Washing day in Niamey, a photo from Niamey, West

Photographer's Note

I had planned to show a photo from Copenhagen in 1966, taken on my way home from England by train, but I decided it was really not interesting enough. I may return to Denmark later, but I will probably first have to find myself a new scanner.

Meanwhile, here is instead a photo that seems like it was taken only yesterday. It is one of very few photos I took while spending a couple of weeks in Niamey, capital of Niger, in December 1981. An all male laundry staff were washing clothes on the banks of the Niger river in the center of the city. As far as I remember one or two of them saw me and shouted something to me rather angrily. This was the only photo I took.

Niger was a complicated country for photography. An official written permit was needed in every city. In Agadez in the north I received one easily by friendly policemen who didn't have much to do. In Zinder in the south I couldn't get any permit because the office was closed, or there was some other problem.

After arriving in Niamey I had to go to the Ministry for information and write a personal letter to the Minister asking him for permission. His secretary read my letter and was very upset, because it was written in the informal style I knew from home: polite but not ridiculously so, and straight to the point. "Non, c'est impossible", she insisted and forced me to write a new letter. Since I didn't know my way through French official politeness she dictated the entire letter, word for word.

A few days later I received my permit, signed by the Minister. Immediately after I stepped out from my hotel with my camera visible I was stopped by a soldier asking for my photo permit.

This photo was scanned from a Kodachrome slide.

Here is a larger version.

Fis2, papagolf21, ChrisJ, ikeharel, pierrefonds, jhm, johnjmoe, gervaso, PaulVDV, PiotrF, mcmtanyel, rychem, sacimar, ktanska, COSTANTINO, macjake, alvaraalto, adramad, Quantum_light, cornejo oznaczył to zdjęcie jeko użyteczne

Critiques | Translate

Nicou (193806) 2019-07-23 0:39

Hello

Au bord du Niger il fond la lisset ils profitent de l'ombre sur le arbres pour faire ce travail quelle scčne et compo avec ce linge coloré je me rappelle de la chaleur qu'il faisait ŕ Niamey quand je suis allé c'est infernale.
Bravo et amitié
Nicou

pajaran (114801) 2019-07-23 0:43

Pozdrav.
Interesantan pogled i trenutak, dobar tekst ...
Lepo pokazano, dobar rad skeniranjem slajda, lepa fotografija i secanje.
Zelim vam sve najbolje.
Paja.

Greeting.
An interesting look and a moment, good text ...
Beautifully shown, good work by scanning slides, beautiful photos and remembering.
I wish you all the best.

Fis2 (169609) 2019-07-23 0:46

Witaj Gert!
Another wonderful scene from daily life.
Excellent framing an colors.
I like Kodachrome colors!
Well done.
Good morning.
Krzysztof

papagolf21 (152605) 2019-07-23 2:18

Bonjour, cher Gert,
Vos notes (anecdotes également) sont précieuses pour situer une période, une politique, des us et coutumes pour utiliser un appareil photo ou caméra, entre autres !
L'image est excellente et il est vraiment étonnant de voir des hommes s'occuper de la lessive...
Amitiés.
Philippe

ChrisJ (171146) 2019-07-23 3:30

Hi Gert

Realistic natural looking colour which is exceptional considering the year it was taken. An incredible daily life scene. I hope there are no crocodiles in the river! Tfs!

Silvio1953 (220465) 2019-07-23 3:42

Ciao Gert, lovely composition with fantastic washing day, wonderful colors, splendid light and excellent clarity, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

pierrefonds (113492) 2019-07-23 4:37

Hi Gert,

You have captured well a daily life scene. The point of view is showing how the people are doing their washing. The light is bringing out the colors. Have a nice dya.

Pierre

lousat (138541) 2019-07-23 5:22

Hi Gert,you deserve 10 points only for the fatigue and the bureaucratic difficulties you have passed to be able to take this photo. Really incredible, but finally you did it. The quality of the photo is really excellent, it is strange to see only uomin engaging in this type of activity. A scene that reminds me of my travels in Africa, especially Gambia and Madagascar. Have a nice day and thanks,Luciano

jhm (211734) 2019-07-23 5:43

Hello Gert,

I look always with a great interest to your old vacation pictures.
Also, again to the old picture with a daily life image.
I like your nice panorama view about the area.
Pleasant colour and sharpness.
Very well done, TFS.

