The Night of the Bats Photo

Photographer’s Note

Last weekend was terrible hot in North Italy, so we went on the Lake Maggiore, at the home of my parents.
They have that home in a small village on the Lombardian shore of the lake: Portovaltravaglia.
Saturday night there was the Notte dei Mezaràt (the Night of the Bats - in the local dialect: Ràt is a mouse, Mez means Half, so Half-Mouse = Bat!). It is a small festival with jazz bands in the squares, vernissage in the gallerys, all the bars and restaurants and bakeries were open all the night to the sunrise, and the "father" of that small "street fair" is Dario Fo the Nobel Prize for Literature of the 1997. He was born in Sangiano, few miles Southern than the Lake, but when he was very young all his family came to Portovaltravaglia to live there. Fo, then went to Milano to University and lived there from more than 50 years, but all the rest of his family lived also today in the small village. It's not rare find him during week ends or in the summer days.
3 years ago, Fo wrote a book about his childhood, the Book was titled The Village of the Mezaràts. And he talked about Portovaltravaglia and the inhabitants.
So the Council of Portovaltravaglia decided to organize evrey year the Festival of the Mezaràt, with Dario Fo.
The first 2 editions have a great succeses.
In that image you can see Dario Fo that was looking to the Piedmont shore of the Lake Maggiore from the small pier of Portovaltravaglia, feww minutes before the official opening of the 2005 Night of the Mezaràts. (all are waiting for the last sunrays).

rbcy1974, papagolf21, supereira, maphoto, gaby, vincent24, stefi, Vagabond, sam224, lestans, eleparc, devimeuxbe, ChrisJ, ndb1958, sayzey, mjdundee, annagrace, elihesamian, Marlis, Guntram, pebbles, hispic, omerozden has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

gilad33 (14094) 2005-07-18 4:04

Wonderful!
I love the colours and scene.
A bit more light would be great, but it's obvies you didn't expose it more and loose the wonderful colors of the water and sky.

G

greg64g (11193) 2005-07-18 4:04

Hello Paolo,

Great composition, i love the balloons here and a so special light, well done this is perfect.
cheers
greg

rbcy1974 (20746) 2005-07-18 4:05

HI Paolo,
Nice composition, beautiful colour in the sky. I like how hte balloons contrast with the rest of the image. Why is it called the bat nite?
A+
Daniel

bantonbuju (48796) 2005-07-18 4:09

bravissimo paolo! congratulations on the exceptional catch: the baloons and their holders are so nice with "broken" by the adult repetition;
very sweet pic!
have a nice week, jerzy

mimmareu (582) 2005-07-18 4:19

Ciao Paolo,

complimenti è proprio una bella immagine. Il contrasto generazionale è la cosa che colpisce di più. bravo
Ciao a presto
domenico

alekpet (4659) 2005-07-18 4:21

Great compositious, marvelous shot. A string of klds is broken by an old person in the middle. Perfect symetry and perfect parallel lines, both horisontal and vertical.

letuananh (2486) 2005-07-18 4:23

Ciao Paolo,
Very impressive, compo in here very well.
Regards.

papagolf21 (56749) 2005-07-18 4:50

Bonjour Paolo,
Une photo pleine de charme et de beauté, pleine de douceur !
Cette photo aurait pu être classée parmi les moments décisifs tant ces moments sont rares.
Très belle réalisation.
Bravo Paolo.
Amitiés.
Philippe

jinju (14265) 2005-07-18 4:58

The balloons are a wonderful addition, they make the composition come alive. Nice repetition and the adult breaks it quite effectively. On top of the I like the central placing of the ballooons and the spacing between them. Its all very harmonious.

supereira (9576) 2005-07-18 5:14

I like the composition and point of view.Very good colors,light and shapness.Good reflections in the water.I like the little girls and the ballons.Good job!

maphoto (8076) 2005-07-18 5:38

Nice atmosphere that you have captured Paolo, the balloons contrasting nicely in front of this nice mountains in the background, nice framing and colorful, well seen.

naxius (16679) 2005-07-18 5:48

Hi Paolo,
Great mood here! I like the pastel ligh you had with those beautiful kids and their balloons.

Superb POV and DOF!
Really like it..
Alex

danby1 (3689) 2005-07-18 6:08

good shot, great colours! good contrsats, good shot! well done! a sucessful shoot!

