Colors of Alexandria Photo

Photographer’s Note

More than the monumental highlights of Alexandria, such as the famous library, museums, the Roman Theatre or the Catacombs of Kom es-Shoqafa, what I really liked was walking around its streets.

I'll give you the words of Charlie Pye-Smith, 'The Other Nile', to express what I felt:
"I loved the shabbiness of the streets and cafés, the melancholy which hung over the city late of an evening, the slow decay (not destruction, mind you) of what the Europeans had left behind when they fled".

Alex encourages nostalgia trips and random exploration, if only because "the sights" are limited and chance incidents often more revealing. Don't be afraid of following your nose and deviating from the usual itineraries, which could be completed in a day if done at the trot. While the Roman Theatre and the Catacombs of Kom es-Shoqafa are the monumental highlights of Alex – whose classical heritage is enshrined in the new library and Alexandria National Museum – it's the ambience of the former European and "native" quarters that sticks in your mind.

Source: Rough Guide to Egypt book.

JanD, siamesa, TopGeo, macondo, feather, Gerrit, Kielia, paura, chris04stop, ChrisJ, bostankorkulugu, papagolf21, Photo65Net, Cricri, Emile, JCG, stego, carper, lucasgalodoido, Didi, Tue, AiresSantos, xuaxo has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

JanD (15053) 2008-12-05 2:32

Howdy Ricardo!
Nice scene. Interesting street. Beautiful colors. Good light and bright.
Regards!

John_F_Kennedy (31994) 2008-12-05 2:46

Nice to see a thsi alley from a city we see not so often here on TE: Wonderful colour and sharp details from this POV makes this a pleasure to view.
Best wishes,
Achim

Yenod (56) 2008-12-05 3:07

Beautiful frame, Ricardo!

jasmis (51023) 2008-12-05 3:32 [Comment]

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siamesa (13239) 2008-12-05 3:38

Bom dia Ricardo,
Uma cidade bastante movimentada pelo que se vê na foto.A profusão de marquises, fios e pessoas andando dá uma idéia de como é o comércio. Uma cidade que parece existir apenas no imaginário, quando se pensa em toda a sua história. Acho que as compras fariam a felicidade de muitas mulheres, inclusive eu, é claro.
Abraços
maria

TopGeo (22231) 2008-12-05 3:56

Hi Ricardo! Interesting picture of daily life in the interior of city! Important colours and other elements they is visible, her history they is interesting but does not appear here, us they is only known.
Georgios

macondo (13271) 2008-12-05 4:47

Hi Ricardo.
A very colourful and happy street scene which makes daily life in Alexandria seem very pleasant. This street is full of life and the buildings look to be in great condition. I like the fact that the man turned around just as the shot was taken. The picture has good depth and the colour looks very natural. A good depiction of this busy little street.
Regards,
Andrew

jmdias (19899) 2008-12-05 5:53

ricardo

bela foto de rua, daquelas que eu jamais tiraria.hahaha. Gostei muito da luz e das cores. os detalhes são inumeráveis e mostram bem a vida neste cantinho do mundo. uma daquelas fotos que nos mandam de viagem em um segundo, parabéns

abraços

jorge

feather (50154) 2008-12-05 6:59

It's not so much the "shabbiness of the street" that caught my eye, but the glorious clutter. There are so many cables dangling around and lines for hanging washing. But what really catches the eye is the smiling man, who has spotted you and your camera.
Kath

Gerrit (36287) 2008-12-05 7:42

Hi Ricardo,
excellent city photo. Beautiful hectic streetscene and the man turning is a well positioned and welcome element.
The colors are beautiful.
Regards, gerrit

princejee (196) 2008-12-05 8:26

nice scene

Kielia (8735) 2008-12-05 8:28

Hi Ricardo,
a very fascinating impression of this wonderful place!
I like your POV and the beautiful light very much and looking at this image I get the feeling of walking around this street on my own. Most of all I like the winsome expression on the man’s face. My compliments!
Warm regards
Harriet

paura (39306) 2008-12-05 11:49

Ricardo,
A paisagem urbana é muito interessante, um verdadeiro "mafuá". Pitoresco também é a variedade de formas arquitetônicas. Linda sua fotografia.

