DIVINE COMEDY Photo

Photographer’s Note

this is a currency note of the old iraqi dinar. the boy was showing off his coin collection and asked me if i wanted to see something 'cool' he raised his hand and i took this shot quick. the currency note is not in circulation after the invasion of '03, different notes exsist now.

ADVICE TO TE MEMEBERS; this photo was posted yesterday and removed(censored) by system adminstrators becuase it had a title and note that was not fitting. after a heated debate between Adam and I we reached an agreement that i was allowed to post this photo but with out the previous note since it was POLITICAL in nature.

I will respect TE to not post images with "political ramblings" and SO SHOULD YOU because it can offend people and to maintian the sites integrity in being a place to learn about photography NOT opnions and world issues.

xuaxo, rjb874, gabrielpat, sebinho342, lucas_bsalles, brevbrev14, atus, anducina, Salma, moonstar, soma, mdetay, Benedict, SylFondacci, coco, diverjohn, kevinos, mpdre, Piwowarski, yogi32, andante, mathiasmag, Dillinger, stranger, SAMANDI, noborders has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

xuaxo (5835) 2006-12-31 18:04 [Comment]

Show Comment +

rjb874 (595) 2006-12-31 19:45

The original picture and your original note should not have been censored.

But we all value and enjoy Trek Earth, so we must accept their policy, as it is their website.

It is absolutely commendable that you re-posted this picture. As it expresses how you felt as the photographer, how this man felt as the subject and it featured Saddam, who now has a historical and newsworthy photographic value.

Photos with a political edge stir controversy. If this photograph provokes feeling, then it has done something, whether it was good or bad.

2 points for making the effort.

beautiful_mind (294) 2006-12-31 20:55

Hi rafid,you have an artist shot here ,but also I want to see the original note could you send it to me by private massege?

hubert (1566) 2006-12-31 22:10

Buon Anno Robert,
Nice to see you again.
You already know my opinion.
I am happy because I believe that the freedom of expression is a lot of important.
It must be gives to the spectator the possibility of approve or disapprove the work and the message that it transmits.
Marco

ballaln (400) 2007-01-01 3:26

Simply superb.

mesutilgim (37282) 2007-01-01 4:35

Hi Robert !
What shall I say; your capture tells everything.
Thanks for sharing and my wishes for a better 2007 !
MESUT ILGIM

gabrielpat (6553) 2007-01-01 7:11

a great shot of our world.

sebinho342 (18784) 2007-01-01 10:03

Hi Robert, interesting note, the picture itself is wonderful, very expressive, i've read your intro profile and i agree with you about countries in middle east. I've traveled in Jordan and this country is wonderful too :)
Terrific picture here.
Wish you the best

toto (18755) 2007-01-01 14:11

Belle photo,bonne netteté,belles couleurs,bonne année 2007. Amitiés Thomas

lucas_bsalles (520) 2007-01-01 23:14

Hello Robert,
Great picture indeed!!! Not only appropriated at this time with all the polemic raised up with the recent facts, but it is also a very nicely rendered picture. Great sepia/b&w dual effect. Nice framing and sharpness. Perfect!
Congratulations. Thanks for sharing.
Lucas Sales.

brevbrev14 (372) 2007-01-02 3:31

Hi Robert!
strong shot here!your focus is great as the expression of the boy!you have been great in this composition!
ciao!
Valeria

atus (15476) 2007-01-02 11:06

Hi Robert,
absolutely great and up-to-dateness shot. Very effective composition and very good pp work in desaturation. Perfect focusing and great dof.
Tfs and I wish you a peaceful and happy New Year!
Attila

anducina (8133) 2007-01-02 15:03

Excellent compo and framing, I love this combination between the b&w BG and the coloured FG. Very good.

TFS,

Andreea

Salma (1276) 2007-01-02 20:55

I think the best photos here are the ones that has a powerfull message behind it...
Well Done !!!
Regards,
Salma

Yar (795) 2007-01-03 16:23

well,
the name of the picture matches exactly the contents considering the both far past events and those recent ones.

well done technically,
regards

paura (39258) 2007-01-03 16:58

Robert,
This is an interesting shot very expressive and full of strong details.

