Just an African market, a photo from Mopti, South

Photographer's Note

Continuing my series of B&W original photos here is another one from Mali.

When I have posted photos from crowded streets or squares in the Middle East I have often received the question: "Where are the women?".

Now I am proud to say: "Here they are".

Although at least 80% of the population of Mali are regarded as Sunni Muslims, the culture is totally different from that of the Middle East. Or at least it was, 35 years ago when I took this photo. But I can't really imagine it has changed much, in spite of the upheavals of recent years when fundamentalist forces have created a lot of trouble. I am sure women are still active everywhere in society and that they still show their faces and bare arms.

So in this market place in Mopti, south-central Mali, I saw almost only women. Apart from a couple of small boys the only man visible is on his way out, on the left side.

I have scanned this from an Ilford FP4 negative. Here is a larger version. Another photo from a Mopti market is added as a workshop.

Royaldevon, papagolf21, snunney, CLODO, jhm, Fis2, jean113, COSTANTINO, ikeharel, pajaran, GyurMaster, cornejo, ktanska, worldcitizen, macjake, adramad, PaulVDV, PiotrF, mcmtanyel, kordinator, ourania, danos, ChrisJ has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Royaldevon (85606) 2017-02-15 2:18

Hello Gert,

We are neighbours, today!

My first thought exactly was what a lot of women on show!
The market looks to be heaving with activity, people moving in every direction! You did extremely well to gain such sharp images.
I imagine that it was very colourful and noisy; not noisy in an unpleasant way, just the hubbub of people selling and chattering.
This seems like a warm, welcoming country.

Thank you for sharing this interesting photograph,
Bev :-)

lousat (138561) 2017-02-15 2:22

Hi Gert,2 old pics but nothing is changed after 35 years,i seen moments like this in the small villages of the coast of Senegal,especially watching the WS where the women are selling dried fish. Magnificent memories another time,the market so busy of women is a show to don't miss...well done! Have a nice day and thanks,Luciano

papagolf21 (152605) 2017-02-15 2:40

Bonjour, cher Gert,
Je suis toujours avec ravissement votre album journalistique et apprendre à travers vos notes.
Une photo qui parle d'elle-même à propos du sujet (femmes).
Amitiés.
Philippe

snunney (130967) 2017-02-15 2:42

Hello Gert,
Excellent capture of this busy market scene. Although your image is in black and white one can imagine a riot of colour judging by the multi-patterned clothing and a cacophony of sound. Good choice of the panoramic frame to put the accent on the subject.

CLODO (45116) 2017-02-15 3:47

Hi Gert

It's really a busy market on the street of the city, we almost can't see the goods, but only the people wandering, some having a basket on the head. No one noticed you
Cheers
CLODO

jhm (211734) 2017-02-15 4:32

Hello Gert,

What a busy moment on this market, I must very well look to the different women, I don't know or be here men.
You chose a very well angle this cares for depth and perspective
Perfect panorama view about the area
An excellent composition and presentation.
Very well done, TFS.

Best regards,
John.

sacimar (38173) 2017-02-15 4:52

Hello Gert,

this is a good image of this interesting market, there are so many people.... I like the black and white option here, it is a good photography, well done,

Best regards,

Sergio

jmdias (114220) 2017-02-15 5:01

gert

impressive crowd where the most part of personages are women. I liked the position of that one in FG, at left side, very beautiful and interesting.

hugs

jorge

Sergiom (117241) 2017-02-15 6:45

Bonjour Gert,

Même si cette pièce d'archives est en noir et blanc on peut voir toutes les couleurs de ce marché africain. La foule est importante et il y a de la joie dans l'air.

