Door to Door, a photo from Karas, South

Photographer's Note

The desert is reclaiming the old mining town of Kolmanskop which was founded around 1908 when the first diamond was discovered there.

This once thriving town is now a ghost town abandoned long ago when people found more riches elsewhere.

All that inhabits it now are the ghosts and the sand.

Suppiluliuma, Bartleby, carlo62, ChrisJ, Kofman, Kofman, CLODO, jjcordier, adores, bukitgolfb301, madhumita_roy86, Rulrich has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Suppiluliuma (3931) 2012-03-27 22:44

This is a part of Namibia I was not exposed to, but got to know thanks to you and Rosemary. Sand seems to represent the passing & accumulating time, and our lives end when our little rooms are filled enough with it.

TFS.

Erdem

ilghiz (708) 2012-03-27 22:50

This is really impressing! Looks surrealistic thanks to the sand covering the floor all the way into the depth of the gallery. Great colour and light/shadow managing with palpable textures!

emka (157280) 2012-03-27 22:58

Hi Wanda, Wow, impressive view. The presence of the sand here looks incredible. Excellent shot with great depth. I saw some ghost town also in in USA. Similar situation. There were gold old silver mines and the town were full of life, now they are abandoned. Always a feeling of mystery when you visit such places. I go to Namibia in september but I do not know if the kolmanskp is on the route. TFS.

Warm regrads

Malgo

InasiaJones (31566) 2012-03-27 23:16

Salut Wanda Panda,

I like this photo where the door succession seems to go on and on. I also appreciate the fact that there sin't any fresh footprints (other than the bird ones) to disturb the scene, making the place appearing even more deserted.

It's interesting to see how the light interact with the location, passing from highlights to shadows, therefore bringing dimension, volume and movement, as well as accentuating the sense of depth.

Excellent choice of angle and door alignment, avoiding straight forward symmetry, which would have been boring in my humble opinion. The way you have chosen to compose this photo is dynamic, despite the static elements.

Just enough spooky... :-p)

Well done.

AXXX

SnapRJW (31631) 2012-03-27 23:36

Good Morning Wanda - Pictures of the slow decay taking place in Kolmanskop are so evocative. This one is lovely. The soft light and colours model the interior details well and the depth is very good. My eyes are almost pulled into the depths of the building. If only walls could talk. Warm regards Rosemary

Bartleby (13552) 2012-03-28 0:32

Hi Wanda,
superb atmosphere here and a picture that can lend itself to many interpretations...the passing of time, from door to door...Great framing and flawless exposure. Love it!

Philippe

sevy (58) 2012-03-28 0:42

Hello Wanda,

You have a nice serie of shot from this place with André.
I look back and from a similar one from you, I prefer this one. I guess mainly because of the sand drawing kind of diagonale lines in the frame and giving dynamism to the composition.
You start to have a nice serie of shot of this place.

Yves.

maxifred (0) 2012-03-28 0:51

Hello Wanda,
I've seen an incredible TV documentary about this:it was called "Kolmannskuppe ghost town". Who could imagine the activity of that part of the namibian desert some decades ago?
I like the atmosphère of your image,as well as the small rodent feet track in the sand...
best regards,
Fred,Belgium

carlo62 (81265) 2012-03-28 1:25

Ciao Wanda
un'immagine impressionante, da brivido.
Grande profondità di campo, bellssima composizione e ottima luce.
Complimenti
Carlo

ChrisJ (171146) 2012-03-28 1:45

Hi Wanda

There are a couple of old ghost towns in Western Australia I would love to see one day & this shot reminded me. Good sharpness & layering with the multiple doors one behind the other acting as frames. Tfs!

CLODO (45116) 2012-03-28 1:53

Hi Wanda

It seems that the moving sand with the winds is taking back the abandonned houses. The nature is really powerfull.
Good illustration of these old houses
Cheers
CLODO

jjcordier (79299) 2012-03-28 8:52

Wanda
La nature a repris possession des lieux et tu en as profité pour réussir cette excellente photo de très grande qualité. Le cadrage, la gestion de la lumière et de la profondeur de champ, les couleurs....tout ça est parfait et, en plus, le sujet est très intéressant. Bravo!
Amicalement
JJ

yquem46 (38752) 2012-03-28 10:42

hello Wanda
I like this one
very delicate pastel washed out colors from the entrance to the end room
Surrealistic vision of all this sand invading the flat of this ghost town
Bonne soirée
patrick

holmertz (101890) 2012-03-28 11:03

Hello Wanda,
Clearly some surrealist artist must have been here before you. This is a truly weird but great and unusual composition. I cannot but marvel at the sand floating through every room of the building, past one door after another. I love the frames within frames and the faded pastel colours.
Kind regards,
Gert

Jeppo (17645) 2012-03-28 11:23

ciao wanda,

the man came to the desert and founded this town. now the man has gone...and desert eat the town back...

ciao
jeppo

adores (46979) 2012-03-30 19:17

Hi Wanda!
What an impressive place! Great pov to show us the different rooms, with different colours on the walls. With all that sand coming in, it seems almost taken from a fiction movie.Good light, sharpness and dof!

bukitgolfb301 (54014) 2012-03-31 14:15

Hello my dear Wanda

Sorry for my usual late reaction, as so busy weekday.
Wao---, this is another impressive and shocking shot.
Great well considered vertical framework.
Sharp and clear color contast presentation is marvelous. Thanks for your sharinig with best shot and have a nice weekend!
Best regrads,

Takero from Tokyo, where "SAKURA" should open flower, but not yet this year.

madhumita_roy86 (2344) 2012-05-26 12:33

Hi Wanda,
incredible shot... very nice...
very good concept....
Good sharpness & layering with the doors make the composition very impressive...
Tfs! regards,
Madhumita.

Nard (6972) 2012-06-16 2:05

Hi Wanda,
Nice perspective with all these doors and a good light in each part. I like the mood given by the old used colors and how the sand looks like a beast eating the house.
Regards
Bernard

adidas5nb (5743) 2012-07-30 5:36

thats an original and a remarkable pic.wow. really very nicely spotted.and i love the multiple layers,filled with heaps of sand and each layer has got a different color.the play of light and shadow makes the pic surreal.FANTASTIC.
regards
DWAIPAYAN

kasianowak (17662) 2013-08-09 1:47

Hi Wanda
Very well executed graphic image of this unusual place. I like the contrast between the stark geometry of the building and the soft sand ripples. Multiple doors disappearing into the distance create a "picture within a picture effect".
Best wishes
Kasia