A man on his donkey, a photo from Ghardaia, Inland

Photographer's Note

I deliberated whether I should try to convince you that my time machine had brought me back to the days of the Bible. Could I make you believe that this is actually Jesus of Nazareth riding into Jerusalem? I gave it up when I realized some of you would point out that there were no sunglasses in Biblical days, not even in the New Testament.

But I decided anyway to convert the Kodachrome colour photo to black & white and to give it a touch of sepia to underscore my impression that it looks quite old, even though it's just from 1975.

This was taken few meters from my last photo, in Ghardaïa in Algeria. In the unlikely event that anyone recognizes this big man on the small donkey I have showed him before. More than ten years ago I posted a photo taken seconds later. It was more tightly cropped, showing basically just him and the donkey. I called it "Overloaded", but seeing it now I think a better title would have been "Oversaturated". At least I wish I had thought to adjust the hues so he didn't look so terribly sunburned.

This was scanned from a Kodachrome slide. Here is a larger version.

Fis2, ikeharel, ikeharel, pierrefonds, Ilonka1974, jhm, PiotrF, papagolf21, jean113, alvaraalto, PaulVDV, ktanska, ChrisJ, macjake, adramad, tyro, tyro, worldcitizen, mcmtanyel, cornejo, maloutim ha puntuado esta nota como útil.

Critiques | Translate

pajaran (114801) 2019-08-01 0:31

Pozdrav.
lep pogled i trenutak, interesantan i dobar tekst ...
Dobar rad skeniranjem slajda, lepo pokazano, dobar kontrast i ostrina, dobro uhvacen trenutak.
lep crno bela fotografija i secanje.
Zelim vam sve najbolje.
Paja.

Greeting.
nice view and moment, interesting and good text ...
Good slide scanning work, beautifully demonstrated, good contrast and sharpness, well captured moment.
beautiful black and white photography and memory.
I wish you all the best.

Fis2 (169609) 2019-08-01 0:42

Hello Gert my neighbor today at TE!
Another great scene from everyday life.
Sepia intensifies emotions, good use.
Very well done.
Good morning.
Greetings.
Krzysztof

Royaldevon (85602) 2019-08-01 0:48

Hello Gert,

Like you, my immediate thought was this looked like a Biblical image, Palm Sunday without the palms.
Then, on closer examination, it reminded me of one of the many charity adverts we see, asking for money to prevent cruelty to animals; there is one specific charity for relief from cruelty for donkeys and this could be a good image for that!

But, as I often say to you, this is a photograph of great interest, revealing so much about the area, how the people dress and behave. Your sepia treatment was a master stroke, giving a greater sense of age to this well scanned photograph.

My warm regards,
Bev 😊

Nicou (193806) 2019-08-01 1:04

Hello

quelle image et vue quel rendu des tons et compo fantastique quelle scène de rue avec cette personne sur cet âne qui se promène dans la rues quelle animation avec les autres personnes tout autour mais il ressort parfaitement bien centré superbe
Bravo et amitié
Nicou

pierrefonds (113492) 2019-08-01 4:42

Hi Gert,

You have captured well the man riding the donkey. The point of view is showing the details of the phisionomy of the persons and of their clothings. The black and white with an addition of sepia is giving a good contrast to the scene. Have a nice day.

Pierre

Ilonka1974 (10275) 2019-08-01 4:50

Hi Gert,

EXCELLENT PICTURE.

Very well done.
Best regards
Janusz

jhm (211734) 2019-08-01 6:20

Hello Gert,

We see a men world, I've much respect that you took picture middle the group of men.
Almost fifty year ago, incredible.
Pleasant picture with a high quality, good scanned.
Wonderful presentation.
Very well done, TFS.

Best regards,
John

deffra (651) 2019-08-01 7:40

Hello Gert
Great scene good idea of choice sepia.

I like it

TFS

Deffra

Tue (91478) 2019-08-01 7:49

Hej Gert,
Bortset fra solbrillerne kunne billedet godt have været taget for mange århundreder siden. Et godt indtryk af livet i den smalle gade med så mange mennesker der går rundt omkring. Manden på æslet er godt fanget i midten.
Lars

Silvio1953 (220465) 2019-08-01 10:30

Ciao Gert, Fascinating composition with fantastic daly life scene, wonderful sepia conversion, excellent clarity and splendid light, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

jmdias (114170) 2019-08-01 10:55

gert

yes. when I saw this photo I thought about Jesus entering in Jerusalem. of course there are some modern touches breaking the biblical mood. I guess the guy had a problem in his left foot. amazing view. probably the are is different nowadays, filled with cell phones and plastic trash.

take care

jorge

mesutilgim (0) 2019-08-01 11:30

Hello dear Gert,
Another wonderfull "oldie" from your gallery. Both photographycally and informative perfect TE job.
Made almost half a century ago, but I do not think that it has changed too much since then.
TFS and best regards
MESUT ILGIM

lousat (138541) 2019-08-01 11:48

Hi Gert,this version seems a pic taken in the start of the last century,nice effect in black and white starting from the slide,and a lovely memory of this trip in a disappear world. Have a nice evening and thanks,Luciano

Miguel82 (47110) 2019-08-01 12:48

Gert, the picture shows the daily life in a remoted village located in the heart of the Sahara desert. Here no jeans and t-shirts, everybody is wearing the traditional long "djellabah", shirts and the muslim hat. The donkey should suffer because the man and its goods must be heavy. He maybe needs the animal help to walk. I note his left leg is a bit twisted maybe he is disabled. Authentic slice of life presented.

