Four of a Kind, a photo from Brava, Sotavento

Photographer's Note

Location: This is the rocky beach near the village of Fajã d'Agua on the island of Brava, in Cape Verde. Cape Verde is an island nation off the west coast of Africa. Brava is the smallest inhabited island in Cape Verde with an area of only 67 km². This is one of the most remote locations I've ever been to in the entire world. There are no flights to Brava. You can only get to or from the island by boat, and the boat only comes once or twice a week. The feeling of being cut off from the rest of the world can be exhilarating and a little scary.

About the Photo: I know it's hard to see them clearly, but the four Kabuverdianu’s in this photo, from left to right are: João de Deus, Cabo Verde, Neilson, and Nelo (who was actually from Angola). This tide pool was filled with interesting aquatic life, like sea cucumbers, fish, crabs, urchins, and corals.

Technical note: This is a scan of a print. Sadly, the negative was ruined several years ago, thus the only thing I have to remember this moment was the print I had made before the negative was destroyed. Also, this photo was taken with a cheap point and shoot camera before I knew anything about photography. In other words, I know this is not sharp and I apologize. However, this is a place that has yet to be represented here on TE, and might be of interest to somebody in the world, and that’s why I’m posting it.

NellyD, gelarsen, benkrut, napdsp, darrasin, luisafonso, pboehringer, xuaxo, lostwhoiam05, Emiel_Skyfreak, rui_seabra, dabeto has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

benkrut (2407) 2006-09-13 21:06

Hi
For me this is a good photo. The location it was taken is very exotic and remote for me. That's why I prefer the pictures from f.e Cape Verde over the photos from let's say - United States. Also I like it because of the quality of the scan. You can find here my scanned pictures from China and Mongolia and yours is far above them. Any tips for good scanning?
Take care
Hope you'll find more photos from there.
HS

napdsp (744) 2006-09-14 1:16

Beautiful place. Great decisive shot. You truly captured the fun they were having. TFS.

UnTrained (0) 2006-09-14 4:26

I like the combination of the colors. And in between the fun of the four. Well done and be careful with the scan and print version ;-)
Regards Ulf

luisafonso (862) 2006-09-14 10:20

A very personal post my friend. I am with you in these kind of choices. The photo itself is not one of those dreamy velvia landscapes we are so used to see from you but it’s a good photo in its own right. That light blue washed sky is not the greatest of all but I bet that’s the way Cabo Verde weather is. The green water is nice and so is the presence of your friends there. In terms of scale, this wouldn’t be the same without them. This way we really see a huge pool. You should thank them for the success of this photo. :)

leo61 (0) 2006-09-15 0:27

Hi Ryan!
The quality is OK for a scanned print.
Your photo shows in a nice way the joy of the Cape Verdians,although their live is hard on these dry and isolated islands.Good POV and nice color combination.
Regards,Leo

fayeulle (27827) 2006-09-15 10:06

Hi Ryan
I like very much your framing with different parts and such different colors.
Good quality despite the scan
Cheers
JP

pboehringer (770) 2006-09-16 11:16

I'm glad that you decided to post it. This is a perfect example that necessarily the camera is important or the scanning process just ruins a picture.
The composition and 4 layers (calm green water, rock with waterfall, crushing wave and sky) is excellent. Obviously the 4 guys in the water gives a good reference.
Estando em Portugal e Angola por tanto tempo voce deve falar portugues fluentemente.
Um abraco, Peter

xuaxo (6854) 2006-10-06 14:22

Hi Ryan
I don't care about the technical details (even so, from a scan it is quite fine).
I like the amazing colors.
And it is always a pleasure to see pictures from Cape Verde. (My wife is from São Vicente and my father-in-law is from Brava).
Francisco

Murmeli (2037) 2006-11-11 14:06

interessante, gostei muito desse lugar especial e as 2 pessoas no meio pacece tão feliz !

Jonathan