Street talk, a photo from Maputo, South

Photographer's Note

Some 'daily life' photography from the streets of Maputo, the capital of Mozambique. What caught my eye here was the girl with a 12.5 kg bag of flour on her head. Despite the weight, she could still manage a smile when she stopped in front of a store for a chat with her friends. I was also fascinated by all the wooden beds that were placed along the street (top right). I wondered what happened to them when it rained. I suppose they leave them there and then sell them as ‘weathered timber’ beds.

I’ve put a close up of the beds in the workshop - their intricately carved bedheads are quite interesting.

PP: Removed noise at default filter settings and sharpened (200%) with NeatImage, then some minor adjustments in Photoshop to levels, shadows/highlights, contrast and saturation, then added a little more sharpness in PS with USM @ 150%.

ribeiroantonio, vincz has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

kensimage (8563) 2006-11-18 10:27

The woman on the right really makes this work, David, as she is an observer just like we are. I like your slightly high POV--were you standing on something? Nice framing to keep out the unnecessary clutter that can spoil a scene like this--just the essentials. Regards, Ken.

PJE (20758) 2006-11-18 23:53

Hello David. I can clearly see here that this photo is very well executed in position of people in the frame, the cargo on the left, and the distant perspective of the wooden beds and part of the city. Excellent work David!

ribeiroantonio (22730) 2006-11-19 0:11

This is typical African scene. I have seen it many times in Angola, even the bed or dinning tables’ street market. It is a really pleasure for me. It reminds me my own country, Angola. Very well done.
Antonio

acordeiro (155) 2006-11-19 6:28

Bom registo

Africa que eu não conheç.....e que me fachina.

abraço

Álvaro Cordeiro

PixelTerror (0) 2006-11-21 6:39

Hi David,
A nice street scene from this rarely presented country, I appreciate here the excellent clarity of your photo and the widening of the angle to add some context to this street talk.
Have a nice day,
Jean-Yves

feather (51130) 2006-11-24 10:29

All it takes is one smile to make a joyful photo. I also like the composition although much of it I expect, was outside your control. Did you notice how the talking group makes a little triangle; one of the corners points to the passing woman who adds balance to the image.
Good work
Kath

vincz (19113) 2006-11-25 3:59

Excellent quality daily life shot. Very good sharpness, lots of details and very good texture. A shot that is very pleasant to look at.

Kenny10pin (19301) 2006-11-26 0:31

Very ncie daily life shot here, great work and timing, tfs

Polonaise (5802) 2006-12-03 7:50

To enclose an information, a valuable information about the country, or city, or reagion - in ONE, single photo - it's not an easy task.
How much actually you can put into it.
In your case David, quite a lot.
Your photographs are always enriched with your extraordinary notes, and as a team they are just about priceless contribution to TE .
Thanks Dave, a million

g.

AiresSantos (56155) 2006-12-04 3:12

Hi David,
Magnificent POV in this lovely shot. Great colours and definition. It has a lot of details and very good texture.
TFS and have a good week,
Aires