Krytyki

joannar (308) 2005-01-11 20:33

That's how Varanasi felt to me last time I was there - black and white and disintegrating in time with decay hanging in the air. The narrow alleys in the old town are really magical to explore with a camera but somehow I've never learned how to handle light successfully there. You did very well with that white patch of the road leading up to the crumpled figure at the end. It's almost kind of spooky, you know, like in those stories of life after death (you know, light at the end of the road etc.) :-) Oh, and I've read your note to Claude that the women and the cow left no blur even though the shutter speed was quite low and I think that says a lot about Benares' spirituality and otherworldness :-) Great job and looking forward to more. joanna

joannar (308) 2004-12-15 16:33

That's a really nice shot, Ramin. It may be a bit too cluttered for my taste (I would prefer there were just the two sadhus in front, and not the other people in the background), but I think you chose an interesting point from which to take the shot, with a vista over the Jamuna river. The framing is also interesting as it takes in the architectual details typical for the Taj. I would however probably try to crop it a bit on the left. Overall, a nice shot!

joannar (308) 2004-12-15 16:24

Now something completely different from you, Sohrab. A festival of red. I don't quite care for the guy in front (even though I admit the picture would be incomplete without a clear-cut figure as a counterbalance to the blurred background). It's the gaudy red background that has all my attention. It's cheesy and tacky - but then what carnival is not? I'm not really a fan of such places and/or events but I think you rendered the atmosphere really well. Which only shows that you're as good in colour and in B&W :-) Take care.

joannar (308) 2004-12-10 12:53

A terrific note! Like Claude remarked, it would make a very good opening for a novel. The picture is also very nice with all those bikes lining up behind the boy. IMHO it could do with a more shallow DOF as the background is not really important. Still, a really nice shot!

joannar (308) 2004-10-22 9:02

Hi Maciek, This picture makes me want to be in India NOW and IMMEDIATELY. It just captures the sensuous beauty of the country so well: the pink-coloured evening sky, the smells of the evening after a hot day... This is like a bottle of very good wine: it tastes great, smells great and looks great. Just a perfect symphony. I'd like to say that it has Raghubir Singh written all over it, but I feel no comparison would do you justice. So thanks for making my day! And I regret that we couldn't meet in Cracow. Next time maybe... joanna

joannar (308) 2004-07-14 1:29

Hi Maciek, That's a real treasure. Not only technically - even though it is perfect with that frame-filling composition and the man's expression - but primarily because it's one of the few pictures left from your trip to India. But it just shows that not everything is lost. There are always bits and scraps left. It's probably hardly comforting but I like the potentiality of the pictures you've taken but will never be able to show us. Some Polish writer said, "I don't need to see foreign countries. I'm just happy knowing that they are somewhere there". Your pictures are still there - in your mind, in our perceptions of what they would be like and, last but not least, in the reality they depicted. Powodzenia i trzymaj sie!

joannar (308) 2004-07-12 10:09

No jaki cymes! Troche brakuje mi czasu, by uczestniczyc na TE, ale to zdjecie po prostu zasluguje na komentarz... Genialna kompozycja (te piony i poziomy!) i kolory. Obrazki jakie czesto w Polsce sie widuje, ale jakos tak sie zdarza, ze tylko niektorym takie zdjecia wychodza... Swietne, na cztery punkty co najmniej!

joannar (308) 2004-07-01 8:30

Hi Maciek, Really cool shot and it's hard to miss the cloud reflections in his glasses :-) You should have no difficulty finding cheap and pretty good Internet access in big Indian cities. I'm really looking forward to your pictures from India and wish you good luck!

joannar (308) 2004-06-30 7:24

I enjoy this shot so much, Vijay! For one thing, the building contractor reminds me of Mr PK Dubey, the marigold-eating wedding planner from the movie Monsoon Wedding. Secondly, I had a misfortune to deal with Indian banks on a couple of occasions, which is why I really enjoy your barbed remarks about the indolence of bank staff (brrr....). Thirdly, I believe Indian dhabas are an inexhaustible source of enjoyment and information about India so I'm glad to see people explore this subject (I've seen, and also enjoyed, your other dhaba shots but did not have an opportunity to comment on them). On a technical side, you've captured just the right moment when the contractor gulps down his tea while the bank employee leans over his paper - it's like a juxtaposition of private entrepreneurship and state-sanctioned indolence. If I were to nit pick, I would say that I lack some more attributes of a dhaba - you know, steaming pots of chai or something :-) Other than that, it's a perfect daily life shot with an interesting story to tell. I know it's not a very relevant question to ask here but I'm really curious whether those people holding government jobs have any sort of social security like, for instance, a retirement pension? When recently asked by a friend about the social security system in India, I realised I did not really know much about it...

joannar (308) 2004-06-20 10:29

I'm sorry I don't have time to write a proper note now so it's just to say it's a GREAT shot! Hope to write more soon...