephone, the light shining from his face, his humorous attitude and, specially, the fly killer on the bottom left. This composition, although very busy, is a treat to our eyes. So full of live, so many things to discover. A fantastic one Jerzy! Like your workshop too. It’s incredible how even in a simple photo like that you can see your artistry. Very goof indeed. Thanks for sharing. Better luck for Poland today. Maybe the toughness of the game will give extra light to the players.

kdien (9261) 2006-06-19 8:58

Witaj Jurku,
Czy mo¿na co¶ dodaæ, tytu³ w po³±czeniu z tre¶ci± kadru daje mistrzostwo w Twoim wykonaniu. Brakuje tylko stempelków i dró¿niczki. Resztê ju¿ inni ocenili.
Pozdrawiam, Krzysztof

MarekP (4744) 2006-07-11 13:12

Hi Jerzy,
It is a pity you the lamp is so close to the man’s head. Otherwise it is a nice picture well capturing the poetics of Harabal and Menzel duo. I’m just rather surprised you managed to capture such a photo on nowadays Czech railways – they are actually not much poetic any more, I’m afraid.

Thanks,
Marek

zips (1941) 2006-10-15 10:20

Nice shot with lots of detail...the flyswatter, the smoke rising, paint peeling off the door frame.

Nice POV and framing.

Great Job.
Aloha, JB

Szymon (63) 2006-10-22 13:26

Zdjęcie świetnie oddaje atmosferę prowincjonalnej czeskiej stacji - leniwy spokój, wzorki na ścianach te same od 40stu lat, wyluzowany zawiadowca pali papieroska i gada z kumplem, no i ta packa na muchy pięknie wkomponowana w róg kadru. Jak u Hrabala.
pozdrawiam, Szymon

Paradise (80) 2007-01-17 16:22

Hi Jerzy , it is really nice photo.In my trip from wien to prague , I met these kind of men both in border stations and little village stations. I like czech people, they are really nice people.
Thanks for your nice photo and remind me czechs again :)
see you , irem

Lukasz (133) 2008-03-25 9:12

excellent!

scalerman (25787) 2008-10-04 21:28

J: these are the ones - these are the ones - the ones I'm after... classic imagery - worthy of, eh, TV?

c

Housegaijin (346) 2009-06-09 22:54

Superb shot, Jerzy, I just happened to come across it in the new MAZE that is TE, as a "Featured" photo. I "get" the title reference too, the classic movie!
Lovely work,
Francis