Behind the tree, Safaga Mosque Photo

Photographer’s Note

There's someone behind the tree listening to afternoon chats.

This is the mosque of Safaga village on the Red sea coast of Egypt.
I could only shoot one pic before someone came to me and started yelling which is quite uncommon from usually comprehensive and tolerant egyptians.

At the time I was in Safaga there were already police road barrages and controls in the area. 2 years later in 98, it was the bloodshed at Luxor, a few hundred kilometers from here, where dozens of swiss people were killed.
The egyptian police supposed the terrorists came from the Safaga and southern area.

OK, you can say the image is grainy, even neatimage won't address anything, it was shot in a period while I was trying to convince myself TMAX 3200 was an all around film.
Just imagine the camera settings at 3200 in the egyptian afternoon...

PS no idea of the region name in which Safaga is located...anybody can tell for Hurghada?

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Critiques | Translate

evilren (1395) 2003-05-29 19:15

u almost summed it up,2 more notes..
too bad the right bow is cropped
and the composition is wonderful.

Darren (6819) 2003-05-30 11:04

I like this, and I love the grain. Certainly 1/1000 of a second is quicker than I have ever shot at f/16. Technically, there are probably things I shouldn't like about this photo; the man being behind the tree, having one archway partially cropped, too much of a high tone effect, maybe others. For me, none of those matter, and as I mentioned before, the grain is a plus for me, not a negative.

mariogil (113) 2003-08-07 10:04

Good composition and colors.
B&W is fantastic.
The grain gives it the "magical touch".

clodreno (0) 2003-10-20 4:15

Le noir et blanc rend justice à cette très belle scène. je trouve cette photo très touchante, je ne sais pourquoi? est-ce la douceur des tons. bel effet.

Santi (163) 2004-03-16 12:11

Excellent shot. The grain comes with a very nice feeling. The man behind the tree was an inspirated moment.

About the tmax 3200, although I'd rather use Ilford, it's a good film. When using it in strong light conditions, you'd get very good results reducing it one or two stops (1600 or 800), and, with some restrictions, even three stops below (400). It helps increasing contrast and definition, and works much better than using an iso 400 one or two stops above. This way, we would be able to see some details on the picture.

maciekda (19599) 2004-05-10 0:44

hi Luko, from time to time I need to look at your old photos ;)
and this one is a very nice image, I really like this careful composition with the frame nicely divided into two parts - symetry.. the picture is very grainy, but somehow the grain enhances the mood of the scene. good moment too - poses of the guys are very natural.
very good stuff.

rage_tm (623) 2004-11-08 5:44

Hi Luko, Nicely framed shot. I like the symmetry of this shot. The grain and choice of B&W is appropriate for the image giving the mood you want to portray.

The men chatting and tree inside the barrel gives interest and balance to the whole image.