A Greek lady looking at the past, a photo from Istanbul, Marmara

Photographer's Note

I couldn' t decide which photo to post, the b&w or the coloured one ( ***SEE WORKSHOP*** ), so I asked Korkut's ( bostankorkulugu ) opinion and he went for b&w.

This photo was taken on a day trip we and our wives had to Adalar (="Islands" in Turkish) a group of small islands in the sea of Marmara, called "Πριγκηπονήσια" ("Pringiponisia"="Prince's Islands") in Greek. Four of them, Kinaliada ("Πρώτη"="Proti", in greek), Burgazada ("Αντιγόνη"="Antigoni"), Heybeliada ("Χάλκη"="Xalki") and Buyukada ("Πρίγκηπος"="Pringipos") are inhabited. For some centuries, and until some decades ago, the majority of their populations was of greek origins, but now few of them are left. Anyway, we saw a lot of greeks there, because our stay to Istanbul (in general), coincided with the Orthodox Easter, a holiday for greeks, who visited by thousands Constantinoupoli, or simply "Poli", Istanbul in greek, that is. Some of them also visited the Prince's Islands.

Korkut came up with the story. That this was a greek lady, looking at the old photos on a cafe, close to Agios Georgios Orthodox Monastery ("Μονή Αγίου Γεωργίου" in Greek, "Aya Yorgi" in turkish) in Pringipos island, looking with nostalgia for her ancestors' house, back in the days when the greek presence was still strong on these small islands and Istanbul, in general. I don't know if his imagination went too far, but the lady was greek allright, after a while we heard her talking in greek with her parents, telling them about the great hospitality of the Turks.

MY THEME:
Istanbul-2010 Cultural Capital of Europe

kdialyna, arvinnino, isabela_sor, vasilpro, dareco, quillo, stelli, ymrk, burGu, MLINES, edytungkal, azaf1, Budapestman, atha2pan, clio, Dyerco, Longroute, g_panakia, CatherineD has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

brandstaetter (15915) 2009-04-25 4:05

Hi Hercules,
a quiet, relaxing, meditative moment..time flows slowly but with full concentration.
Both versions are good, but I prefer the coloured one, the reflections of the glass frames come out better, the line leading the eye from frame to frame is better visible and gives more space to the whole composition.
Good one !
Cheers Chris

Tobias__Ortmann (2638) 2009-04-25 4:08

Wow this is great hercules,
really good sepia here and the expression of the woman is very good too
great one
regards Toba

kdialyna (3148) 2009-04-25 4:15

Νοσταλγική και ίσως λίγο μελαγχολική διάθεση στα μάτια της κοπέλας κάνει την φωτογραφία σου Ηρακλή, πραγματικά ξεχωριστή.
Πολύ καλή επιλογή η σέπια, κάνει ακόμα πιο έντονη την νοσταλγική ατμόσφαιρα.
Κώστας

arvinnino (438) 2009-04-25 4:17

hi hercules!
good job on converting the original photo to b&w.
it gives more drama to the subject
tfs
cheers

diomed (13926) 2009-04-25 4:28

Hi Hiraklis,
marvelous B&W on sepia with nice graphic effect captured in a decisive moment. Excellent portrait.
Excellent, as ever!
Nice WE
Antonio

isabela_sor (47748) 2009-04-25 4:54 [Comment]

Show Comment

COSTANTINO (115539) 2009-04-25 5:13

Geia sou Hraklh,
oraia h fwtografia sou, nostalgikh,
se oraious tonous tou maurou kai tou asprou.
Sugxarhthria.
XAiretismous,
Costantino

vasilpro (41801) 2009-04-25 5:33

Γεια σου Ηρακλή,
Μού αρέσουν εξίσου το ίδιο και οι δυο εκδόσεις, η κάθε μια έχει το δικό της ύφος.
Συγχαρητήρια, Βασίλης.

bostankorkulugu (42866) 2009-04-25 6:19

i remember her, and her parents checking the old pictures carefully looking for traces of the long lost days...

as i told you before i prefer the sepia one, as it has the nostalgic look, very suitable with the situation...

beautiful eyes she has by the way...

spent real good time with you guys on the islands, we have to do it again someday giritli mou...

hugs

bostani

(hey, check the good old iraklis on the workshop>:P...)

dareco (17136) 2009-04-25 6:22

Very nice sepia tones. I do prefer this to the color version. Good timing and detail. TFS

michelloupis (0) 2009-04-25 6:29

Hello Hercules,

What a magnificent light and what an enchanting atmosphere. Everything is peaceful inside that room. And thanks to Korkut, you definitely made the right decision. B&W was the best choice, no doubt about it.

Have a nice weekend

Nuno

jasmis (58653) 2009-04-25 6:47

Amazing pose of a wonderful model. Superb sephia tones. Incredible note, as well.
Regards.

aristo (3214) 2009-04-25 6:55

Geia sou Irakli!
Great shot Irakli.Superb mood in B&W,but...
I prefer the color version.I like diferent colorful reflection of the glass frame,and the Lady,she's so beautiful.
Excellent image file!Sigharitiria!
arek

quillo (11858) 2009-04-25 7:45

-

. . . . una foto muy resolutiva .... sin duda,
los tonos sepia, los contrastes, la luz ....
hacen de esa escena normal y cotidiana una
foto atractiva y agradable.
Felicidades amigo Hércules por el buen tino.

Un saludo y que tengas un buen día.

PD.:
.... a propósito tengo pensado visitar tu país y si no te importa te pediré algún consejillo sobre sitios y ambientes que no podemos dejar de visitar.