Paulo

cuneyt-sb (6559) 2007-01-04 6:27

Hi Robert
Great compo , very attractive and messagefull picture
Great job,
Well done
Regards

soma (943) 2007-01-04 20:45

oh rafid dear that is not only a photo ....its byond that ,big time my friend ....strong mesg & compostion ...thats an atomic photo....well all the struggel about this photo will not show but how good and powerfull this photo is ...by censoring they are empowering ur work rafid :) great work and keep it up ....

p.s i dont wana bug u by askin the same question :P so if u had time then u know what i want to know ( the old title) ;)

jtclee77 (434) 2007-01-05 6:15

Hey Robert,

Great picture.. Love the message conveyed. Very well post-edited. I think it tells alot about how the people feel.

Very well taken, bro.

Happy New Year to you.

Jon

mdetay (4348) 2007-01-08 7:25

Hi Bob,
This is wright i.e. a divine comedy.
Nice duotone. Good subject and nice finger.
Well done.
Cheers from Hong Kong.
Michel

Benedict (7062) 2007-01-08 23:03

hi robert,
simply one of the best fotos i have seen on TE! and the notes are factual- TE should be a 'club' not only to learn more about fotography, but also a site for camaraderie, harmony, friendship and oneness! let there be peace on earth, in other words. great one, robert. hats off, my friend!
benedict

mark88 (5858) 2007-01-10 13:04

Very strong shot Robert. Excellent composition and framing, good choice coloured and B&W dual effect.
Regards, Marek.

SylFondacci (4085) 2007-01-15 15:55

Hi Robert,
This is a daring post considering the events !!!
Freedom of expression is the most important thing.
Beautiful dof and contrast between the note and the man.
Great job and thanks for sharing.
Sylvie

tibervince (781) 2007-01-16 6:00

Meaningful picture... great shot... strong symbol... Bravo...
Vince

vagabondtravels (6115) 2007-01-17 19:33

Hey Robert.

A great sign of the times. Some good images you have from Baghdad. What are you doing there? Anyhow great work.
Ben

att (1106) 2007-01-19 18:05

Hi Robert, I really wish I could read the original note, but the photo tells quite a lot even without it. I personally feel sorrow on the deep tragedy happening in your country which each day we watch at TV news. Yet watching is not living it at all. What we do is only watch, but I guess we can imagine no solution to what is happening there. The madness happening there unfortunately will take a long long time to heal the minds that are already effected by it.

muscovado (1530) 2007-01-28 3:55

Hi Robert,
I love the way the guy hold the notes :). very interesting subject, the b&w
b/g and colored f/g is excellent. TFS.
btw, could you send me the previous notes?
Czaldy

coco (28122) 2007-02-04 4:56

Hi Robert.

A few days I saw for first time this photo and now I've returned.
Good photo by itself, but specially interesting how the photo can have a meaning (perhaps different for everyone of us) beyond the image.

Regards.

Mistral (13780) 2007-02-04 12:55

Hi Robert,
absolutely a great shot!
Excellent composition and the sight of the guy is really great!
An image that make we think about many wrong things.
Well done!
A smile
Luca

diverjohn (490) 2007-02-04 13:07

I like it.
It does walk the line between politics and art, and I'm happy to hear Adam intervened to keep it as such.
Politics aside, the photo has great composition, relevance, and lighting.

savask (1813) 2007-02-24 2:46

Amazing shot. Clever composition and creative set up. A political message with humor

Ramy (771) 2007-02-27 4:43

I find this picture amazingly unique, it so simple yet so creative. Very well done!

cadel (1857) 2007-03-12 8:37

I wanted to look at Iraqi pictures to see what would come out of this country in very difficult situation. I found your very striking picture. How great it is, congratulations ! This is a "quick" shot ? Waoh !

gregbarnes (150) 2007-03-21 19:31

Very interesting shot. Nice work!

