For to be Free, a photo from Gauteng, East

Photographer's Note

A recent stop-over in Johannesburg afforded us the opportunity to make a quick visit to Nelson Mandela Square to see the giant sculpture of this giant of a man. It seems appropriate to share this with fellow TE’ers at this time.

For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others. Nelson Mandela

In April 2004 Johannesburg’s Sandton Square was renamed the Nelson Mandela Square in celebration of 10 years of democracy in South Africa - by unveiling the world's first public statue of the man who led his country across the apartheid divide.
• The statue of Nelson Mandela is six metres tall (higher than 5.9m of the world's tallest recorded giraffe).
• It weighs 2.5 tons (the weight of an adult African white rhino).
• It measures 2.3 metres from elbow to elbow (the maximum wing span of the African fish eagle), and has a shoulder width of 1.7m (almost the width of a luxury sedan).
• The statue's shoes measure virtually one metre in length - a boot size very few could fill
• The statue was sculpted by Kobus Hattingh and Jacob Maponyane.
• Commissioned in July 2002, the statue was completed in February 2004, and moved to the Square in the middle of the night to be installed ahead of the unveiling.

Read more: http://www.southafrica.info/mandela/mandela-statue.htm#.Ucx_apz4Jsk#ixzz2XRQYxhGz
This photograph is copyright of Rosemary Walden - © Rosemary Walden 2013. All rights reserved. Any redistribution or reproduction of the image in any form is prohibited. You may not, except with my express written permission, copy, reproduce, download, distribute or exploit the content. Nor may you transmit it or store it in any other website or other form of electronic retrieval system

Romano46, holmertz, delpeoples, macjake, Kofman, timecapturer, chanteuse, Silvio1953, abmdsudi, jjcordier, No_One, krzychu30, ourania, fabbs99, rogerl, adores ha puntuado esta nota como útil.

Critiques | Translate

Romano46 (18472) 2013-06-27 12:13

Ciao Rosemary
Buon ritorno in TE!
E che ottimo ritorno. Con un ottimo B & W ricco di significato in questo momento particolare per il Sudafrica.
Mi complimento per la tua sensibilità che hai mostrato con la scelta di oggi e nello stesso tempo per la perfezione della tua tecnica che espone questo scatto molto ben eseguito e composto in maniera perfetta ed originale nello stesso tempo grazie ad un punto di ripresa eccellente.
Bravissima!
Ciao e buona serata
Romano

holmertz (89122) 2013-06-27 12:37

Hello Rosemary,
I didn't know about this statue. It seems a bit unusual to erect a statue of someone still allive, but then Nelson Mandela is an unusual man. I like your comparisons between him and African animals: "taller than a giraffe, heavier than a rhino, broader than an eagle". This photo gives us a fairly good idea of the size of the statue.
For practical reasons I once had to decline an offer to have breakfast with Mandela at his Stockholm hotel. It still makes me disappointed to think of that missed opportunity.
Kind regards,
Gert

mesutilgim (0) 2013-06-27 12:43

Hello dear Rosemary,
Amazing b&w capture from Johannesburg with the statue of thid legendar msn !
Perfecf pov.
TFS and best regards
MESUT ILGIM

mjw364 (1466) 2013-06-27 15:19

Hello Rosemary

Nice b n w shot. I like the silvery liquid quality of the statue - kind of like one of those futuristic robots from the film Terminator! Though of ocurse Mandela was a force for peace!

TFS

Mike

adidas5nb (5743) 2013-06-27 18:56

love the note and the poc on this shot.great angle and choice for b n w.indeed a great leader and icon.hopes he recovers soon....
regards
dwaipayan

delpeoples (60326) 2013-06-27 21:23

Dear Rosemary

I couldn't think of a better time to acknowledge this great man. A man larger than life, as his statue would indicate. I pray for him and his family at this difficult time. Where there is life, there is hope.

Good choice the B&W. And your POV is so close and upward looking that I can imagine you were lying on the ground when you took this photo. The vertical frame of course was the best choice and I love the slight distortion the wide angle lens has had on the background people and the building. My only regret is that a little part of his foot is cropped off. Anally retentive I know, and certainly a small matter. Thanks for a most beautiful and heartfelt note to accompany this excellent photo.

Hugs
Lisa

ACL1978 (7511) 2013-06-27 21:26

It is heartbreaking to see this statue and know that we are not far from losing such a towering figure, but this playful angle on a playful statue reminds us of his stature and his joyful personality and demeanor. It's hard to list too many other figures who have had the kind of global impact for good that he has had, or too many who have at once seemed so superhuman and yet so completely, wonderfully, delightfully human at the same time. Thanks for the reminder.