Graal (58732) 2005-07-18 7:09

Hi Paulo,
very nice view, peaceful climate here. Good capture. I like the colours and composition, too. Well done.
Rgs, Aleksander

vbourrut (30644) 2005-07-18 7:18

This is nice and cute, I like the simple composition, as I like the special mood with soft colors and lighting

Regards,

Vincent

gaby (19793) 2005-07-18 7:45

Hi Paolo, une image réellement splendide - ces ballons et la compo donnent un effet merveilleux à la scène -
Félicitations
Merci
Gaby

vincent24 (9038) 2005-07-18 8:00

Salut Paolo,
Une belle ambience familiale dans cette image,les silhouettes se decoupent bien sur le lac aux reflets doré,joli travail,
vincent

ducnc (814) 2005-07-18 8:10

Hello Paolo

Very good photo, It's look simple but great idea.

Ducnc

stefi (1147) 2005-07-18 9:02

Bella immagine Paolo, un bel colpo d'occhio per cogliere il tuo concittadino famoso e la sua famiglia! Bello il contrasto fra generazioni con il sole al tramonto (con tutti i suoi significati in questo caso) e l'armonia di colori (verde- rosso arancio- violetto dei palloni), in perfetta triade.

Wehbeh (36) 2005-07-18 9:12

Great composition.
And I do not miss more light at all: This fading washy evening light makes it special.
Thanks

AmiBe (6042) 2005-07-18 9:57

Ciao Paolo,
lovely picture, the colored balloons make the shot here.
The light is excellent, too.
Very well done

Vagabond (5797) 2005-07-18 10:39 [Comment]

Show Comment

sam224 (5851) 2005-07-18 10:41

Grande scatto Paolo. I palloncini colorati risaltano benissimo sullo sfondo scuro del tardo pomeriggio. Luce eccellente con i riflessi nell'acqua a rendere ancora più attraente il tutto. Bravo!

serenadanesi (926) 2005-07-18 10:44

Bellissima composizione grazie ai colori dei palloncini (sono originali?). L'alternarsi delle bambine (alta, piccolina, adulto, alta, piccolina) e' fantastica.

Zepi (22848) 2005-07-18 11:33

Hello Paolo!
Très belle composition aux couleurs très judicieuses!
Bon cadrage, chouette angle de vue!
Que du bonheur en fait!
Super travail
Merci pour le partage
Amicalement
Sébastien

ayobami (1343) 2005-07-18 12:40

Wonderful light and perfect capture of these kids with their balloons! Like they were almost posing, equally spaced with different color balloons! Beautiful!

banyanman (7739) 2005-07-18 12:50

A great capture, Paolo. The contrast of the coloured balloons against the fading evening light, and orange sky above the mountains makes this a very interesting composition. I would have categorised this as a 'decisive moment' though. Cheers . . . David

snuggleaphagus (4140) 2005-07-18 12:58

A beautiful composition and the colors are stunning the balloons really bring wonderful splashes of color to this photo.
VERY WELL DONE

lestans (15500) 2005-07-18 13:01

bellissima dolcissima foto! Ed ottime informazioni. Gran bella luce Livia

udijw (392) 2005-07-18 13:40

What a wonderful shot.
Vivid balloons on an (almost) monochromatic background.
All the little girls have no patience at all they are going forward. Daddy is tired from the long day, and wants to rest just one more second in front of the wonderful view.
Well captured.
Friendly,
Udi.

eleparc (24059) 2005-07-18 15:12

great shot paolo! those balloons are well captured! one can feel the hot atmosphere around them... interesting note!

Rinie_Hoff (9334) 2005-07-19 1:26

Hi Paolo, I saw this one coming to the board yesterday, and was really charmed by it. I did not have time to commend at that moment, so I'm coming behind everybody else.
I guess everything has been said already, the light is wopnderful and the four balloons, contrasting so very nice against the dark and blurred background in the evening, is certainly a delight. The beam of sunlight is beautiful.
Well done!!

billabongx (1561) 2005-07-19 3:25

ciao paolo,

bella foto con ottimi colori. I palloncini sembrano proprio saltar fuori dalla foto....

ciaociao
daniele

nilolabrador (1469) 2005-07-19 4:38

Min.... La fote e' bella e ci aggiungi pure Dario Fo!?
Senza parole.

ChrisJ (70443) 2005-07-19 6:21

Bonjourno Paolo

Bella foto. I like the sense of depth, the 4 evenly spaced ballons, & the 4 children carrying them, & the superb view of the sunset. Bellisimo!

devimeuxbe (56370) 2005-07-19 6:32

hI Paolo
very beautifull composition with the old man and the children.
Fantastic colors and light.
It's perfect
Bertrand

keribar (42760) 2005-07-19 9:18

Hello Paolo,

Gret shot this one.. Difficult to take pictures of children when they do not block each other as it is done here. I also enjoy the gray background on the lake and the light triangle at the top. I wish this triangle was slightly larger.

