Photographer's Note
Here comes the second of my photos of people engaged in "small talk", a series within the series of photos from my 11 years in the digital era which I had largely forgotten or just neglected.
For natural reasons I have no idea what these women were talking about. I saw them in Gyumri in northwestern Armenia, a city known as Leninakan during the Soviet period. It made the headlines of the world's media when this region was hit by a devastating earthquake in 1988, killing between 25.000 and 50.000 persons, injuring possibly more than 100.000. Gyumri was not the worst hit city. Spitak, close to the epicenter, was practically wiped out and still looked like a huge temporary camp when I passed by it.
Although Gyumri was largely rebuilt when I visited the city in 2012 it was still a city marked by poverty, so maybe that was the subject of these women's small talk. Here is a larger version.
I will add two workshops with no other connection to this than being from Gyumri, one showing the centre of the city, the other the exciting bus station.
ikeharel, Royaldevon, GyurMaster, alvaraalto, snunney, papagolf21, pajaran, jhm, macjake, COSTANTINO, mcmtanyel, rychem, danos, PaulVDV, Cricri, adramad, ChrisJ, worldcitizen, pierrefonds marcou esta nota como útil
Critiques | Translate
ikeharel
(88534) 2017-03-19 2:10
The place is some kind of a warehouse or even a local shop, Gert, and those two ladies taken a break from work, having a small chat.
The building looks as its grandeur days are over, but still has an imposing appearance, especially the different colors of the big bricks built with.
Picture immaculately taken with fine light and sharpness, and distinct details.
Have a nice sunday,
Ike
Royaldevon
(51760) 2017-03-19 2:26
Hello Gert,
As always, interesting notes to set the scene for your photograph.
The two ladies do attract attention by their engagement and we are all curious to know the content of their conversation!
Beyond the couple, the building excites interest.
It is built with very nicely dressed stones, a huge arched doorway and arched windows, suggesting a much grander occupation than at the present time. I would suggest that the doors have been replaced.
I cannot imagine what the building is used for.
The stacked, outside bags should be a clue!
Inside, it doesn't look like domestic occupation, perhaps evident from the first floor!
Oh, I do like mysteries!!
You have furnished the clues with an appreciated sharpness!
Have a great day,
Bev :-)
alvaraalto
(28836) 2017-03-19 2:42
Hello Gert
Your “Small Talk” pictures can become a very succesful series. Lovely picture that gives us the opportunity to fantasize about the content of the conversation. For this one I wandered if the women are talking the same way at present or that they use a cell-phone for their contact.
Lovely work
Have a nice Sunday
Groet Rob
GyurMaster
(11230) 2017-03-19 2:45
Dear Gert,
So, small talk is the new nothing special? :) I like your new series. On this photo you show a lot of details from the not so appealing surrounding. I guess how fresh the air could be above that pile of litter. Independently from the environment, the two women seems to be rather involved in their activity. The WS with the bus would go as a main upload as well.
Best Wishes
Gy.
jmdias
(76875) 2017-03-19 2:45
gert
impressive the shapes of the stone walls, looks like it was an important building in the past. I liked the visual dialogue between the women. nice details from this country whose images aren't so usual.
hugs
jorge
snunney
(118519) 2017-03-19 2:52
Hello Gert,
The two women closely engaged in conversation make a lively focal point. The surroundings look somewhat run down but they do not lack interest for the photographer with their well rendered colours and textures. The washing hanging between the windows nicely rounds out the scene and is well included.
papagolf21
(124451) 2017-03-19 3:56
Bonjour, cher ami Gert,
L'on sent, à chaque fois, que le journaliste est derrière l'appareil photographique !
L'image est suffisamment parlante pour en comprendre le message.
J'aime ce type d'image naturelle et représentant la vraie vie.
Amitiés.
Philippe
pajaran
(76013) 2017-03-19 5:20
Dobar dan.
Interesantan pogled, lep trenutak, dobar tekst ...
Dobar rad i kompozicija, lepo pokazano mesto i arhitektura, dobar kontrast i ostrina, lepe boje, lepo uhvacen trenutak. Lep trenutak iz svakodnevnog zivota. Lepe fotografije u radionici.
Lepo popodne za odmor i sve najbolje.
Paja.
Good day.
An interesting sight, a beautiful moment, a good text ...
Good work and composition, a beautiful city and the architecture shown, good contrast and sharpness, beautiful colors, beautiful moment captured. A beautiful moment of everyday life. Beautiful photos in the workshop.
Nice for an afternoon holiday and all the best.
