Somalia

bdcolenbdcolen Registered Users Posts: 3,804 Major grins
edited July 5, 2012 in Street and Documentary
548594541_P3JZu-XL-1.jpg
bd@bdcolenphoto.com
"He not busy being born is busy dying." Bob Dylan

"The more ambiguous the photograph is, the better it is..." Leonard Freed

Comments

  • toragstorags Registered Users Posts: 4,615 Major grins
    edited July 3, 2012
    Excellent bd... thumb.gif

    Color seems very suitable, appears almost monochromatic
    Rags
  • bdcolenbdcolen Registered Users Posts: 3,804 Major grins
    edited July 3, 2012
    Fuji Press film. And everything is pretty monochromatic, except for some of the women's garments. Or I should say was, as this was 1993
    bd@bdcolenphoto.com
    "He not busy being born is busy dying." Bob Dylan

    "The more ambiguous the photograph is, the better it is..." Leonard Freed
  • damonffdamonff Registered Users Posts: 1,894 Major grins
    edited July 3, 2012
    Love it. The shadows are cool too.
  • toragstorags Registered Users Posts: 4,615 Major grins
    edited July 3, 2012
    bdcolen wrote: »
    Fuji Press film. And everything is pretty monochromatic, except for some of the women's garments. Or I should say was, as this was 1993

    I like the unsat colors after being fed a non stop diet of saturated images via HD TV & movies. That said, I'm guilty of that in sports shots.
    Rags
  • bdcolenbdcolen Registered Users Posts: 3,804 Major grins
    edited July 4, 2012
    There are some interesting lessons/questions connected to this image, by the way. This was shot in January, 1993, near the end of the horrendous famine in Somalia, and before the horrendous Blackhawks Down mess of that fall. The men in the middle distance are about to bury a family member who has died at an MSF clinic - those piles on stones behind them are all crude grave markers. I was standing at a distance, and as they approached the grave, they saw me shooting, and looked quite displeased. I speak only English, not Italian, Somali, French, or any other language in which I might have communicated with them. So I pointed to myself, to my camera, and to them, and held up my hands in a questioning gesture. They shook their heads "No!" and appeared to be angry. So I did not shoot the burial.

    I was on the scene as an journalist, accredited by both the U.N. and my paper in metro N.Y. I wanted to convey to people back home the horror of mass famine and starvation. (And the light was great and the image potential was fantastic.;-) ) I probably could have waited a few moments and then snuck a few shots of the burial. But I did not. On the one hand, I knowi did the right thing ethically. On the other hand, I also know that had the situation occurred in the U.S., a photographer at a funeral would have shot anyway. It was an interesting reversal of the usual question, which is whether we should apply the same standards, the same respect, to people and situations in the Developing World we would apply at home.
    bd@bdcolenphoto.com
    "He not busy being born is busy dying." Bob Dylan

    "The more ambiguous the photograph is, the better it is..." Leonard Freed
  • michswissmichswiss Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 2,235 Major grins
    edited July 4, 2012
    First, it's a wonderful shot and I don't see it as desaturated at all. Just the opposite. To your point, a frequent comment I get / got from friends on my China shots is that they feel familiar, ordinary. Not exotic as is so often seen in travel snaps and guides. I do think it's important to try and bring a consistent sensibility and ethic to your work, within reason, no matter the setting.
  • damonffdamonff Registered Users Posts: 1,894 Major grins
    edited July 5, 2012
    Yes Jenn. Yes.
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