Umayyad Palace Angel, a photo from Dimashq, South

Photographer's Note

This was the boy's performance debut. He is the son of a practicing Sufi dancer (whirling Dervish), who both practices his faith and gives public performances.
The picture was taken in a restaurant (the Umayyad Palace Restaurant) which is located below ground, in what was probably the pantry of a palace that was destroyed many generations ago.
This was part of a long series of photographs of the whirling dervishes, taken as part of a multi-week study/interview and (to my mind) seems to capture the mystical mood of the performance.
The trick to photographing the dancers, who are spinning very quickly, is to push the shutter at the instant when their back is to you. By the time the shutter snaps, the subject will be facing you.
this is a scan of a print, and shows annoying white spots under magnification, despite the fact that the glass was clean -- Any suggestions as to how to avoid this would be appreciated.

sengir, Marche, pierrefonds, chrisnet, maloutim oznaczył to zdjęcie jeko użyteczne

Critiques | Translate

Nikofan (1090) 2006-06-19 19:07

Hello,
Nice capture of the "Flying Dervish"
Well done!

Bernard

ekinokswest (2994) 2006-06-22 6:22

nice photo .. informative first of all. I hope you are not getting bored over there

Marche (4307) 2006-06-27 13:34

Bonjour Silke,
Belle performance de ce petit derviche, dont tu as su capter l'expression de concentration.
Note intéressante ŕ laquelle je ne peux répondre....
Amicalement
Martine

pierrefonds (115705) 2006-08-21 10:42

Hi Silke,

A good portrait of this young dancer, the photo is sharp and clear. It has a good composition and nice colors. Thanks for sharing.

Pierre

chrisnet (23062) 2006-08-21 10:47

Hi Silke,
I like the mouvement of this danser,nice shot,well captured,interesting note also.
Good work Silke!
Best regards
Christian

maloutim (13617) 2007-06-29 2:35

Hi Silke!
This photo definitely deserves more than 10 pts! But you were new on TE at the time, and not very well-known, that's why!
I like many things in this photo:
-The brightness of the dress against the darker background, really puts the accent on the dancer himself!
-The fact that he is a young learner, and yet seems to be so intense and competent in his art.
-And last but not least, the sharpness, which can't have been easy to get, whith such a brisk movement.
-Plus, it's a scan , and a good one despite the little defects. Perhaps, you could use the cloning tool to remove the stains. I don't know, because I don't have that tool on my software...
Well done!
Marie Louise.