Abraço

Paulo

gilou530 (35700) 2008-12-05 12:25

salut ricardo
une photo haute en couleur par une rue au facades multicolores et avec une lumiére fantastique et une netteté nickel, bravo
amitiés
gilbert

chris04stop (2513) 2008-12-05 14:16

Wonderful colors, Ricardo! I like your shot full of people and life. Bravo. Here all is white, white, white... and you can not image the deep silence!
Anna Paola

ChrisJ (70443) 2008-12-05 16:24

Ola Ricardo

A vibrant market scene from Egypt, & I like the man turning back to look at the camera. Good sharpness & framing. Tfs!

ribeiroantonio (21975) 2008-12-05 17:40

É espantoso ver-se a anarquia organisada que vai por esta rua. São cabos em todas as direcções, gente a andar no meio da rua, ësplanadas" no passeio, mulheres tradicionalmente vestidas (os homens não!!!), oleados a fazerem sobra e até uma "paranoica" lá ao fundo. Incrível!
Pelo sorriso do tipo no primeiro plano, pode-se deduzir que ninguém leva a mal a prensença de um turista de máquina fotográfica em punho. É bom isso.
Enfim, tens aqui uma foto cheia de vida e muito interessante.
António

emka (22357) 2008-12-05 23:29

Hi Ricardo, I also like the busy Arab streets and markets, I could walk there for hours. I love this smell and disorder and cables hanging everywhere. Very nice colourful street. Splendid atmosphere of the Orient.

warm regards

Malgorzata

bostankorkulugu (33984) 2008-12-05 23:44

looking at the architectural details on the yellow building this must be one ofthe old greek quarters of the city... a typical middle eastern daily life scene full of colours, smiling people and sunshine... keep sending summer shots mister, i am not warm enough yet>:D...

Graal (58732) 2008-12-05 23:47

Hi Ricardo,
very nice street reportage, an interesting place in Alexandria, fine colours and contrast. Good photojob. I like it.
Gr., Aleksander

papagolf21 (56749) 2008-12-06 2:08

Bonjour, mon ami Ricardo,
Je ne connais pas la ville d'Alexandrie, aussi j'apprécie sa découverte à travers cette très bonne prise de vue qui relate sans fioritures la vie et l'architecture. Je remarque l'anarchie des câbles électriques qui forment une sorte de toile (pas encore la toile du web, tout de même).
Les couleurs sont excellentes et très représentatives du pays.
Amitiés.
Philippe

Photo65Net (43096) 2008-12-06 3:09

Hello Ricardo,
Nice street catch, and great attitude from this man.
I like the result, as it put us into the action.
Have a nice day,
JB.

Cricri (43762) 2008-12-06 5:14

Hola Ric
C'est plein de détails et de couleurs dans cette rue bien vivante et souriante, merçi au monsieur sympat :-) trés belle scéne de rue
Have a nice day for you
cricri

danos (33300) 2008-12-06 7:13

Ola Ricardo,
this is a custom scene of Egypt street market,with a lot of people to passing by.I like the different colors of the houses as the happy smile of the man in the foreground.Well done.

Have a nice afternoon,danos

Emile (20127) 2008-12-06 8:15

Hola Ricardo.
Wonderful daily life shot in one of the street in Alexandria, this is the way i imaging the streets of such beautiful city, nice colors and light, your POV is very good and also your frame. Well done.
TFS.
Best regards and wish you a nice weekend.

JCG (25753) 2008-12-06 9:36 [Comment]

Show Comment +

stego (22478) 2008-12-06 10:46

Olá Ricardo,

Fabulosa! Eu tb. adoro vaguear por ruas como estas, cheias de vida e de colorido, onde até o ar pouco limpo e o caos das construções, uma misturada do arco da velha de antigo e moderno, conseguem ser fascinantes.

Apesar da relativa barafunda (apenas visual, porque o ambiente parece muito calmo), a compo está muito agradável. Acho que para isso contribui muito o enquadramento, a luz muito bem ajustada, as cores fortes, a disposição espacial das pessoas e o jogo de olhares na nossa direcção, não só daquele careca de bigode bem disposto, como dos grupo de homens ao fundo e da mulher de preto.

Esta é uma das muitas facetas do Egipto que practicamente não vi, excepto por umas horas "livres" de guia e companheiros de excursão em Assuão, que deve ser bastante diferente, apesar de alguns pontos em comum. Alexandria e o Cairo há muito que têm um fascínio especial para mim. Confesso que já não me lembro dos nomes, nem sequer do enredo dos livros de L. Durrel que li já há muitos anos, mas é provável que a origem desse fascínio venha daí. Mais recentemente tb. li um livro daquele escritor egípcio famoso, qq. coisa Mafhouz(?) cujo enredo se passa entre Alexandria e o Cairo.