Amicalement

Serge

Silvio1953 (220525) 2017-02-15 7:02

Ciao Gert, lovely and interesting B&W with a lot of people, nice scene, splendid light, fine details and excellent clarity, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

Fis2 (169659) 2017-02-15 7:45

Witaj Gert!
Another amazing b&w scene.
Good frame and composition.
Excellent reportage shot.
I like this daily life shot.
Well done.
Nice afternoon.
Krzysztof

Cricri (176) 2017-02-15 7:57

Hi Gert
Très belle scène de vie, bien présenter en N/B, intéressante image en WS
Belle soirée
cricri

rychem (72187) 2017-02-15 8:37

It is a very nice photo of the crowded market place, and thats right, the mostly people are women, excellent documentary photo
regards Ryszard

COSTANTINO (115477) 2017-02-15 8:39

Hello dear Gert and have a nice time
and a happy new day
wow what a lovely black and white capture
I would like to see it as colorful drawing
our eyes towards them but never mind
here we have a classical artistic photo
a long long time ago almost 35 years
you took this photo I am very impressed
by your work one time again
greetings dear Gert
regards
Costantino

jean113 (27613) 2017-02-15 8:43

Hello Gert, an excellent post,and even better in the enlarged version; it was such a busy place!And the second photo supports it so well.
So much detail to enjoy.
Regards Jean.

ikeharel (112397) 2017-02-15 9:05

Marvelous picture from the outdoor market, Gert, and I bet the multitude colors suppose to appear vivid and attractive - but I can understand the B&W format here.
The WS photo also interesting complementary view. Superior doc.'s.
Good evening,
Ike

pajaran (114845) 2017-02-15 10:15

Dobro vece.
Lep pogled i trenutak, dobar tekst ...
Dobar rad skeniranjem negativa, lepo pokazano sa fotografijom u radionici. Lepa fotografija i secanje.
Prijatno vece i sve najbolje, srecno.
Paja.

Good evening.
Beautiful view of the moment, a good text ...
Good work by scanning negatives, nicely shown with a photo workshop. Beautiful photographs and memory.
Good evening and all the best, good luck.

GyurMaster (24668) 2017-02-15 10:49

Dear Gert,

What a turmoil of people here! Looking through over and over again, I still discover new faces and details. The women on the left with the bottle on her head is a nice focal point, where my eyes can return.

Best Wishes,
Gy.

cornejo (61504) 2017-02-15 11:11

Hello Gert, good photo of this interesting scene of daily life in the market, very well captured in this interesting image, with good sharpness, light and quality. A great work perfectly done, my congratulations, my friend. Thank you for sharing this interesting work.

Good night and happy rest of week.
All the best from the south of Spain.
Angel.

ktanska (44446) 2017-02-15 11:57

Hej Gert,
A busy market view from this remote town. There's so much going on this bare open space. B&W adds certain old times feeling. But all those rich fabric patterns makes me wonder about all the colours they probably had.
Kari

batalay (41261) 2017-02-15 12:14

Hello Gert,

Again this is a timeless shot of the market in Mali, appropriately presented in B&W. The crowds of women and children milling around sets the tone, with odd man strolling right off the stage. My daughter has a large print from a market with a backdrop provided by an iconic building. I don't know what the building is, but that exotic scene is memorable. Perhaps you know the building.

Warm regards,

Bulent

clic (76) 2017-02-15 13:37

Hello Gert Of course, that was the good old time of the all-purpose 125 ISO developed three-overlaid in Paterson tanks! On top of the nostalgia, you show a lively piece of history that we had to work on for hours to get such appealing results! Basta halsningar

worldcitizen (15956) 2017-02-15 17:02

Hello Gert,
There's a lot going on in this photo. I guess for the local people there's a kind of controlled chaos in markets like these. The woman on the left, with the basket on her head, makes a nice focal point. It's a fascinating daily life scene.

macjake (98260) 2017-02-15 21:37

Hi Gert
wow, this is an action packed scene. The strong contrast between black/white/grey makes it hard at first make out all the forms/shapes which are closely packed together.
and as you could imagine its one of those scene where you find yourself looking all over and examining so many of the people one by one. now my eyes hurt haha
cheers
craig

dkmurphys (79209) 2017-02-16 0:16

Good morning,
A lovely chaos there. I only imagine how many colors were in this market. Good shot.
Have a nice day.

