Hanging Around Carpet Beater, a photo from Mazowieckie, Est

Photographer's Note

Proud to be one of the very few to present a picture from a small polish city called Pionki, before the visit I was disappointed not to find much on TE, but now that I have been there I know the reason, there is nothing there, nothing is happening, the city is just being there. Large cities are absolutely booming, anyone with initiative and skills can do quite well, retail, tourism and many other industries are striving, real esate is through the roof, farmers, at least the once who have been able to accumulate enough land can do well as well. Small cities on the other hand, well different story, and Pionki is a great example. No industry per say, retail is mostly groceries and every day things you need, most poeple can't afford more than that. Anyone with guts and initiative left, the city actually looked better during communism, the industry was there, all had jobs, but in the last 20 years all that is gone, the population is decreasing, economy is just about dead, and poeple just hang around.

Typical sight in Pionki, apartment buildings built sometime in the 70s, clothes hanging around, and so are the kids, the metal post you see in the middle of the frame is actually important symbol of our history and upbringing of most kids (at least my generation), the are called "trzepak", offical translation to english says "carpet beater", you would hang a carpet on it and hit it at will, however this wasn't something prescribed by a shrink to let the frustrations out, that's how we used to clean carpets.

Another photo in theworkshop

faubry, Luko, SamB, robiuk, AnimeshRay, stiginthedump, flory trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

Tosa (282) 2007-09-07 5:59

Pies jest idealny do tej foty...:-)

Giorgos_P (133) 2007-09-07 6:02

Hi peter!
This is a real Daly life photograph. I like the stange angle that you choosed. Beutiful moment!
regards, George.

faubry (35447) 2007-09-07 6:24

bonjour Peter, i like the way you have taken for this shot, good idee, children at game, and environment, superb
soon
francine

Polonaise (5802) 2007-09-07 7:14

like the 'non-challant' style of this photo (as a matter of fact - all your photos are 'I don't give a s*** about the rules' style).

Good stuff, Piotrek...

Great note.

Luko (14000) 2007-09-07 7:23

Had you cropped this one in horizontal format, that would have been a triple yes from my part (don't ask me why three times, but you know in my mind it means GOOD).

Here I'm just seized with a giant vertigo at the sight of that great wild nothingness populating the bottom area... Or maybe in your own metaphorocal style, was it your initial intention allowing us to grasp the vacant side of Pionki.

Furachan (0) 2007-09-07 8:17

Yeah Piotrek, you are living proof of what Dylan wrote once when he said "If you live outside the law, you must be honest" hee hee...
You can break dem rules anytime, brother.
On me...
-F

SamB (1948) 2007-09-07 9:04

Hello, Peter--
i don't know if it's legal or not... but i'm going to (maybe) disagree with Luko on this one. (i say maybe because i still haven't made up my mind completely, but i think so). The thing that drew me to this one far more than anything was, as mentioned, the fact that this picture does what it wants, burns the rules, and looks good doing it. Normally in a picture like this i would be all for getting rid of the empty space... but i feel like the empty space is important to the picture. It would still have a lot of interest if it was horizontal, but i feel like it would be too busy for as slow as you said things were in Pionki. The open space, in my opinion, seems to emphasize just how little was going on. But beyond that, this composition is great. The framing with the foreground girl really works for me.
Thanks!
sam

robiuk (10807) 2007-09-07 13:28

Hi Peter and thanks for posting this particular
one, as I've never before paid any attention to
something trivial as a 'carpet beater'.
To make things clear, I know what they are as I
grew up with them - every block of flats had them
and when there were no carpets to beat, we used to
use them for playing football - as ideal goal posts.
Sounds familiar?
Honestly, I love your vertical composition and in fact,
IMHO, I think it works quite well together with vignetting.
Robi

AnimeshRay (9089) 2007-09-07 18:34

You know Peter, a town where nothing really happens can become a great subject of photography, and this is a proof. A stunningly complex composition that works, to say the least, at least as well as any good photo. The kids suggested playground, the hanging laundry, the half-seen adult in a car park, the stooping dog, the subdued color, all point to a defeated city...with a ring of pathos I can easily empathize with. Such is the universality of a good photo!

kensimage (8563) 2007-09-08 8:25

This definitely captures the atmosphere of drab Soviet-era accomodations, Peter--the worn concrete that probably looked that way when it was new, the hanging clothes, the absence of anything put there to be aesthetically pleasing. I like the composition but I think we should see the face of the girl in the foreground. So maybe the workshop one is even better. Regards, Ken.

ALSOM (6616) 2007-09-10 2:03

A kind of vertigo feeling from this pov ! The empty bottom part can only enhance this effect (Yes with the dog's tail you would get an brilliant shot) The colors are subtle, epseicall y the pink and the light green. I'm not sure the vignetting, maybe too much ...
Thanks, Alain -

vapours (8264) 2007-09-15 12:33

This image stood out straight away for me, and seems to contain the same qualities as what I like about Mike King's work, with the 'structured randomness'.

I'd be very happy to have this one on my loungeroom wall, can't fault anything with it.

ninaL (21348) 2007-09-17 14:15

Hi, Peter, again.
I already saw this photo...three of four times...
First time, I thought it was not a good enough one (still sorry for my bad english).
But during my last holiday in Poland, I tried to make some photographs about backyards...most of its useless...and more I see this one, more I think is a very good one. It summarizes all I remember (deeply) about polish backyards...ALL is there...ALL...truelly ALL...in a very original composition.
Best regards. Grazyna.

stiginthedump (1833) 2007-10-03 17:36

Yep, a photo showing 'nothing' but enough to capture my interest! I like the tilt and how you have 2 faceless people at both ends of the frame and one in the middle (and a dog's ass!).

flory (4848) 2007-10-05 11:18

hi Peter,
first view:think is a small city in romania.read the note,the same.the ws,again rom;))-nothing happened.depression.empty life.history beats in a way for others..but you know what?they hope..frustrations?make a lot of sport there:))is healthy;)after make gymnastics.
'je ne regrette rien' and really want that 'ray of sun' for all people!
thanks,Peter!
Flory;)

wolf38 (30) 2007-11-05 4:10