Silvio1953
(168539) 2017-03-19 5:32
Ciao Gert, lovely composition with nice couple, wonderful colors, excellent clarity and splendid light, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio
jhm
(172780) 2017-03-19 5:53
Hello Gert,
This see we very few people talk with each other, always with FB and twitter, she know not their neighbours today.
An excellent architecture picture.
The colours and composition make your picture very lovely.
Very well done, TFS.
Have a nice day,
John
Sergiom
(101792) 2017-03-19 6:11
Bonjour Gert,
J'aime beaucoup cette petite scène de la vie quotidienne dans cette partie du monde. Cela ressemble à la discussion entre deux cuisinières dans un cuisine à grand volume.
Bon dimanche
Serge
macjake
(80625) 2017-03-19 8:21
Hi Gert
first off, I think that Hectic Bus Station could easily be a main post - especially if you used that as the title - love it.
speaking of earthquakes, its a well known fact that Vancouver sits on a MAJOR fault line on the west coast of North America, and we are well overdue for a major shake. Its a major concern, and a serious one indeed. It was on the news a couple days ago, and they're saying a quake of about 7.0 would cause approx 100 Billion dollars of damage to Vancouver, destroy most if not all of our bridges, tunnels, schools and even hospitals. it would be a devastating disaster. it would basically stop the city in its tracks. and like I said, we're several decades Past due. it's going to happen at some point.
Armenia, well, you can add this country to the list of places I know very little about. Unless you have family living here I think most Canadians know very little about this country as well. Maybe Europeans are more connected, and more likely to have family/relatives living here.
whatever this building is, it looks old and I like that.
its faded, its got drip stains all over it, yet its still functional in every way. interesting how the arched door leads to shelving, not really an entrance, this looks more like the back side of a store where they load and unload cargo. A place where its "Employees Only" sort of thing.
its a fine snapshot though, an interesting set of subjects. too bad we don't know what they're discussing. have a great day
Craig
Fis2
(120713) 2017-03-19 11:10
Witaj Gert!
A very curious shot from daily life.
Curious view and scene.
Good frame, colors and sharpness.
Well done.
Good evening.
Krzysztof
COSTANTINO
(77960) 2017-03-19 14:01
Hello dear Gert and have a nice time
and a happy new week
a different shot from Armenia with
those women talking about something
11 years ago
simple but interesting
this constructions draws our immediate
attention
regards
Costantino
carlo62
(65749) 2017-03-19 15:44
Ciao Gert
continua la tua serie sulle persone che parlano, ma non ti fermi solo a questo, ma completi la foto con una interessante composizione.
Il washing day e il mucchio di sacchi bianchi si equilibrano, mentre la porta è poco pregiata in confronto al resto del palazzo.
Saluti
Carlo
mcmtanyel
(39111) 2017-03-19 20:12
Hello Gert,
I like the main entry for the interesting facade and the conversation captured between the two ladies. I am curious about the pile of sacks on the right, is it garbage?
I also like the center of city WS photo for the monument and the interesting buildings around what seems to be a circle. The bus station photo is dear to me because it depicts a make of bus unknown to me.
Regards,
MT
rychem
(53499) 2017-03-19 22:01
Small talk on the one hand and the environment on the other hand, it shows how these people live, two women certainly do not talk about the recent creations of Parisian fashion, very well captured
regards Ryszard
Tue
(54164) 2017-03-19 23:57
Hello Gert,
The old building is a wonderful background for the two ladies have a chat around the entrance. It adds a lot of fine details, which give a great impression of life around this place. The composition is perfect with the people included on the bottom left hand corner. Very well spotted and captured.
Lars
emka
(119851) 2017-03-20 0:07
Hello Gert, I forgot about this devastating earthquake but I knew about it being there. I remember this bus station, we were changing our marshrutkas there/ As to poverty, it can be seen everywhere in Armenia. I felt embarrassed hearing about the situation from locals. Interesting nothing special with the washing day and these two ladies having small talk.
I am sitting in the airport in Basel, waiting for my flight.
Kind regrads MAlgo
BennyV
(24497) 2017-03-20 2:37
Hej Gert
Great shot, leaving lots of room for the environment in which the small talk takes place. A good theme, the kind of shot I 'd love to shoot on travels too.
Benny
lousat
(106793) 2017-03-20 9:37
Hi Gert,the usual trio of pics dedicate to a place,this time a jump in this city not often seen on TE,i like a lot the choice of the main pic,it's a great example of daily life,not only for the small talk but for what can i see too,ols houses and a big confusion under the typical washing day on the top,the quality is fantastic! Have a nice evening and thanks,luciano
danos
(107825) 2017-03-20 9:45
Hello Gert,
a nice daily snapshot with the two women to engaged in a chat making a break from their job.The dried clothes from above complete perfect the whole scenery.
