Photographer's Note
"Why has the pleasure of slowness disappeared? Ah, where have they gone, the amblers of yesteryear? Where have they gone, those loafing heroes of folk song, those vagabonds who roam from one mill to another and bed down under the stars? Have they vanished along with footpaths, with grasslands and clearings, with nature? There is a Czech proverb that describes their easy indolence by a metaphor: 'they are gazing at God's windows.' A person gazing at God's windows is not bored; he is happy. In our world, indolence has turned into having nothing to do, which is a completely different thing: a person with nothing to do is frustrated, bored, is constantly searching for an activity he lacks."
--from Slowness by Milan Kundera
I saw this couple, aimlessly wandering, under the vast sky of new year's first afternoon. I liked how they were meandering by the Ottawa river, unhurried, silent, sharing solitude.
Critiques | Translate
roamermark
(1592) 2007-01-17 22:58
Hi Sasa,
Beautiful an all counts...place, B&W conversion, compo and Kundera quote. I like this alot...it reminds me how cold it is back home...I haven't really had a winter in 9 years or so....Ithink I am getting soft
Cheers
MArk
Ardino
(113) 2007-01-17 23:04
Hello Sarolta, beautiful capture and composition. It really gives the sensation of sharing solitude, which is not an easy topic. Good the choice of b/w. Title and note are simply great.
regards,
r.
partha
(14023) 2007-01-17 23:12
Hi Sarolta,
Great shot with excellent tonality and the human inclusion adds lot of dynamism in it.
Regards.
Partha
sandip
(3492) 2007-01-17 23:15
Hey Sasa, you know what , i always admire your skill of making a photo.. simplest things become more meaningful in your hand.. and here is another example of it.. loved the monochrome tone here.. your conversion is always top notch ...
and here the subject is too.. so simple yet so effective.. I think i don't need to say much about your notes, it is always a pleasure to read and correlate with the photo.. regards
btw, i started a new B/W photoblogs here ... You are welcome to them.
vesalius
(861) 2007-01-17 23:31
WOW Sarolta, what a beautiful shot. I'd love to know your secret for b/w, it looks great. Aside from that, the sharpness is amazing and the composition is very good as well.
Thanks,
Don
pankajbajpai
(376) 2007-01-17 23:38
hi sarolta,
nice shot,
well composed,
excellent pov,
choice of monochrome sutis the shot well,
tfs & regards
pankaj
Elaine_Blath
(8471) 2007-01-18 2:06
Hi Sarolta,
beautiful monochrome, full of melancholic, quiet atmosphere, and what´s more, there´s a story behind...beautiful!
Take care, Ivana
vapours
(8264) 2007-01-18 2:51
Just like the first one, I love this one as well Sarolta. Great almost silver like lining on the edge of the tree branches and just a well balanced shot.
bantonbuju
(51815) 2007-01-18 3:09
hi sasa,
although i think that this is a great image (in general) i find it slightly dissapointing in terms of the impact it makes on me...perhaps it is too beautiful, too well seen, too nicely processed etc. and on the other hand i miss the kick or some dose of "madness" that could be found in most of your works,
in brief - i like it but not as much as i'd like to like it :-)))
best, j.
ribeiroantonio
(22730) 2007-01-18 3:57
What a beautiful note. Sorry, I should start with the picture! It is wonderful with that B&W. The high contrast is really superb and the compo is magnificent. I love it and I am adding to my favourites. Congratulations.
Antonio
luisafonso
(862) 2007-01-18 4:07
A note from my favorite writer... And a very thoughtful one. I am a great lover of slowness and silence. That's why I like to get lost alone on landscape photography and that's why I treasure two persons that can enjoy a moment together in silence. When complicity is perfect enough for not having to break an uncomforted silence then the relationship has reached an higher level... Ok, there is a picture to comment here. :) Loved the first take, love the second. This time you decided to hide the sun behind that tree and the effect is very beautiful. Love your composition and the way they seem so distant and at the same time so connected. Silence is surely between them but the slowness of the act really indicates a high degree of understanding here. At least I like to see it that way... Great shot!
nfriedli
(1060) 2007-01-18 4:42
Tout est réussi dans cette image, un contre-jour parfaitement maîtrisé qui procure de belles et longues ombres, une composition agréable dans le sens de la lecture, un noir et blanc légèrement viré de toute beauté, un cadre discret. Bravo pour cette belle prise!
faubry
(35447) 2007-01-18 4:44
hello Sasa; what light!! very beautiful landscape with the walkers, i like B&W conversion
thanks
francine
m_s_s
(1691) 2007-01-18 4:44
Nice shot Sarolta,
good use of light and shadow, interesting removing colors. good piece of work.
regards
pasternak
(15185) 2007-01-18 5:30
Believe it or not, but I thought of Kundera immediately, even before I opened the full-size, only having seen the thumbnail title... I like the sun behind the tree, it makes the light very special in this beautiful BW...
Cheers
Alexander
pgorod
(1019) 2007-01-18 7:47
I feel everything's been said in the previous critiques, but even so I can't resist leaving my smiley here... great photo, great note.
sc07
(1292) 2007-01-18 12:46
Hi Sasa!
After all these comments, not much to add! Great B&W shot, and very intersting, skillful and creative iuse of light and shadows! The way you used this tree to hide the sun is stunning...it creates such a great mood, a poetic world full of mystic shadows and softness...
Seb
coco
(30439) 2007-01-18 12:57
Hi Sasa.
Very nice here the black and white.
The tree is really useful because you play with it and the light, creating nice efects and shadows.
And of course, the people walking and again their shadows are great.
You can contemplate this one and think in poetry.
I like very much.