kevinos (6927) 2007-03-26 2:26

You have a very powerful image. I assume that you have done some selective desaturation.But it works very well. The sight of the banknote with the face of Iraq's former presedent and the dark haunting eyes of the man are moving. Those eyes seem to be asking questions. Questions that may not be asked here. Now, what is really interesting is what, title and what note could have possible upset the controlers of TE. Any picture of Iraq after the American invasion must be political. But, I suspect that it was a very political act indeed, to censor your note. Regards Kevin

ViktorVaughn (1517) 2007-06-14 9:06

Wow, just wow! This is one of my favourite photos I've seen on this website. The colours you chose are fascinating, and the eyes of the man holding the money are very strong. I can't say enough about this photo. The messages everything is perfect. Into my favourites.

When I was in Qatar I saw some of these bills in the souq's, but they were charging $100 US which I obviously didn't want to spend.

Great photo

mpdre (1587) 2007-06-14 22:22

Hi Rafid,
Two points for the defiant gesture of that man :)) I like the intensity of his eyes and
the note covering his mouth...
Good one!
Andre

matt_harris_42 (151) 2007-06-22 6:31

There is no such thing as total political neutrality - any photo or work of art that deals with current issues is bound to reflect something of the artist's opinions, even if it is only subconsciously. TrekEarth is, as xuaxo's note explains, primarily for learning about the world, so political issues should not be ignored for the sake of not offending people. On the other hand, notes should try to be unbiased in order to allow everyone to interpret things in their own way. So although your note may not have been appropriate (having not read it I can't judge), I don't think there is anything wrong with posting this picture. Anything that helps us learn or think about the world is at least interesting, often useful.
Regards,
Matt

[2] +

Piwowarski (169) 2007-07-12 4:52

Great shot, shows sth about the world. And, what is sad, shows sth about TE. Censorship is not a good thing, it removes your point of view, which should be an integrated part of the photo.

touristdidi (8561) 2008-03-16 10:30 [Comment]

Show Comment

Jonas_Schmitt (3074) 2008-03-16 11:04

great idea, due to sharpness, colours and comp
well done

rhino (302) 2008-03-26 17:31

excellent - little piece of paper that has so many connotations
very rock and roll

regards ryan

wag (651) 2008-07-02 11:41

Hello Robert, pure art..., not more to say, tfs
Peter

sn00zie (2384) 2008-07-09 1:35

LOL!

brilliant!

dwarf (74) 2008-07-09 1:50

Great! Nice shot..and very clever!
dwarf

stranger (720) 2008-07-09 2:46

Well this shot really freaked me out. The whole story of the guy posing like this and your own edition of the shot made it really BOLD.

If I want to talk about the artistic side of the shot, I should say, I love your edition(whatever political meaning it has), very nicely captured and edited afterward to express the true feeling of the boy toward the symbol on the currency note. I think this shot has a lot to say. The compo is great,the sharp front and faded boy half face and his eyes toward the camera looks just great.

Now I reach the meaning behind the very impressive shot we have here. For me, as an Iranian young man, Saddam was kind of a vampire who ruined a lot of Iranian childhood dreams(and a lot of other Iranian young men & women who lost much more than couple of dreams,their FAMILY).He called my nation as low and as bothersome as flies and tried to make a hero(the biggest Arab leader) out of himself for nationalist Arabs by attacking my country to capture and chain Persians once again in history as his ancestors did!He invaded our land to capture new revolted Iran,riding on Anti-Iranian myth between Arabs,Calling his military operations against my country with exactly the same names Muslim Arabs used 1400 years ago when they captured Iran,Bombed us with illegal chemical weapons.
I checked once again to make sure and saw that the description in TE homepage says: here is a place to learn about THE WORLD through photography, not about photography through the world!

amirey10 (565) 2009-04-21 10:18

shame on you!!
i love saddam because he was a great man, not like you!!

noborders (14201) 2009-06-07 14:02

Better late than never... A photo with a very simple and direct impact.
B/W with only the bill in colours works perfectly IMO.
Very strong, -- no time to read the discussion here but the text below the photo is useful anyway.

Congratulations, your last photos are great - hope that you are doing fine in Iraq !