Regards,Danos
Nicou
(165906) 2017-03-20 21:49
Hello
quelle iamge sueprbe ces deux dame avec celle dans l aprote qui papotent et quel tas de sacs blanc cette immense prote ce rendu sur la faade sueprbe iamge et ensemble.
Bravo et amitié
Nciou
PaulVDV
(39470) 2017-03-20 23:51
Hello Gert,
I have not visited this city, only drove through by bus (lack of time).
My first impression of the main picture is that the garbage collection services were on strike. Furthermore, the large gate seems actually to grant access to a wardrobe or at least a warehouse.
The big stones of the building make me remember the Armenian churches. Possibly the building once had a different destination. The first floor is clearly a dwelling. Neither of the two ladies notes that there's a photographer although foreigners must be an unusual sight in Giumry.
The bus station in the WS certainly looks hectic.
Best regards, Paul
Cricri
(138816) 2017-03-21 1:51
Hi Gert
Belle scène de vie de ces deux dames fesant la conversation, un moment de pause, bien capturer, intéressante architecture, belle présentation aussi dans les deux WS
belle journée
cricri
sacimar
(33545) 2017-03-21 7:14
Hello Gert,
you captured an interesting scene in this town of Armenia, I like the moment with the women talking, tha facade of the building catch also my attention with the different elements we can observe, well seen,
Best regards,
Sergio
mesutilgim
(101410) 2017-03-21 14:00
Hello dear Gert,
Very nice capture of this -most probably- backyard of a restaurant. Those two women are working in the kitchen and just made a small break for a tea or a short talk!
Very good layout and perfect light management.
TFS and best regards
MESUT ILGIM
adramad
(54894) 2017-03-21 16:02
Hi, Gert.
Interesting image, from this remote place of Armenia, the house although poorly cared for, looks sturdy with stone blocks, women mark day by day, with that conversation between neighbors, the two WS photos do not indicate that this population Offer nothing quaint.
A good color, in these natural tones.
Also both the sharpness and the lighting are great.
Enjoy a good day.
Very best regards.
Luis.
kasianowak
(11949) 2017-03-22 6:07
Hi Gert
I really like this series.
It really makes me wonder what they are talking about and options are unlimited. It could be anything, political affairs, money matters, gossip, cooking advice...
I've never been to this city but I recognise the yellow bus from the workshop photo as one of the things I associated with Armenia of my travels. Thanks for bringing those memories back. :-)
Have a nice evening
Kasia
ChrisJ
(132258) 2017-03-23 18:27
Hello Gert,
A superb daily life scene from Armenia of the 2 neighborhood women chatting. I only got to peer across the border at Ani from the Turkish side. Relations between Armenia & Turkey are still very frosty almost a century after the massacres of the 1920's. It is even forbidden by law to mention the word 'genocide' in Turkey. And of course the border remains closed. Armenians avoiding flying through Istanbul and head through Moldova, Ukraine, Bulgaria and Romania instead when heading west to major cities in north west Europe.
worldcitizen
(10594) 2017-03-25 11:48
Hello Gert,
I like this scene because it's gritty and real. The worn out wall and bench, the pile of bags, the open door, all have character. Then there are the two chatting women who bring the scene to life. Very nice. :-)
saxo042
(38022) 2017-03-26 2:10
Hej Gert,
Många intressanta detaljer i den här bilden, t.ex. variationen i stenarnas färg. Jag gissar att småpratet kan handla om vem som egentligen ska ta hand om alla avfallssäckarna...
Hälsningar
Gunnar
serp2000
(46528) 2017-04-06 11:17
Hello, Gert,
I see this is a photoseries with common title from different places. Good idea for conception. And I also like a lot of details of the backyard in Gyumri. The building has own style and some interesting elements, perhaps no time and no money for support of this architecture. Another sad story.
Best wishes!
Serghei
pierrefonds
(79441) 2017-04-22 19:07
Hi Gert,
You have captured well the action between the two women. The point of view is showing the details of the facde of the shop. The light is giving good colours rendering. Have a nice day.
Pierre
Photo Information
-
Copyright: Gert Holmertz (holmertz)
(68794)
- Genre: Pessoas
- Medium: Cor
- Date Taken: 2012-06-00
- Categories: Vida Diária
- Versão da Foto: Versão Original, Workshop
- Tema(s): Small Talk [view contributor(s)]
- Date Submitted: 2017-03-19 2:04
Discussions
- To GyurMaster: nothing special (1)
by holmertz, last updated 2017-03-19 03:27 - To ChrisJ: ww1 (1)
by holmertz, last updated 2017-03-24 01:57