Regards.
sabyasachi1212
(19779) 2007-01-18 14:01
Hi Sasa,
It is always a pleasure to be back in your gallery, your pictures are an art in itself. Wonderful sepia tones with the lovely silhouettes. First day of the year, it obviously is cold, but IMO your picture is more about warmth than coldness.
With Greetings from India
Sabyasachi
dkeus31
(27739) 2007-01-18 14:20
Hello Sarlota,
Nice composed view with the sun well place behind the tree (also well placed in toe composition).
Regards
Didier
AmiBe
(6042) 2007-01-18 17:51
Hi Sasa,
one more time you played well with the sun.
Very peaceful moment and good b/w conversion.
rgs
Furachan
(0) 2007-01-18 21:19
Love that contrast! The way your BLACKS are BLACK, the secret to resonant B/W photography. You have that down, Sasa. Of course it doesn't hurt that all those skills are brought to bear on an exquisite, poetic composition, right?
All the best from a crisp, sunny Tokyo pre-NYC,
Francis
brevbrev14
(140) 2007-01-19 6:02
Dear Sasa, another great great masterpiece from you!
The atmosphere is wonderful..as the compo...
wow!
ciao!
valeria
marknunnerley
(2780) 2007-01-19 8:39
Hi Sasa,
well it certainly looks calm here. I know you said it was -29 the other day and I said we were expecting severe gales well: At least 13 people died in Britain's worst storms in 17 years as another death was reported today.
Thats from Sky News. I was out in that all day yesterday. Like I said, would prefer -29 anyday. And on that note.
br,
mark
klauner
(1020) 2007-01-19 16:58
Bonjour Sarolta,
Superbe photo monochrome et bien composée. Tu as eu de la chance que les deux promeneurs n'étaient pas côte à côte pour faire la photo. Superbe contrejour comme je les aime. Ta note est comme toujours pleine de poésie (même si je ne comprends pas toujours bien l'anglais).Grâce à tes notes poétiques, j'oserai peut-être me lancer à répondre en Anglais ...
Les promeneurs n'étaient pas seuls puisqu'ils partageaient un moment fort sous le même ciel au bord de la rivière.
Françoise
eleparc
(24063) 2007-01-20 5:26
beautiful "contrejour" and i love your note... you are right, it does demand a real conscious effort and courage nowadays to assume doing nothing and just breathe the air...as usual, a very tender and effective shot!
Eric
dolin
(7369) 2007-01-20 5:52
Hi Sasa.
Très jolie prise en contre jour.
Bien joué le soleil derrière l'arbre, ca donne son effet.
Bonne position des éléments dans l'image.
Très bien géré, bravo
fred
sergio1
(12152) 2007-01-20 20:02
Hi Sasa
Lovely picture my friend. I like the compo and B&W effect.
I like it.
Rgs
Sergio
delnaja
(2056) 2007-01-21 5:48
superb Sasa... the silhouettes and this light are really gorgeous... Love the note too... Kundera, one of my favorite writer...
Glad that you have 29 minus to capture such beautiful scene ; )
tc
Fred
rhizomes
(15343) 2007-01-21 7:49
Hi Sarolta,
Nice b/w with great sharpness. These two walkers and the tree are a good composition ! Nice light too !
Christophe
KevRyan
(22956) 2007-01-21 11:53
I love the meanings here - the sense of the image and yours and Milan's words Sasa yet i still have some reservations about the image - i've been back a few times now and visually the image still is not working as well as it might for me.....i find the effects of sharpening either by camera or pp on the tree a little too muchand the sun's burn on the water a little too black and white graphic against the tonal
values of the rest of the image but the thing that works less is the figure of the woman - i think it's the level of what is lost against the background in this high contrast image - the man has his head in lighter clouds and more variety in the shape of his movement and this produces a better balance - I think it would be stronger in one sense with a single figure although of course two makes this a different story........
I admire where this one is going greatly and the 'something' in this which is you but there is room for a better image here....i know because I have learnt that from other images you have made.
best wishes Kev
s10001in
(0) 2007-01-21 21:09
Strong contrast Sasa.
This is romantic photo..
Moody atmosphere.
Nice to watch.
regards,
paprika-jancsi
(2349) 2008-03-25 12:42
termeszetes hogy gyonyoru, csodalatos fenyhatassal. Kundera notwithstanding this is a very skillfully crafted image. bravo, jancsi
quillo
(11858) 2008-04-13 1:51
-
Sasa:
..... interesting reflection in your note ... in the majority of the occasions in the simple thing, in the simple thing, in the small thing, a coffee with the friends, a walk in the park ... without hurries without burdens, this is what gives us something of what more looks alike to the happiness.
I like very much this image and your skill in hiding the sun behind the tree so that it does not bother with his intense light. Congratulations friend.
Espero y deseo que todo te vaya bien y que vuelvas pronto... añoramos tus fotos y tus notas.
Un fuerte abrazo y hasta pronto.
-
desipoet (0) 2008-10-10 7:58 [Comment]
Photo Information
-
Copyright: Sarolta Gyoker (designsoul)
(17843)
- Genre: Pessoas
- Medium: Preto & Branco
- Date Taken: 2007-01-01
- Categories: Vida Diária, Natureza
- Camera: Nikon D70, AF-S Nikkor 18-70mm
- Versão da Foto: Versão Original
- Date Submitted: 2007-01-17 22:30
- Favoritos: 3 [ver]
Discussions
- To sandip: Thanks, Sandip (1)
by designsoul, last updated 2007-01-17 11:23 - To bantonbuju: I know what you mean, (1)
by designsoul, last updated 2007-01-18 09:30 - To KevRyan: Thanks Kev, (1)
by designsoul, last updated 2007-01-21 12:24