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Lone Life
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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
I took this shot at the beginning of the Sahara,i saw this man on the sand and his look was lost on the infinity of the desert as he didn't have a place where go.
I added a Color verison too in my WS,I hope you like!!!
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From Wikipedia:
Matmāta (also spelled Matamata) is a small village in southern Tunisia. Some of the local Berber residents live in traditional underground 'troglodyte' structures.
The structures typical for the village are created by digging a large pit in the ground. Around the perimeter of this pit artificial caves are then dug to be used as rooms, with some homes comprised of multiple pits, connected by trench-like passageways. This type of home was made famous by serving as the location of the Lars Homestead, home to Luke Skywalker, his Aunt Beru Lars and Uncle Owen Lars for the Star Wars movies. The Lars Homestead was in fact the Hotel Sidi Driss, which offers traditional troglodyte accommodations.
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History:
Ancient history
The history of this extraordinary place is not known, except from tales carried from generation to generation. The most probable one says that underground homes were first built in ancient times, when the Roman empire sent two Egyptian tribes to make their own homes in the Matmata region, after one of the Punic wars, with permission to kill every human being in their way. The dwellers of the region had to leave their homes and to dig caves in the ground to hide from those invaders, but they left their underground shelters in the night to attack invaders, which appeared to be very effective in sending the killer groups away from Matmata. A myth was made those days, that monsters emerge from beneath the ground and kill land usurpers. In any case, the underground settlements remained hidden in very hostile area for centuries, and no one had any knowledge of their existence until 1967.
The way of survival in those severe conditions was difficult: since Tunisia is famous for massive olive oil production, the men went searching for work north of the villages every spring, when the olive season began, getting back home in autumn, when the season was over. They were usually paid in olive oil, which they traded for other goods (in present days for money), and thus provided enough food, clothes and other things for normal life of their families.
Modern rediscovery:
It was not generally known until 1967 that there were regular settlements in this area besides wandering nomad tribes. That year, intensive rains that lasted for 22 days innundated the troglodyte homes and caused many of them to collapse. In order to get help from the authorities, a delegation was sent to the community center of the region in the town of Gabes. The visit came as a surprise, but help was provided, and the above ground settlement of Matmata was built. However, most of the people continued their lives in re-built underground homes, and only a few of the families moved to the new surface dwellings.
Today, Matmata is a well-known tourist attraction, and most of the population lives on tourism and folklore exhibitions in their homes. |
mehmetemin, sayeed_rahman, dbiaggio, vinicio, broken_nail, Clementi, jmcl has marked this note useful
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hi emanuele
good picture but... I think that "Policemen in Giza" can be the right title for this shot.
mehmet emin
Hello Emanuele..
Have seen quite few shots with the same theme and most were not appealing..this one set against the wilderness intensifies the subject..the sepia overtones have worked well for this composition..Good One
Cheers.
Sayeed
Nice use of a few stark elements, with good diagonals and positioning. Definitely gives a feel for the vast emptiness.
B&W was a good choice, as was the sepia tone, but I think it the tone needs a bit of correction; on my monitor it has a greenish cast.
Hi Emanuel
Interesting pp you have done here. Good comp and some nice lines. Very sharp with good detail. Well done.
Ben
Continua a non piacermi il viraggio "seppia" che applica PhotoFiltre ma la foto č bella e ben fatta, ben bilanciata e con bella atmosfera, complimenti.
Ciao
Vinicio
Una bella composizione con il grande fascino del deserto , bravo.
Stefano.
Ciao Emanuele ,
bella questa composizione , anche se come detto da Vinicio il viraggio non e' dei migliori , aspetto le prossime visto che sei stato in stand by per sette mesi .
Giorgio
P.S. essendo di nato e cresciuto a Frascati ma una generazione precedente alla tua potrei conoscere tuo padre se e' quello che penso io
fammi sapere
- jmcl
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2465 W: 141 N: 3477]](http://i1.trekearth.com/misc/g-g-g.gif)
(12356) - [2007-11-22 14:50]
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Emanuele,
I love the balance of the infinite vastness and your subject .... tremendous and moody .. I like the tone .. but it is also too much .. I think a bit less might actually be better .. very nice image that speaks loudly. nice to see you back.
take care,
John
![Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Note Writer [C: 113 W: 6 N: 37]](http://i1.trekearth.com/misc/g-n-s.gif){kind=small}
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 214 W: 4 N: 226]](http://i1.trekearth.com/misc/g-n-g.gif)
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