Best regards,
John

Tue (91478) 2019-07-23 8:00

Hej Gert,
En tilladelse til at fotografere i hele landet? Det er utroligt. Jeg er glad du fik en. Du fangede dagligdagen meget godt med de mange mćnd der vasker ved floden. Meget godt og klart lys.
Lars

gervaso (28177) 2019-07-23 8:54

Hello, Gert!

Interesting story you tell us in your note, I got curious to see the final letter you had to write! And the daily life scene of so much time ago looks beautiful and very well framed with the help of the trees! The reflections on the waters of the river are a beautiful detail! Very nice job!

PaulVDV (62752) 2019-07-23 10:00

Hello Gert,
What a misery to be allowed to take pictures.
You would think that it's a money trap but you don't tell anything about the prices of the permits. So the cause of the difficult behavior lies elsewhere.
But the only picture you have of this scene looks very good.
It seems like a well-studied composition although you probably didn't have the time for that.
I like it very much because of the difference between light and shadow and the dark figures at the back, actually almost silhouettes.
Best regards, Paul

mesutilgim (0) 2019-07-23 11:33

Hello dear Gert,
Another perfect cpature & TE entry from your archive.
Photographycally and informative perfect TE job.
Very good pov and ligth as well as sahrpness. I do not think that it has changed too much since than.
TFS and best regards
MESUT ILGIM

kasianowak (17662) 2019-07-23 12:05

Hi Gert
Great shot! It shows an slice of daily life few on TE have had a chance to see for themselves. I really like the mixture of people in full sunshine and those in the shade that look almost like silhouettes.
Best wishes
Kasia

Miguel82 (47110) 2019-07-23 12:27

Gert, Niger is rarely highlighted on Te. Few people visit that Sahelian country. The photo note is really absorbing, i didn t imagine a special permit was necessary to be allowed to take pictures in that country (at the time of your photo in 1981). The document was not easy to get. The picture is a pure daily life shot showing the local people. The laundry staffs are washing clothes in the muddy river Niger. At this time washing machines were not within everybody's reach. A value archive shared with us.

jmdias (114170) 2019-07-23 12:37

gert

bureaucracy can find ways our imagination can't produce. WOW! anyway this stupid law it was a form to get money from millionaires like you from europe. haha.
nice view of the laundry in the river. we can see they were almost removing the mango trees from the soil with their activity. excellent image.

take care

jorge

GyurMaster (24668) 2019-07-23 15:04

Dear Gert,

Your photo makes me think how easier it is for me to turn on my washing machine, than walking to the nearest river and do it manually. By the way, its an excellent portrayal of everyday life back then, back there.

Best Wishes,
Gy.

PiotrF (54246) 2019-07-23 16:28

Hello Gert,
Interesting scenes from Niger.
I like perfect exposure , nice details, clarity and sharpness.
The photos from your archive are great.
Nice shot, fine presentation.
Regards
Piotr

mcmtanyel (67529) 2019-07-23 21:30

Hello Gert,
I wonder why they are so uptight about photos. What would they do today with tourists trying to take selfies everywhere? This is a lovely daily life photo. Well kept slide and a good scan make it look like an originally digital photo. 👍🏻👍🏻
Regards,
MT
PS. I hate washed out skies, I applied postprocessing on Wall of Earth out of desperation.

rychem (72187) 2019-07-23 21:32

There are many adventures associated with your travels, not only a beautiful photo, but also a very interesting note,
regards Ryszard

emka (157280) 2019-07-23 23:46

Hello Gert, Fascinating note about your adventures in Africa. I have never heard about such permissions. But you were persistent and succeeded, and after almost 40 years we can admire this photo on TE. An interesting scene that only men are doing the washing. But a couple of weeks there? What you did there? Collecting material for a reportage?
I am always so envious that you have visited such impossible for me places.
Kind regards MAlgo

ikeharel (112393) 2019-07-24 1:10

Hello Gert,
An exellent take from a higher ground, action at the river under the shadows of three big trees.
Superbly scanned as always.
My best regards and thanks for your latest critique.
Ike

rbassin (27472) 2019-07-24 2:52

hello Gert,
une scčne intéressante oů on voit que chacun a sa maničre de faire la lessive.
Belle scčne de vie en groupe
Bonne journée
Roland

sacimar (38173) 2019-07-24 5:21

Hello Gert,

good image of this interesting scene, I like the moment you captured with all these people washing clothes, it is a different picture, well done,

