the shoe mender Photo

Photographer’s Note

On request, I felt obligated to post a view of this shoemaker shop.

A rather old dilapated shop contrasting all the shiney smiles which charmed me a lot.

(NB : for details, see also the workshop -
... a question for our Indian friends : what is sold, on top of the head of the sitting man ? He told me it was condoms, and I answered politely : "No thanks !"...)

(a scanned photo taken in the north of the city, somewhere in the narrow alleys)

A fine weekend to you !
Cath.

Vasa, rigoletto, Mondaychild, japiey, indoka28, xavshot, oochappan, delic, hattori, riclopes, pierrefonds, siolaw, vinicio, axiotea, ewasting, radiohead has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Mondaychild (1513) 2007-07-28 6:15

Hi Catherine,

condoms?? I can´t imagine they used condoms ... in Kolkata ... in 1983!! Amazing!

But you are right: the photo is very attractive because of the contrast of the old floor, the old wall and the colorful clothes of the lady in the left and the condoms on the wall. The people, especially the old man, look very 3-dimensional.

Well done! (Doesn´t look like a photo in my age ;-))

xavshot (62477) 2007-07-28 6:25

Bonjour Catherine
je n'ai pas non plus la réponse à ta question mais j'aime beaucoup l'ambiance de cette photo. les couleurs sont superbes et les expressions de ces visages rendent la photo très vivante. Beau travail.
Xavier

indoka28 (5187) 2007-07-28 6:27

Hello Catherine,

A beautiful shot of the shoemakers and his kids...the smiles are the only bright things which lights up this rather dark shot..but the darkness of this shot is looking good here..!!good saturated colours..its a great effort by you to go to these shady places to get your daily life dose..!!! I appreciate it very much..!!

The things hanging on the wall are not condoms but packs of playing cards(after a look at the WS)..male contraceptives are very common in these localities and a lot is found in local cig shops also around that place as these localities are pretty mush visited by people with commercialised carnal interests and are obliged by poor women and also some of the backpackers who lose/exhaust their money and want to make a quick buck for living or going home..!!

Thanks, Catherine for this shot..!! I liked it..!!

Regards,
Indro

oochappan (22032) 2007-07-28 6:32

Indeed fun all those smiles coming out this dark old shop making the place even nice to look at all the details here, a good colorful scan Catherine, and a fine weekend to you !
Henk

TMLH (1668) 2007-07-28 6:32

Hi Catherine,
Congratulation for posting such an wounderful shoot. The people might be poor but they are happy.

Rgds
Tony

delic (6735) 2007-07-28 7:04

Hello Catherine,
Amazing and unique. The warm smiles, esp. that of the sitting man, are so much in contrast with their conditions in Kolkata. This should be an occasional reminder to all of us. Composition is tops, and I also like the colors. I'm curious if any post-processing was involved here. Regards,
Hakan

ibhm (309) 2007-07-28 14:47 [Comment]

Show Comment

hattori (2) 2007-07-28 23:46

dear catherine,
great great and great shot, colours, people, compositon are perfect, i am really impressed
congratulations
best wishes
nezih

Bruno40 (6440) 2007-07-29 1:09

Cath
Excellent composition. the amount of detail and the mess (in the good sense of the word) are really good.
Good reflection of daily life in India
TFS
jorge

japiey (9493) 2007-07-29 1:52

Hi Cath.

Smiles to you for posting this..
Lovely smiles allaround...and a great painting in a 3 dimensional effect !!
Fantastic composition, colours, effects, and a beautifull image of daily life.

With warm wishes...

jean paul

rigoletto (26326) 2007-07-29 2:11

Hi Catherine,
I have no idea of the source of the request, but it is really greatly resulted. Perfect colors, beautiful smiles and a cheerful atmosphere. The condoms and the textile on the left make this one one of the most colorfully crowded photos i've seen. Congrats!
A fine weekend to you too :)
Deniz

feather (49860) 2007-07-29 3:04

What a happy photo this is I love the way the children are delightedly pushing their way in. You have a strong diagonal from the older son on the left to the father.
Kath

photographer123 (5755) 2007-07-29 9:29

hi..
very good expression of them...but are you sure he was a shoemaker?...best wishes...subir

danyy (68802) 2007-07-30 13:47

Bonjour Catherine,
une photo très spéciale qui montre la bonne humeur dans une vie difficile et peu luxueuse.
J'aime beaucoup la discretion des lumières ici et l'intensité des couleurs.
Je ne suis pas fan des photos de protraits mais certaines me plaisent dont celle-ci.

Amicalement.
Daniel.

riclopes (33003) 2007-07-31 9:07

I think that the darks and strong contrasts give some charm to these old photos of yours. Look at that wall where the colorful disposal is hanged on...The set of smiles and poses is fantastic and I love the diagonal line that you manage to get, starting at the first face on the left upper corner and ending on the feet of the shoemaker. A really precious image.
Ricardo

RADEEH (2762) 2007-07-31 9:26

Black, Black Black everywhere, see his foot.....
Still this shot is very lively. What have you made them to laugh this way.
Seeing a foreigner in their street might have made them happy and smile.
Lively shot. Can,t forget these faces.
And your memory is amazing....Great !!
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edited on 31.07.2007
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pierrefonds (26309) 2007-07-31 12:32

Bonjour Catherine,

Une belle image de ce cordonnier et des enfants, ils sont très joyeux. La photo a une bonne composition, netteté et de jolies couleurs. Bonne journée.

