Green Love condoms, a photo from Dhaka, North

Photographer's Note

I spotted this advertising sign under a road bridge down near the river in Dhaka and was intrigued as to what ‘Green Love’ was. Environmentally friendly love or sex in the park perhaps? I tried for ages to take this photograph without all the tricycle drivers waving at me, but without success. I suppose that seeing a foreigner in this part of Dhaka was something of a novelty (I didn’t see any others in half a day of walking around this old part of the city).

The tricycle drivers are taking a tea break under the bridge. Behind the fence you can see where people have constructed ‘homes’ out of cardboard boxes and tarpaulins. This is quite a common sight in Dhaka where every square inch of the ground under a bridge is used for either commercial purposes, or eating and sleeping.

I cropped this out of a much larger composition because the sides of the photograph (on either side of the bridge stucture) were over-exposed from the bright sunlight. Then the only PP was some adjustments to levels, contrast and saturation, and then USM at 120%.

ChrisJ, gaby, cjmm, fireflyz, bpelvan, sarju, aloyho, Theana has marked this note useful

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ChrisJ (172466) 2006-01-31 6:00

Hi David

Lol! I had the exact same problem in Dhaka. I wanted to take a shot of some unusual bamboo carts, & people came from everywhere to be in my photo. You can hardly see the carts for the people. I may post it one day.

Excellent sharpness & a superb daily life scene. Good work!

kensimage (8563) 2006-01-31 11:03

I once spent about half a day with my wife in Dhaka (flight arrived early morning, flight out wasn't until evening) and we had the same experience--no foreigners in the interesting part of town near the river! Children followed us everywhere, a big entourage. I felt like some kind of celebrity.

From my limited experience there, this shot is extremely characteristic--the decorated bicycle rickshaws, the heavy loads carried, the men relaxing and/or waiting for work. The shot is well-framed, well-lit and colorful (especially considering it's under a bridge!) Regards, Ken.

gaby (19819) 2006-01-31 11:17

David bonsoir - I like this compo, the smiles of the tricycle drivers and the very clear tones -
superb tricycle and very interesting note
Thanks
Rgs
Gaby

leo61 (0) 2006-01-31 13:54

Hello David!
This is a really nice and verry clear foto.
I like the many colors and the drivers obviously having fun. Good composition,
LEO

cjmm (4479) 2006-02-01 6:02

Hi David,

Very nice daily life shot! And those drivers waving for the photo add some local flavour, so I like them!

The composition, colors and contrast look very good!

Best regards,
Carlos

bpelvan (3798) 2006-02-02 6:48

Hello David,
Good capture of had life but still smiling faces. Well cropped colorful image. I do like the photos with the humans in especially the ones show the daily life. This is a wonderful example. Thanks for sharing...
Regards
Bulent

sarju (5324) 2006-02-02 23:36

Hi David
I was kind of disappointed about not finding the explanation of the the name "Green Condom" in your note .... it is definitely a very weird name for the condoms .... lols
Talking about the technical side of this photo .. I would say that I would have liked to concentrate on either the bright areas or the dark areas of this photo ... with your current exposure settings ... the bright areas seem to be blown out and the dark areas are too dark
thanks for sharing this interesting slice of life with you
cheers ... sarju

klennon79 (0) 2006-02-04 10:32

Hi David.
Very interesting photograph. Great vibrant colors. I like that the men are waving and smiling at you, it adds to the humor of the photograph. There is a lot of detail to view and the lighiting is nice. Good use of PP.

aloyho (6798) 2006-02-06 4:15

Hi David,
I love the strong local flavour here and the people do add character to this composition. You managed the colours well despite the challenging lighting condition and the advert makes it lively. Beautifully seen!! Have a nice day.

RPoole5552 (1822) 2006-02-21 10:54 [Comment]

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Theana (623) 2006-03-23 12:10

A very funny shot! I have never heard of that condom brand but I also wonder why exactly that name was chosen... The composition is very nice here and I think it is also good to see the drivers of these colourful vehicles looking at you from behind their "breakfast desk".