Best regards,

Sergio

ktanska (44438) 2019-07-24 6:35

Hej Gert,
Beautiful, well balanced picture. It is an interesting edge of a river where the trees are right a t the shoreline. And of course it is full of local culture. Quite a story about getting a photo permit. I wonder how it is nowadays.
Kari

Ilonka1974 (10275) 2019-07-24 12:03

Hi Gert,
Beautiful photo of this place and very good composition .
Very good scene from daily life.
Best regards
Janusz

COSTANTINO (115421) 2019-07-24 23:04

hello dear Gert and have a nice time
and a happy new day
impressive capture presenting
an all male laundy staff washing clothes
on the banks of the Niger river in the center
of the city
as always a very impressive photo
regards
Costantino

macjake (98260) 2019-07-25 0:58

Hi Gert
the note alone is fascinating, let alone the photo. All I can say is I'm so thankful to live in Canada. Just as you are equally thankful to live in Sweden. when you really think about it, our life-path is almost solely decided based upon geography - meaning the country you were born and raised. Think about how different our lives would be just based on the fact if we were born in Niger and grew up in Niger. I would still be Craig, you would still be Gert, but I bet we would be very different people compared to the Craig and Gert we know today. All because of Geography! Same for religion. If I were born in Pakistan, i'm probably Muslim, if i'm born in South America i'm probably Catholic. It's not because its what I believe in, but because my Geography pre-dictated it. Interesting. Anyways....i'm glad you didn't get hurt in any such activity here, as it sounds like the camera-man is not a welcome man. You made the correct choice in posting this one, its a great shot with an even better story. cheers
Craig

alvaraalto (42804) 2019-07-25 9:57

Hello Gert,
When I saw the thumbnail of this photo I immediately thought of one of the many impressionist paintings with Parisians picnicking under the trees along the river. A peaceful scene that also radiates this beautiful photo. Lars also agrees with that when we discussed this picture.
Another beautiful photo from your rich archive.
Have a nice day. Groet Rob

jean113 (27585) 2019-07-29 13:54

Hello Gert, a wonderful shot of everyday life, there is so much going on.
The trees frame the picture as well as providing some shade for the people!
Excellent sharpness, it does look as if it was taken very recently.
Once again some very interesting notes. Did you keep a diary? You have excellent recall of your trips.
Kind regards
Jean

fabianoleite (13575) 2019-08-01 11:18

Nice depiction of the locals doing their things in an everyday life. Thanks for sharing!

adramad (72526) 2019-08-03 8:34

Hi Gert.
A really original photo in a beautiful place, with that beach entrance in the sea with gigantic trees, in the line of water and sand. but perhaps what is most surprising in what we call "a beach day" is that all the boys are wearing a swimsuit and shirt.
A fantastic photo, with beautiful natural colors, very good lighting and excellent sharpness.
Well done I love.
Enjoy the weekend.
Very best regards.
Luis.

Quantum_light (118) 2019-09-16 1:52

Hello Gert,
This is a fantastic documentary photograph of a daily life scene, so nicely composed and with a beautiful timeless feeling. Your narrative is excellent and helps to understand how difficult it was for you to take this shot. Unfortunately, there are still many places in this world that are no easily accessible for photographers.
Kindest greetings,
Iulia

cornejo (61504) 2019-09-16 9:48

Hi Gert, very nice photo of this interesting scene of everyday life on the day of washing in the river, very well captured in this interesting image, with good sharpness, light, color and quality. A great job perfectly done, my congratulations my friend. Thank you for sharing this interesting work.

Good night and happy week.
All the best from southern Spain.
Angel.