Daniel

emka (157280) 2017-02-16 0:55

Hello Gert, I can imagine how this picture may look in colours, but it is real b&w. wonderful scene from the busy market with so many women and some boys. I like also the picture with the women selling fish. I saw similar fish market in Myanmar. Great scene from black Africa. in my trip to southern Africa I haven't seen such markets, in fact I saw few people, rather elephants or crocodiles or hippos.
Have a nice day

Malgo

Nicou (193806) 2017-02-16 5:58

Hlelo

Quelle image du Mali fantastique quelle vue de ce marché avec de très nombreuses personnes quel rendu NB et marché sueprbe captage et com po.
Bravo et amitié
Nciou

adramad (72536) 2017-02-16 9:56

Hi, Gert.
Wow .... what a tremendous Gentile in this market, although it is a magnificent composition in B & W, we can imagine the mottled colorful with that variety of dresses of flashy drawings, a very vital image.
Sharpness and lighting are all factors perfectly accomplished, in this interesting image.
Well done. I like it.
You have a good day.
Very best regards.
Luis.

PaulVDV (62790) 2017-02-16 12:38

Hello Gert,
Just an African market? This should be a spectacle of sounds, smells and colours.
This is a scene I'd love to see in colour.
The same religion as in some Middle Eastern countries. Yet a very different society.
I think you had to watch out not to stumble over merchandises.
Best regards, Paul

PiotrF (54246) 2017-02-16 14:14

Hello Gert,
Great archival series of photo from Mali. Interesting daily life scene, informative notes about women.
Photos in the workshop are also very interesting.
Very good composition and quality, fine presentation.
Regards
Piotr

mcmtanyel (67583) 2017-02-16 20:19

Hello Gert,
It looks like a very colorful market, I can only imagine the colors the women are wearing.
Regards,
MT

kordinator (8738) 2017-02-17 1:21

Dear Gert
Wonderful series of your B & W photos original here is another one from Mali.
Indeed many women on the street, that mutual trade.
An interesting text as always.
Photo from the workshop is perfect, too.
Great photo job.
Kind regards
Saša

ourania (51103) 2017-02-18 1:28

Hello Gert,
it's amazing how a glimpse of a fleeting moment within a narrow panoramic frame can look so busy and vibrant, giving us so much cultural and daily life information. You handled depth and greys wonderfully, the scenes captured are meaningful and the architecture in the background offers a valuable point of reference too. The scene in the workshop is also interesting but looks so quiet after a view of the main post. Congratulations and thank you!
All the best, have a great weekend,
Ourania

claudeD (47754) 2017-02-22 12:21

Hello Gert,

very fine b+ w picture from Africa showing this amazing market scenery animated by this mass of people. I like the scenery very much. Tfs.

With regards from Luxemburg

JC

kasianowak (17672) 2017-02-24 12:20

It's very difficult to translate what must have been a very colourful scene into monochrome but you did that very well. Black and white medium captures the contrast and patterns better than colour photography.
I really like the concept of the only man leaving the scene as if he were running away (if it were in Poland he would be on his way to go fishing with his mates...). ;-)
Have a nice weekend
Kasia

saxo042 (38078) 2017-02-26 11:14

Hej Gert,
Här saknar man alla färger som jag förmodar finns överallt i bilden. Men naturligtvis blir det mer konstnärligt med enbart svartvitt. Ett veritabelt myller, hur som helst.
Hälsningar
Gunnar

Periko (9105) 2017-03-06 23:26

Hi Gert
Even in black and white this scene is great, in which the woman to the left is eye catching.
I have seen women dressed in similar style (for the tourists) in Cuba and Colombia.

Best regards
Pedro

danos (110407) 2017-03-08 7:59

Hello Gert,
Wow what a scenery! Great the view of this open air market with all these natives to make the image so attractive and unique.The B/W image enhance even more the beauty of it.

Regards,Danos

ChrisJ (171172) 2017-04-07 14:35

Hello Gert,

An interesting African market on many levels, with the women busily engaged in commerce and their headwear and dress very different to North Africa and the Middle East. Good sharpness and tonal range. Tfs!