Andrew

macjake (95437) 2013-06-27 21:54

Hi Rosemary
this statue at 18 feet tall is pretty striking, even in the photo let alone walking the street.

and I like how you captured this one in the tall vertical as opposed to a horizontal compo.

and very similar to what Lisa had to say, its too bad we couldn't see the entire foot at the bottom - but thats totally nit-picking.

a well deserved timing of this man's sculpture.
nice work
cheers
craig

emka (147577) 2013-06-27 23:54

Hi Rosemary, Welcome back after holidays. Interesting shot, so unusual in your gallery. very impressive, specially with this black and white choice.
Haha, I like the dimensions specially the shoes (really one meter??) .
Warm regrads

Malgo

timecapturer (49288) 2013-06-28 3:50

Hi Rosemary
an impressive statute and superb POV that not only accentuates the scale and size, but gives us a great idea of the presence of this tribute to the great man. Works really well in monochrome too!

Have a great weekend - Brian.

Sergiom (117241) 2013-06-28 5:21

Bonjour Rosemary,

La photo est de circonstance. Le monde entier retient son souffle et se demande si Obama se rendra à son chevet. Probablement trop tard pour que cela veuille dire quoi que ce soit.

Amicalement

Serge

chanteuse (210) 2013-06-28 7:21

I'll echo what others have said so well...
The foot does not bother me, in fact I think that framing it this way helps pull us into the shot and into Mandela's ascent, looking with expectation to the future of South Africa and of us all as we struggle with these issues of freedom that he devoted his life to addressing.
The POV makes it seem that he is cupping his hand to his mouth, with perhaps some trepidation about our future. But the bystanders look confidently out, fearing nothing...who is right here? Mandela was always the prophet but also always hopeful.
We are always ascending to freedom, we can never take it for granted...
Thank you for a carefully composed reminder of this.
All the best, Sara

dkmurphys (77640) 2013-06-28 7:50

Hi Rosemary,
A fine POV of this statue, a real monument for the locals. I've heard these days that he's in bad health conditions so this is like a tribute.
Enjoy a fine weekend.

Daniel

Silvio1953 (199950) 2013-06-28 9:40

Ciao Rosemary, fantastic statue for a great man, wonderful POV, splendid light and excellent clarity, very well done, my friend, have a good week end, ciao Silvio

abmdsudi (85811) 2013-06-28 19:46

Hi Rosemary
Breathtaking image and so well deserving a statue and thanks for the bit of history and a fascinating narrative. The art of the sculpture is an art indeed and this is a very special picture, shot from a nice low angle but it's fun by getting as close as possible as the effect of an ultra wide angle lens and distortion is so evident when his shoe looks so much bigger. The convergence gives a mighty taste to this, bold and standout but it's the scale of this statue that amazed me. This is indeed a nice exploitation, beautifully exposed neat & clean and monochrome processing really adds to the charm and character of such a strong image. I just love it. My compliments :))
Best regards

jjcordier (79299) 2013-06-28 23:26

Rosemary
Très bel hommage à ce très grand homme. le chois du noir et blanc s'impsait ici!
Amicalement
JJ

No_One (4) 2013-06-29 7:11

Hi Rosemary,
A very fine a statue of a very great man. I really like that there are people in the scene too to put the size of this monument into perspective. In fact, the man right behind the statue serves that purpose perfectly! Great choice for black and white, and a truly perfect point of view. Really nicely done, and as you say a very fitting post at this time.
Best wishes
Noel

krzychu30 (15512) 2013-06-29 8:05

Hello Rosemary,
nice to see you back with new photos.
I think the sentence you enclosed in your note describe perfeclty Nelson Mandela´s life.He has dedicated his whole life to the fight for freedom.This statue commemorates his properly and your choice of this perspective make him appear really gigantic to us.Also the way you processed the image in B&W is perfect for me.

Wish You a nice weekend
Krzysztof

ourania (51103) 2013-06-30 8:00

Hello Rosemary,
I had never seen this statue before and I feel very moved by seeing it these days which are charged with worry about Nelson Mandela's health. The dynamism of your composition, the plasticity of the statue and the naturalness of his expression, the people around whose lives have been profoundly affected by his vision and courage... The monochrome treatment is excellent and I think that it creates a greater connection among all the elements included. Mandela is a hero for all humanity. I like very much the way he is depicted, a humble giant. Congratulations and thank you!
All the best, have a great week,
Ourania

rogerl (1632) 2013-07-04 10:39

Rosemary, great timing on this really nice B&W. I love the POV you chose, showing Mandela towering over the other people in the square. He really is one of the towering figures in modern African history. Thanks.

Roger

adores (46979) 2013-07-15 17:31

Hi Rosemary!
Guess I had never seen this statue here! I really like the low pov -it makes the statue look even bigger. The b&w seems perfect and the composition also. I like the idea of including the name of the square in background and the people around.
A good moment to post it!

carlo62 (81237) 2013-12-06 14:49

Ciao Rosemary
ricordavo di aver visto la statua nella tua galleria e continuo con il contributo a questo grande uomo e questa volta dandoti anche il voto che meriti per il tuo lavoro.
Buon we
Carlo