PiotrF (54246) 2019-08-01 15:45

Hello Gert
Beautiful vintage photo. I watch them with great pleasure.
Perfect captured and fine details.
Thank you for informative notes.
Good work, fine presentation.
Regards
Piotr

ifege (46851) 2019-08-01 20:26

Hi Gert
Not biblical times but certainly everything apart from the sunglasses and a power cord is very traditional. A great oldie.
cheers
Ian

rychem (72187) 2019-08-01 20:54

This is a photo with biblical associations, this is how Jesus' arrival to Jerusalem is usually illustrated, very good archive photo
regards Ryszard

papagolf21 (152605) 2019-08-01 23:37

Bonjour, cher Gert,
Un mot suffit : Excellent !
Une belle façon de replonger dans le passé.
Très bien.
Amitiés.
Philippe

GyurMaster (24668) 2019-08-02 0:06

Dear Gert,

What if he is really Jesus? Once I saw a 'Z' category action movie in which he was a time-traveler. Sadly - or luckily:) - I couldn't recall the name of the movie. Joking apart, it is a decent photo, the main subject and the other people around him are positioned flawlessly.

Best Wishes,
Gy.

emka (157280) 2019-08-02 0:57

hello Gert, Not only here, I often think that the view of someone riding the donkey is like from the Bible. And definitely, It would be not difficult to remove sunglasses and the scene would look like an illustration from the bible or from the historical movie. Delightful composition and I like more this sepia version than the earlier colorful picture.
(You gave the same link two times).
Have a nice weekend

Malgo

CLODO (45116) 2019-08-02 2:11

Hi Gert

picture out of the time of course, and the sepia post processing adds a lot. He seems to be the king and his white dress is so eye catching, all people around don't look at him,
Well done
CLODO

jean113 (27585) 2019-08-02 3:02

Hello Gert, what an interesting post from 44 years ago.
The first thing that came to mind was Jesus coming into the city on a donkey! But as you quite rightly said, sunglasses weren’t available 2000 years ago!
There is an interesting mix of styles of clothing. The black and white presentation works really well.
I like the tight composition.
Kind regards
Jean

COSTANTINO (115421) 2019-08-02 8:06

Hello dear friend and have a nice time and a happy new day
and a pleasant weekend
yes yiu ar right and at first i thought that thisphoto
was from the BIblical daysand the aman on the donkey
was JEsus of Nazareth
it seems like a palm Sunday without the apalms
welldodne
regrads
Costantino

alvaraalto (42804) 2019-08-02 21:11

Hello Gert,
If you look closely, there are more details that do not fit in the new testament, but we also don't know what is true and what is not about the new testament, so it remains a nice illustration, especially now that you have presented this attractive photo in sepia.
Interesting to compare your choice from ten years ago and this one.
Excellent work
Have a good weekend, groet Rob

PaulVDV (62752) 2019-08-03 0:03

Hello Gert,
The man with the sunglasses messed it up :)
Yet it's a very attractive daily life-picture of Ghardaïa.
Moreover, the numerous presence of people does not prevent us from seeing anything of the beautiful architecture.
I wonder if similar photos can still be made in the M'zab. In the early 1980s I knew someone who was making a thesis about this architecture and who also visited the M'zab. I always kept on dreaming of visiting the region.
Best regards, Paul

ktanska (44438) 2019-08-03 2:37

Hej Gert,
Fantastic view from old times, that could indeed be much older. Sepia toning looks good. And direct angle towards the man and the donkey is very efficient. Dress those guys as Mexicans and this could be from a Sergio Leone film.
Kari

ChrisJ (171146) 2019-08-03 3:18

Hello Gert,

A superb blast from the past when I was still in my teens. I like the slight sepia tone and excellent tonal range and overall sharpness. The men at left and right serve as a frame for the man on the donkey in the centre. Tfs!