Pierre

achakladar (786) 2007-07-31 23:50

Wow, what a frame that you have captured ! Great expression !

siolaw (25736) 2007-08-01 8:35

Salut Catherine
Une superbe cascade diagonale de sourires!!! J'aime bien aussi le cote antique avec ces contrastes pousses et ce grain tres agréable a l'oeil... Bon cadrage aussi...
Joli
Laurent

maredeniz (1006) 2007-08-01 13:54

Hi Catherina,
This is perfect shot with smiles,reliefs of the wall and the other objects on the floor,compositon...
Thanks for sharing
Deniz

vincz (19043) 2007-08-02 19:33

Elle est super celle-la, une belle scene de la vie quaotidienne, ils ont l'air si heureux de vivre! Superbe!

Angshu (33665) 2007-08-03 0:26

Hello Cath
I see a lot of contraptions & things which has little relation to a shoe-mender or a cobbler. But that doesn't matter as the picture has a radiance, which I like. Well composed in a diagonal & the quality has been quite well recovered from the scan. Now, the things hanging in the wall-shelf does look like playing cards especially when I see your WS.. Very nice picture Cath!
Best Regards
Angshu

giorgimer (21176) 2007-08-03 6:15

Hi Cath,

another wonderful scene from you! Excellent moment capture with the happy members of this beautiful family.

TFS

Gio

manatee (4285) 2007-08-05 12:23

Always for me the smile of the children is one of the best things in the world, I love this smile is so truly, so wonderfula and makes me feel happy, really, I like the men too his smile is very contagious.
Nice work as usual Cath

A warm greetings

Elias

vinicio (22412) 2007-08-06 15:41

I much like these portrait of daily life and old works of people, and your image is very good and well done, in order to show the life in this country, compliments.
Ciao
Vinicio

devimeuxbe (55865) 2007-08-10 13:45

Bonsoir Catherine
La qualité n'est pas parfaite mais largement compensée par une beau dynamisme et beaucoup de spontanéité.
Une image vraiment sympa
Amicalement
Bertrand

quillo (7174) 2007-08-16 10:19

Hi Catherine:

A nice familiar scene of the daily life in Kolkata, I think that the key of this photo is in the smiles of all .... they seem happy: it is something that I surprise!

Congratulations for the photographic reportage.

A greeting

-

dilane (10259) 2007-08-16 16:00

Salut Catherine,
un poil poussée non ? mais ça le fait qu'en même. J'aime avant tout dans cette image, outre les expressions extraordinaires des enfants, la diagonale que tu as constituée avec ces 4 portraits- j'aime bien aussi le mélange de couleurs en haut à droite qui rappelle le tissus de gauche - vraiment très chouette comme photo -j'aime beaucoup -
amicalement
daniel

sayan (2609) 2007-08-17 6:58

Hello Cath,
I missed your gallery recently for my busy schedule. What I like most in this composition is the naturalness. The smile makes the compo a beautiful one. The typical shoe maker captured by your lens. WOnderful job.

regards

sayan

Polonaise (5636) 2007-08-17 17:59

The truth is:
You're one of the best photographers on TE...
No, not just one my favorites...
ONE OF THE BEST ON TE, and I know what I'm talking about !
You must trust me on that ...
It's not an easy task to comment upon the class of your photography, Catherine...
There is just a handful of photographers, where I feel a bit helpless to asses their productions..
I'll be back to talk more about it...

Every of your pictures deserves an attention, and deserves to say something valuable about it, and here is where I find myself absolutely unadequate to express my opinion..

It could be my laziness though, dear...
-----------------

This photo...?
As every of the others of your works...
Just a show of a splendid photography...

g.

axiotea (16111) 2007-08-18 0:17

Bonjour Catherine
Beaucoup de joie émane de cette photo! Oui, c'est magique tous ces sourires et on a beaucoup de chance de pouvoir côtoyer des gens, (qui trop souvent on la vie dure) qui ont un vrai feeling.
On ressent beaucoup d'amour venant du pere et de ses beaux enfants. Les textures sont bien rendues et le cote un peu sombre de la photo ajoute de l'atmosphère a l'image.
J'étais un peu surprise que les petits paquets sur le mur soient des 'condoms', j'ai lu plus bas, que ce sont probablement des jeux de cartes.
Amicalement
Marilyn

keribar (42748) 2007-08-18 3:47

, Hello Catherine,

Bonne décision de nous montrer cette photo superbe, et encore scannée: Je peux m'imaginer comment le contraste aurait été encore meilleur si tu l'avais récemment faite avec un numérique. Tes capacités photographiques étaient déjà bien avancées il y' a 16 ans maintenant.

Bonne fin d'été et n'oublie pas de me chercher si jamais tu viens a Istanbul.
Izzet

venslens (436) 2007-10-25 1:45

contrasting and striking colors - bright and dark portray the reality of the family...Good pic.

Think you are aquainted to Henk...i saw a photograph of the acress both in henks and your gallery in the same situation.Thank you.

ayansadhu (1499) 2008-01-20 19:18

Hi Cath, this is really a nice one with very good composition & moods too...
Funny notes accompanying it too :)

radiohead (335) 2008-08-03 0:29

Hi Catherine,
Wow what a great photo! The colours are intense, as are the smiles. I love the relaxed smile and posture of the shoe mender and the excited smiles of the children. TFS.
Cheers, Michele.

Vasa (5584) 2008-12-19 17:13

Bonsoir Catherine,

en attendant ton reapparition je me fais beau et je lisse mes chaussures ici a Kolkata tout en admirant cette photo "Kodak" que tu as merveilleusement realisee.

Grandes amities reservees pour toi, amie,

Branko