In the desert Photo

Photographer’s Note

In September 1975 I made a tour of Algeria, my first "light" taste of Africa.
I headed straight south from Algiers on the Mediterranean coast, spent a few days in the M'Zab valley 500 km south, and then proceeded another 300 km into the Sahara to the small oasis town of El Goléa.
My memories are vague, but I recall it as a very pleasant place, although extremely hot. There were the ruins of a 1.000 years old fortress, several white tombs – such as the one on this picture _ of revered Muslim holy men, and hundreds of thousands of date palms.
This was scanned from a Kodchrome slide.

BlueRaven, dta, gokanlam, JanD, COSTANTINO, saxo042, fanni, Wanda1, Kielia trouve(nt) cette note utile

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Greg1949 (8511) 2009-05-07 6:09

Gert, you were taking good pictures a LONG time ago, nice work... Good scan too.

Greg

BlueRaven (35) 2009-05-07 6:13

Hi Gert,

Wow, you're really travelling back in time here! At that time I didn't even know what photography was... ;o)
Pretty good quality for a scan of such an old slide - the colours seem a bit oversaturated but the natural contrast is striking. The sky looks somewhat noisy/pixellated but well, that's the trouble with scans. The composition is great though. The white building sure jumps out of the picture.

Best wishes
Claudia

dta (5809) 2009-05-07 6:17

Hello Gert ,
Another very fine scanned picture . Colors are very pleasant . May be , it looks like old co;loured post cards . The contrasts are superb , and the composition is excellent .
Very interesting work .
regards

gokanlam (6431) 2009-05-07 6:29

even though it is very old, it looks so qualitive.. loved the colors especially the contrast between the trees and the sky..
congratulations,
ReLa

JanD (15019) 2009-05-07 6:38

Howdy Holmertz!
Amazing colors. Wonderful saturation. Superb work.
Regards.

nirvana73 (8814) 2009-05-07 8:22

Hello Gert
great documentary scene
i like colors too
very nice scanned too
thanks for sharing and explanations
best regards
Ozhan

COSTANTINO (23039) 2009-05-07 9:35

Hello Gert
Today you give us a marvellous impressive postcard from the desert..A photo divorsed into three parts,blue sky,green palms,brown earth and the white between all them..
It is a perfect oasis and it looks like a page from a fairy tale..
regards
Costantino

saxo042 (16096) 2009-05-07 11:37

Hej Gert,
The composition is very good and the colours are very strong, maybe too strong.
Hälsningar
Gunnar
PS Hur såg egentligen bilden ut före processeringen?

fanni (8761) 2009-05-07 23:32

Hej Gert,
to me, this scanned photo looks very much like a Van Gogh's painting - because of these very bright colours. In any case, the composition is very good and presents curious African architecture (and the rich African colours?).
Kindest regards,
Elena
PS. Jag är nyfiken på vad som hände med palmerna som finns på höger sida: de ser besynnerlig ut (i mitten). Någon har ätit en liten del av dem...? Följder av postprocessing? ;-)
Please excuse my poor Swedish!

Wanda1 (11015) 2009-05-08 10:04

Hi Gert,
Interesting with the white of the tomb standing out agaisnt the barren brown surroundings. I can imagine that some areas might still look similar today. The person is a good element to add life to the shot.
Regards
Wanda

Kielia (8629) 2009-05-10 10:57

Hej Gert,
this impression is very beautiful indeed. Very good POV, attractive postcard-like colors and an excellent management of the light. It is amazing that the old slide still is very attractive. It is not only the quality of the material, it is the skills of the photographer!
Warm regards
Harriet

Glint (3052) 2009-05-10 13:16

hello Gert,
there is a great sense of place here, especially of the heat. I can imagine hot the white tomb would glare in the light of strong sunshine.I like the way the palms seem to frame the tomb. I also like the texture and line of the wall.And the colours, they just knock you in the eye!
best wishes,
Bev

mafegan (4399) 2009-11-28 0:16

Hi Gert
Almost 35 years old - and it would probably look the same today. Brilliant colours and the person to the side adds perspective and human interest. As prevously said this photo looks like an old postcard. I can also recall the heat of El Golea - a new experience for me. Now I live in a hot and humid part of a hot country. Tfs, Marlene