macjake (98260) 2019-08-03 21:12

Hi Gert
I have to agree with you that the man on the donkey does look kinda strange, like he's been photoshopped INTO the scene, but who cares, we know its an old photo, its scanned etc etc :)
its funny how he still dominates the scene despite have so many other characters around him, he's clearly the focal point in a busy scene - thats hard to achieve! The man walking on the left with the hat is coming in as close 2nd :) Even I would have fun photographing these street life scenes. cool. cheers
Craig

kasianowak (17662) 2019-08-03 21:55

Hi Gert
As Malgo said, a bit of Photoshop work and you can claim the copyright of the oldest photograph ever taken... ;-) The man on the right, wearing shirt and trousers, could probably do with some sort of galabija, but I'm not sure. I had a good look at the image and, indeed, can't even see trainers - shoes are often the first detail of traditional attire that disappears; comfortable footwear is more important than a comfortable hat.
It was a really good idea to present this shot in sepia as it does add to the timeless feel.
I'm going to add it to my favourites.
Best wishes and greetings from PL.
Kasia

carlo62 (81265) 2019-08-04 5:05

Ciao Gert
gli occhiali da sole non erano menzionati nella bibbia, ma non è detto che non ci fossero..... 😉
Il personaggio sull'asino è molto evidente, spicca su tutto il resto, sei riuscito ad ottenere l'effetto desiderato.

adramad (72526) 2019-08-05 9:57

Hi Gert.
An excellent image that in this sepia tone gives us a timeless vision, the image has a great strength with the characters that are included, the little donkey gives me a shame loaded with such a large man, plus the burden that he carried in the sacks.
Great value of yours to travel to these countries in those years, in addition to the appearance of men on the street do not inspire me any confidence with those aspects so prison.
Good brightness and sharpness.
Well done. My congratulations.
All the best and have a good start to the week.
Luis.

jemaflor (146190) 2019-08-06 23:18

Hi Gert,
Interesting daily life scene in this street, perfect focus with this man and the donkey, sharpness is well managed, interesting old rendering in sepia tone, tfs.

tyro (30513) 2019-08-13 13:55

Hello Gert,

This is a fabulous photograph! And, now that you remind us of the picture you took just seconds after this one, we are treated to a fine comparison of the two.

As you say, your later photo (the one you posted ten years ago!) is a little oversaturated and I think you made a wise decision to convert this one to black and white - and the sepia toning I find very tasteful too.

Quite honestly, if I had been where you were taking this photograph I think I should have felt rather nervous. And nervous for perhaps two reasons: firstly, this fellow is pretty big and also very serious-looking and appears imperious and rather full of his own importance and might not relish the idea of a foreigner standing in his way and pointing a camera at him; and, secondly, because he is so big and his donkey is so small he does, quite honestly, look absolutely ridiculous and I should have worried that I might burst out laughing - which also would have incurred his wrath.

I presume that this one was scanned with your new scanner. In any case, the scan is excellent (as also must have been your original slide) and the details and sharpness superb.

Together with a fascinating and inspiring note, this is a wonderful photograph which just has to be added to my favourites.

Fabulous!

Kind Regards,

John.

worldcitizen (15930) 2019-08-16 13:05

Hello Gert,
The scene does look a bit Biblical, and it's nice that there was only one man on a donkey making his way through the crowd. I always feel sorry for the donkey, though. I like all the traditional clothing, too.

ikeharel (112393) 2019-08-20 8:47

Hello Gert,
An old picture the offers a good view on a "time-machine" to this town and people.
Wonder what would be the reaction of the guy on his donkey, if ever gets to see this specific picture.
The sepia tones gave yet another ancient texture to the scene.
Good afternoon,
Ike

mcmtanyel (67529) 2019-08-23 23:33

Hello Gert,
You are right, except for the glasses on one man (and maybe a modern jacket on another), this could be from the Biblical times. 👍🏻👍🏻
Regards,
MT

Quantum_light (118) 2019-09-11 23:03

Hello Gert,
Fantastic documentary photograph of incredibly good quality given the fact that it was taken over 40 years ago. Great composition of the street scene and beautiful sepia tones. Excellent caption too.
Greetings,
Iulia

drt100 (4038) 2019-09-14 2:59

I very much like your B&W work. You have a very interesting past, your bio shows global news reporter. My great uncle was a good global news reporter and inspired me to travel. I have now gone to many places he also went, but he did so in the 1920-1960's his name was Lowell Thomas. I doubt he is known much outside the US. He was with Lawrence in Arabia long ago. I like this photo it seems fitting to be in B&W.

drt100 Dr. David Thomas

cornejo (61504) 2019-09-27 3:17

Hi Gert, very nice picture of this interesting scene of everyday life, just for a couple of details is not a scene of the old testament, very well captured in this interesting image with good sharpness, light and quality. A great job perfectly done, my congratulations my friend. Thank you for sharing this interesting work.

Good afternoon and happy weekend.
All the best from southern Spain.
Angel.

maloutim (13617) 2019-10-23 1:52

Indeed, anybody would think about the New Testament when looking at this photo ! Only the sun-glasses seem to have changed, and maybe the man's costume on the right too ?
Amazing how the way of life didn't seem that different almost 2000 years later !
Thanks for sharing this excellent post !
Marie-Louise.