early morning in banaras Photo

Photographer’s Note

early morning in banaras

Nobody has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

rigoletto (26326) 2007-09-07 13:58

Is this real?
I mean, this image looks like having jumped out from a surreal dream, so many gathered images, which make a feast for psychiatric readings.
A silhouetted little girl (this is you), geese, three tigers!!! (one having an erection???), one sitting and two lying figures, one of them being silhouetted and looking rather dead in a couffin, 13 boats and a street lamp! Why can have they come together in a single image?
The gathering is just awesome. So weird and beautiful...
Congrats Sohrab.
Deniz

Luko (13894) 2007-09-07 14:06

I saw this one on Flickr and told myself, what is this animal zoo, are you setting up Noah's ark again Sohrab?
I was amazed this was a 2 years old shot, more in your newer darker, more personal style (hope you read my reactions on your portfolio I sent you by mail, Sohrab).

kajspice (4534) 2007-09-07 14:07 [Comment]

Show Comment

SamB (1948) 2007-09-07 14:40

Hello, Sohrab--
There has been an abundance of really good moody work on TE lately... and here's another one. Contrasts are harsh, the grain is intense, and there is something surreal about the dark figures surrounding the bright geese, with the romance of an open expanse of water lingering in the background.
Thanks!
sam

syd1946 (17913) 2007-09-07 15:01

What can I say about this shot!My poor English doesn't help me.
A lot of strange feeling,unknown animals...looks like a dream...
wishes,
Thomas

bwiti (402) 2007-09-07 15:16

What a strange photo! I have the impression to discover one young child lost in an inhabited world of dark animals... Is she protected by these gooses ? Wish you she to escape beyond the horizon? At least congratulations to have to penetrate into this magnificent world... and sorry for my poor english...

hispic (7399) 2007-09-07 16:04

Hi Sohrab,
Really wonderful!
This is certainly one of the masterpiece on TE this year.
Fabulous arrangement of the dogs, ducks and people, it is like the picture.
I also like the grains of the sky.
Superb work!
Best wishes,
Hisashi

AnimeshRay (8886) 2007-09-07 18:40

Oh man, what a primal atmosphere! THe ancient city transformed into a magical land where only animals reign for the pleasure of little girls...like in Alice in Wonderland...a marvelous shot Sohrab! A bizarre world!
(Take a lot of fluid to cure that cold soon! We want you back in the darkroom)
Animesh

flory (4804) 2007-09-07 22:07

hi Sohrab,
a beautiful feeling..and makes me dream for this part of world.
where that light meet 'the most friendly team'
ancient times..
'a story' that enjoy my eyes.
thanksss!
Flory

BrianGraney (1734) 2007-09-07 22:45

It's rare one sees a fresh image from this place, but this one is great. Almost like she is standing in front of a picture....
The boats on the river would make a good shot by themselves.
Cheers
Brian

faubry (32323) 2007-09-08 0:47

woww, i am very glad see your photo this evening, i hope you stay a long time on TE,very irreel image, like a dream or a children book. superb image here, its true or a composition? wonderful shot. bravo to you
soon
francine

ndb1958 (9248) 2007-09-08 2:41

So good to see you again with your wonderful images. I guess this is near the places where they have the cremation fires. What a strange dreamy atmosphere created by the strong grain. The dog's silhouettes look like some beasts out of a fairy tale. Just one little child between these animals looking out on the river. Fantastic! Love it.
Nino

Furachan (0) 2007-09-08 3:00

Beautiful and dreamlike for sure, Sohrab. More contrasty than some of your other work and to good effect here with these near silhouettes down at the bottom. Position of the moon in the frame, shining down on those boats, man... Splendid.
Take care,
Francis

Priam1966 (892) 2007-09-08 4:01

Trés belle photo en N&B avec juste ce qu'il faut de grain les personnage au premier plan dans l'ombre et les canard eclairé par la lumière excellent

JKaranka (353) 2007-09-08 6:47

I absolutely love this shot. The nightmarish animals in the front, the silhouette of a kid on the left and the lit ducks in the middle. Arf, first favourite in trekearth. I just damn love it. Even the vertical framing, which is usually a bit hard to make work finishes nicely in the sea and horizon. The large grain also gives an illusion of enormous depth of field. I have one picture in trekearth that has a similar mood to this one (child and animals at night). So surreal. I would like to keep on writing but I shall stop.

prantik (1134) 2007-09-08 7:58

Reminiscent of Trent Parke's "Dream life" feature, perhaps even better than many of his pictures. If Francisco Goya ever made a film called Alice in Wonderland, this will be the shot when she first discovers the wonderland.

best
P

eleparc (24059) 2007-09-08 8:14

what a surreal scene! this dog on the left looks like a lion, the geese, the kids, the man sleeping on the pier, it all contributes to this surreal effect! Nice to see you back Sohrab! How are you?