Um abraço, José.

carper (65696) 2008-12-06 22:56

very nice street shot here Ricard,
good quality and there is a lot to see, nice photojob, thanks for sharing. have a nice day
regard jaap

lucasgalodoido (16789) 2008-12-07 9:16

Olá Ricardo,
bem interessante mesmo essa foto de toda esse caos urbano, e a expressão do senhor pra foto ficou hilária. Belo trabalho.
Parabéns e Abraço

Didi (36452) 2008-12-07 10:20

Hi Ricardo
I don't know this district of Alexandria; my knowledge was limited between Ramleih station to Maamoura beach in the east and Agami beach in the west.
No difference with old streets of Cairo.
No change sice 1974 date of my definitive departure except one thing : The ladies are wearing the Chadoor Veil and too much excessive modern buildings.
Best regards.

Tue (25608) 2008-12-07 14:17

Hi Ricardo,
Great photo with a wonderful impression from the streets of Alexandria. Great colours, nicely brought out by the sunlight. And there is really a lot to see, great details. Nice inclusion of the smiling man looking over his shoulder too. Thanks for sharing!
Regards,
Lars

hispic (7399) 2008-12-07 19:02

Olá Ricardo,
Great street shot, vivid colours of the street, people walking lively, the man smiling to you. I really like this image of the sunny street.
Regards, Hisashi

AiresSantos (42924) 2008-12-12 0:58

Ola Ric
Um cena de rua bem captada. O homem parece ter parado para a foto... Alexandria parece ser uma cidade muito colorida. Excelente perspectiva e detalhes.
Abraco e bom fim de semana
Aires

pablominto (41372) 2008-12-14 1:00

Hello Ricardo,

I find the lively street scene attractive, the situation is well framed and has good details!
The shady side contrasting the well lit street side creates excitement and dynamics, and the guy in front seems to enjoy being photographed...
A balanced composition with good depth!

Greetings,
Pablo -

COSTANTINO (23239) 2008-12-16 12:58

Hello Ricardo,
This is the success of T.e.To be able to visit
all over the world through the eyes of the
photographer..Nice scene of Alexandria,with
many details,colours,good light...
Really colourful..thanks for sharing
Costantino

Bluejeans (33081) 2008-12-17 5:25

Oi amigo ,
Que confusão de rua tipo bairro alto , tem uma bela mistura de cores bem alegres , muito interessante a arquitectura das casas ,parabéns!!
Um abraço Gonçalo

Angshu (34119) 2008-12-18 19:53

Ola Ricardo
Quite familiar to say Rajasthan...except the dresses, the language scripts & the facades. Lots of colours, lots of wires & dishes. Nice candid shot except for that man, who's interested in your picture as well. A picture of Alexandria which is not touristy...well done my friend!
Best Regards
Angshu

xuaxo (5835) 2008-12-21 15:35

Olá Ricardo,
Exactamente! Uma foto destas faz-me ficar mais tempo a olhar para ela do que uma dúzia de monumentos famosos.
Eu não costumo agradecer que publiquem aqui as fotos (parto do princípio que já o fazem de boa vontade, num espírito de partilha), mas faço uma excepção: obrigado por me teres colocado dentro desta rua durante um bocado.
Já agora, esse camarada em primeiro plano disse alguma coisa, cumprimentou?
Um abraço,
..-. .-. .- -. -.-. .. ... -.-. ---

Urs (3274) 2009-10-28 6:42

Ola Ricardo

That is action photography. a view of the daily life. I know you just shot, there was no time to think. I do that all the time. The horizontal format works well here. As I go more for the vertical I would had framed the approaching 3 man, but that would be a completely different picture, as I most probably would had missed the guy looking into the camera at the right. Vibrant colors and high sharpness, well done my friend

Friendly regards
urs

Photo Information

Copyright: Ricardo Lopes (riclopes) (33135)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2008-05-12
Categories: Daily Life, Architecture
Camera: Samsung Pro815
Exposure: f/5.6, 1/200 seconds
More Photo Info: view
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): Languages*Sprachen*Línguas*#1, Daily life, street scenes & candid [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2008-12-05 2:24