-

stelli (3009) 2009-04-25 8:03

It seems as Greeks we look with more interest into the past than when the past were the present! Just because this is from Constantinople where we have made some of our biggest mistakes! Nice looking lady and great choice in presenting this in B&W! I liked a lot the colored reflections on the frames in the colored one! Thank you for sharing! ΦΙΛΙΚΑ Στέλλα

ymrk (15099) 2009-04-25 8:16

Wonderful graphic effect,in this place,Giritli!I love a that sephia version with sharpness!
Have a good week,my best compliments,

Yağmur

burGu (4840) 2009-04-25 9:16

Hi Irakli,
This shot takes my attraction from the first sight in the main gallery. A real nice sepia, light is just perfect. Lady's face, old framings, decorations of beads, they all look so lovely with light and sepia tint.
I like Korkut's story, he is a real talent for making up stories, and he is much more better for poets. Next time ask for a poet :)
It was really so nice to meet you, I wish we had more time, hopefully next time, wherever it may be.
Best wishes,
Burcu

bema (26591) 2009-04-25 9:19

Geia sou, Hercules,

missed your pictures in the last days, but now i knew the reason.. a little journey around greek eastern..
think black and white is her e a very good choice. looks real good for me in my opinion..

have a fine weekend, Jassu Bernd

mesutilgim (0) 2009-04-25 12:53

Hi dear Hercules,
Great capture ! Very nice compo and perfect execution. So many wonderfull hidden beauties in this nice work...
TFS and best regards
MESUT ILGIM

MLINES (12516) 2009-04-25 18:16

Hi Hercules. A everlasting B&W with a touch of sepia included on this monitor. Good upward looking face is most attractive as it shows the checkline. Your notes as always add a lot of interest too. TFS. Murray.

edytungkal (4551) 2009-04-25 19:44

Both version i like but i prefer this....Very good compo to combine the beautiful woman and interesting bg, good timing to capt her expression, its a great shot, thanks and have a great sunday.

daniel

Rafer (0) 2009-04-26 0:17

Belleza en el color, en la luz y en la composición...saludos

azaf1 (15931) 2009-04-26 0:39

Nomizo oti to sepia tou paei kalitera kathos dinei emfasi sta iperoxa sximata kai vevai anadeikniei to modelo...

argiris

Budapestman (82620) 2009-04-26 3:27

Hi Hercules,
Moment caught wonderfully. The nostalgia and the remembrance are his beautiful mixes. The composition is beautiful, excellent choice the B&W. Great shot. Have a nice Sunday!
George

atha2pan (3811) 2009-04-26 6:22

Eisai zografos, diaforetika den ginetai!

Greg1949 (9011) 2009-04-26 6:43

Wow Hercules, this is great, I doubt you could improve it if you spent a day arranging pictures and staging a model. The color one is great as well but not as dramatic as the B&W version, you chose the right one to post on top I think.

Greg

clio (27961) 2009-04-26 13:08

Geia sou Hrakli,
I like this glance full of interest, this a little bit enigmatic and dreamy look. Not easy to plunge into this type of past. It is a very beautiful portrait, black and white or color, I do not manage to decide I like very much both!
Kali evdomada, filika
Artemis

masquerade (0) 2009-04-26 15:25

Great portrait and framing.Each version creates different feelings and serves different purposes. Depends on the mood...
xx
m

Dyerco (10185) 2009-04-26 22:00

Hi Hercules
The B&W/sepia really works well here as it is a reminder of the past in itself. Very nicely done.
Phil

Longroute (19600) 2009-04-27 1:15

You are as good in panoramic view and landscapes as well as in intimate photos like this one. both versions are lovely, the sepia one has a more intimate feeling than the colour.
A very good composition with excellent definition and contrast.
Well done,
Donato

g_panakia (4031) 2009-04-27 2:15

kalimera irakli,
einai apisteyto to synais8ima na taksideveis sto xrono mesa apo palies fwtografies...fantazomai kapws etsi prepei na eniw8e kai i kopela sto vlemma tis opoias ka8reftizetai i nostalgia.an kai pistevw oti i sepia tairiazei poly me to concept tis nostalgias apo tin alli vlepontas to ws pistevw oti i egxrwmi mou aresei eksisou isws kai perissotero giati exoume ti dynatotita na doume to paixnidi twn xrwmatistwn antanaklasewn panw sti gyalini epifaneia twn fotografiwn...
kali evdomada
georgia

BurhanettinMasa (641) 2009-04-27 12:57

Hi Hercules,
BW is the best one, but the reflection on the middle on the coloured one confuses the choise ...

Regards,
Burhan

ajayrawat (676) 2009-04-29 12:57

You made a right decision here by posting the B/W picture instead of the colored one, its not like that the colored one looks bad but the monochrome has so much more to it that can't be explained. Here in the frame the pretty face and antique picture frames presents a nice photo, the beaded curtain gets complimented by the lady's scarf. The two dangling frames provides the necessary element of disorder to the overall perfect frame, infact I found the bog nail in the central plank quite interesting.

LamCam (3717) 2009-05-04 12:55

Hello Hercules,
The sepia creates a mood of stillness which suits the subject. The young woman is obviously genuinely interested in the old photographs. She is lit beautifully by the soft light coming through the window - and has a lovely, photogenic face. This line of framed photos looks very interesting to the eye when hung in this informal way.
Best wishes....Maggie

CatherineD (4864) 2009-05-05 11:48

Dear Irakli,
Very impressive photo, full of nostalgy, created by the B§W, the curtain, the light which danses on the photos... Great management of light and composition. Se xairetw,
Katerina

delnaja (2056) 2009-05-16 14:09

Hi again Hercules,
as I mentionned in my previous critic, you have good photos in your gallery and this one is the proof of what I wrote. You have a great light here and it is very well managed. The sepia tones are the right choice also. Charming as the lady ...
My best regards.