Keep well - Izzet

john_c (24635) 2005-07-19 10:29

Hi Paolo,
What an interesting scene you have captured here! The ambience is inviting, and one can almost feel the warm breath of summer here. The people are spaced almost symmetrically and the colour of the balloons nicely contrasts with the water and mountain beyond. Very soothing and well rendered.
John

sergecross (3438) 2005-07-19 12:08

Hi Paolo:
Incredible theme and subject, you are representing. I like the ballons and the people inside. I like the frame and the background, the sunlight looks like a road on the water, i am sure that people will like it, another category can be daily life or nature. I want to go to your country, i like maranello and milan.

ndb1958 (9249) 2005-07-19 12:18

Ciao Paolo,
is that really the famous Dario Fo? Congratulation. I guess it is a very special picture of him staying there between the kids holding their baloons. I'm impressed. I guess you could sell this to a magazine about literature.
Nino

sayzey (2358) 2005-07-19 13:33

Hey Paolo interesting photo with the differnt coloured baloons. I would have liked to have seen the top of the mountains, the fact we can only see a small bit of the sky is slightly distracting, I think i woudl have cropped this photo to concentrate mainly on the baloons the children and the reflections in the water!

or maybe you coudl have taken another photo of the top and joined them both with a panorama maker!

still good subject well captured!

nerve (10212) 2005-07-20 3:57

Hi Paolo,
Very cute shot.. three baloons are just beautiful here, make the image in a true sense..

i love the soft effect all over..
ciao.

eco (84) 2005-07-20 4:15

Hi Paolo

very nice photo
fantastic place
perfect compos
very nice balloons
good work
regards
rafal

huynt (5077) 2005-07-20 6:49

Hi Paolo
Golden light on top as well as refelction is too wonderfull. Excellent composition with a man beween 4 children. Best regards. Ciao. Huy

fabio_ts (13674) 2005-07-22 5:11

ma quanta poesia a questa foto?
quasi felliniana... complimenti bellissima.

jasmis (51023) 2005-07-22 6:45

Well, well! Astonish photo. Very creative atmosphere here.

mjdundee (3524) 2005-07-28 2:03

Ciao Paolo,
very impressive shot. Great catch of the atmosphere you describe in the note.
I can feel the heat when I look at your picture.

Thomas

annagrace (2463) 2005-08-03 10:15

Great note, very interesting story about the festival. I love all the colors of balloons superimposed on the lake. Gorgeous image, grazie!

Alli

elihesamian (26091) 2005-08-18 13:56

Hi Paolo!
First:
please contact with ( kikvel@yahoo.com ) about TE Book,Mr.Cesar need your email for this project about your photos and....the time is short,please hurry,just send him a short email.
***
This shot is nice,great atmosphere and very beautiful,very lovely,the old man and the kids two a side and two another side with color ballons and lovely background made me nostalgic,well captured and composed and very well worked,Thanks for sharing.
Best to You
M

Marlis (2274) 2005-11-05 14:42

lovely shot, Paolo,
The colorful balloons brighten up the image and add a touch of humor. Nice to have all the children and the man lined up, spaced perfectly. The light reflecting on the water is a soft background.
Thank you for sharing.
Marialuisa

Guntram (6) 2005-11-25 8:05

Hello Paolo,
this is absolutely s-u-p-e-r-b!, Composition, light, mood ... there's so much in this shot, what I like very much!
Thanks for sharing
Guntram

papatya (55) 2007-07-22 1:52

Very nice composition, Paolo!
That was m first visit your photos and you already took your place in my favorites :)
Congratulations!

hispic (7399) 2008-01-26 3:58

Hello Paolo,
Depicted the atmosphere of the evening very well. It's interesting that children with colorful balloon and a grandfather are queuing up at equal intervals in the backlight.
Excellent work.
Have a nice weekend, Hisashi

es841 (1854) 2008-08-26 2:33

Très jolie photo. Très poétique et reposante.
J'aime beaucoup.
Luc.

chpp (4007) 2009-08-07 7:36

Ciao Paolo
one of those random pictures TE has in the main page, and I came across this one.
Excellent composition, the girls in line with the different heights and balloon colours.
very nice shot
TFS
C