Eric

sidstakes (770) 2007-09-08 8:27

I think I figured it, those aren't dogs, certainly not lions, they're perhaps goats...even I had mulled over this question when I saw it in flickr...its always a delight to see your images , and its best viewed here on TE...

Homerhomer (4005) 2007-09-08 12:43

this is one freaking unreal image Sohrab, just unreal. Dogs look like some underground monsters, the girl just seems freakish, shepherd of monster-dogs just about to unleash her powers, the poeple laying around are just mesmerizing. This is a horror story for me. Love the textures, especially above the shore line, love the fact that the dogs and the girl are completely silhouetted. One thing I am slightly unsure about the the exposure on the birds, perhaps they are a bit too contrasty or white.

Keep us posted more often Sohrab, what have you been up to lately?
Peter

michiels (4170) 2007-09-09 5:08

hello SOhrab,

beautiful grain and contrast. there is a lot of atmosphere in this photo. the highlight gives an almost unreal element with the girl and the animals as foreign elements in the whole image. i like it very much !
greetings, inn

Darren (6819) 2007-09-09 6:25

It is very nice Sohrab. Probably no getting around it, but I do wish the ducks' backs weren't blown out. Good to see you posting again.

prezntime (3945) 2007-09-09 11:22

Big, juicy, crackling grains...Beautiful light man. I can't say much other than it's astounding to see this quality on a consistant basis.

On a technical note, how was this processed to get such big grains? First, is it Tri-x. Second, what was the developer used for the film, and finally, what was the developer used for the paper? Just trying to get an understanding of how you managed these tones etc...

Really fine man,
Chris.

keithl (4) 2007-09-09 16:41

Cool, weird, fascinating shot. Don't know what it all means, but I like it! Even the scale is disconcerting with those tiny figures on the water's edge. Puts Ansel Adams' feeble moon shot into the shade in my book :)

coco (27876) 2007-09-13 0:36

Hi Sohrab.

Wonderful work with the light, the silhouettes and the shadows in this picture. Even the noise and the scene look cool in this photo.

Thanks for sharing.

arnab_thokder (63) 2007-10-03 12:06

There is nothing special in this photograph....... As far as this is sohrab's photograph...
He has always presented such masterpiece..

This is unreal man.. this is simply unreal...
Sohrab - back with a bang...

Polonaise (5636) 2007-10-23 8:15

One of those with the mood...
Don't even try to explain it...
The mood is there... the explaining of the mood - usually kills the mood...

One more good reason to love the PS...(if you know what to do with it...?).

Kabuko Theatre in Indian version...
I buy it !

g.

............

wolf38 (12871) 2007-11-05 4:20

Hello sohrab. A masterful photo. My acknowledgment. Best regards, Wolfgang.

sayan (2609) 2007-11-06 6:09

This is something so surreal. The atmosphere can be felt even when I am seating in the humdrum of daily life! So cool and serene. Wonderful work Sohrab,

regards

sayan

nicoz (1963) 2007-11-07 7:34

Doh, I had missed that one.
I was talking about "dreamlike quality" in your croc shot. I see the same thing here. It's kinda surreal these animal geometricaly aligned by species, the moon or the sun and its refection on the river, a man sleeping.
I read that it's "early morning" but it looks very much like night to me.
Beautiful!
Nicolas

kwekwekan (292) 2007-11-10 22:37

If Salvador Dali was a photographer instead of a painter, I imagine his work would look something like this! The surrealism that you've captured creates so many possible narratives ... something akin to 'Noah's Ark,' the small girl 'protected by the gooses,' or (to add another possibility) maybe she's guarding over her three friends below.

Actually, it's sort of as if the two who are fast asleep have conjured up this grainy, fairytale-like image in their dreams

Needless to say, Sohrab, I've very glad to have stumbled across this incredible photo!

touristdidi (8561) 2007-12-06 16:49 [Comment]

Show Comment