Proud Nubian Boatman Photo

Photographer’s Note

Among all places I 'have visited during mt three trips to Egypt, Aswan is probably the place I miss the most. It has a colonial atmosphere which reminds me the novels of Agatha Christie, the sky is usually blue, and there are plenty of temples, and plenty of white sailed feluccas zigzaging the Nile River. These boats are usually managed by Nubian boatmen who are the great experts about sailing on the Nile. Their skin is black like Africans, and I remember to have visited their villages iduring one tour.

rjb874, bantonbuju, Pitoncle, daddo, Tezic, cengiz, Didi, salvator has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

rjb874 (595) 2006-12-17 3:34

Great facial expressions and clothing. A nice tight shot which this man close up. Good note.

Pitoncle (3743) 2006-12-17 3:41

Bonjour Izzet,
Superbe portrait très expressif et très détaillé et qui ne semble pas trop posé. Très bonne maitrise de la lumière générant de très belles couleurs.
A bientôt sur TE pour de nouvelles aventures.
Gérard

bantonbuju (49014) 2006-12-17 3:42

merhaba izzet,
thank you for the tip, next time i'm in egypt i'll try to visit the place,
any particular, hostorical reason for the nubians to be so skilled river sailors?
as for the photo itself - i'm not so sure about the focus, looks like you were focusing on the turban and left the face unsharp which is a bit disturbing,
bw, j.

daddo (11961) 2006-12-17 4:04

Hi Izzet. Forceful portrait of a member of an ancient people who helped build the Egyptian Civilization. Great colours, excellent positioning of the camera looking slightly up at a noble face. Regards. Klaudio.

nwoehnl (120) 2006-12-17 13:27

Hello Izzet. A nice portrait with a good diagonal angle to show the proud expression of the boatman. Good sinmplicity regarding the framing as well as the color scheme, all of which puts further attention and focus to your main subject. Nicely done. -- Unfortunately I don't have any Yemen tips at hand for you, sorry.

Tezic (16933) 2006-12-17 17:43

Merhaba İzzet Bey,

Çok değişik ve güzel bir portre.. Mavi, beyaz, kırmızı uyumu enfes olmuş..

Sevgiler - Coşkun

scalerman (25803) 2006-12-17 22:37

Izzet: something about the eyes is off, but the concept and compo are spot. An overall fine shot. regards, c

Semih (0) 2006-12-19 12:29

Hi again,
I live in Tashkent/Uzbekistan and your photos give life to me here. The expression on the man's face and the bacground colors are just superb. Best regards. Semih.

batalay (21821) 2006-12-23 1:16

Hello Izzet Bey,

Being quite new to TrekEarth, I am afraid I've just discovered your fabulous gallery of photographs, and indeed I plan to visit it periodically.

This is one of the finest portraits I've seen in a long time. The composition, colors and the sharpness are super. Since this is site that calls for constructive critiques, I believe I can offer you one that is actually a new discovery. I suggest cropping this photo (or actually the original) so that the centerline (vertical bisector) passes through one eye of your subject. (A little counter-intuitive perhaps, but my advice is his right eye, or on the viewers left.)

I wrote a book called, 'Math and the Mona Lisa,' about the intersection of art and science, art and mathematics. I am an artist/scientist, but the greatest individual to combine these fields was Leonardo da Vinci. I have a rigorous education, he had no education, and developed most of his ideas on his own.

In 1998 it was discovered by Christopher Tyler, British born psychologist working in San Francisco, that in all great portraits the vertical bisector or "centerline" passes through an eye. This is never taught in art schools, and Dr. Tyler discovered it accidentally. The discovery made the front page of the New York Times. In 2000 I chaired a conference in Seoul, Korea and invtited Dr. Tyler to the conference and got to know him quite well. If you will look through my gallery, find "Eyes" (of a tiny blond child) and "Portrait of Alexander" (a bust of Alexander the Great, you will see how I cropped the photo, but consciously.

You've done a superb job on the this photos. I am very happy to add you among my favorites,

Greetings from Virginia, and Yeni yiliniz mutlu olsun.

Bulent

Didi (37199) 2007-01-01 12:04

Bonsoir Izzet
Il ressemble à un copain à moi originaire de la même région.
Il a une fière allure comme la plupart des Nubiens qui vient en Egypte et au Soudan.
Meilleurs voeux.
Salamat.

salvator (19073) 2007-01-06 4:28

Hello Izzet Bey,
I realised I skipped to write my appreciation for this beautifull photo. The blue and the dark color of the man's skin, the red and the white against these beautifull colors are just fabulous, The POV is just amazingly beautifull.
Every picture tells a story is 100% true for all of your photos, they are almost alive.
I wish you a very nice weekend, & best personal regards. Salvator.