Dried shrimp seller, Ben Thanh Photo

Photographer’s Note

Another Ben Thanh Saigon market shot, taken into the heart of that shady market, I underexposed the shot to get warmer colors and deeper shadows.

When you think about countries, you may think about colors. For me Vietnam is a part green -for its lush and wet countryside- but also orange, mainly because of the bright orange shrimp stalls that attract my eyes in every Vietnamese market.

These are dried shrimps that are put in many V'mese dishes giving them a mellow salty and fishy taste.

Vietnam is on top of my list for seafood : no squid can be better than Nha Trang's grilled squid, simply with pepper and lime, don't miss Bien Hoa in Saigon outskirts for huge river prawns grilled with tamarin sauce.

rage_tm ha contrassegnato questa nota come utile

Critiques | Translate

cdewet (0) 2003-09-20 16:07

I like the admosphere here, the rich muted colours, the beautiful composition with the seller diagonally opposite the bags of shrimps. Maybe crop off the fluorescent light? I know the lights are there and one cannot wish them away, but using the old hand across the frame, it looks warmer sans flourescent light. Wish I can take such photos.

martin (1242) 2003-09-20 16:22

The exposure has captured perfectly both the mood and the warmth of the colours. I agree with Callie about cropping the flourescent light.

gringofil (0) 2003-09-20 23:17

This is nice, Luko, I really like the muted colors, but what bothers me a bit is the darkness in this shot. There is just too much of it and it's hard to make out details. I know that using a flash would have been out of the question here and I wouldn't have done it myself as well, so a shot at day time might have been the answer.

I agree with you about the seafood...truly amazing, but you've got to find the right places to eat in as some of the restaurants produce terrible stuff.

BobTrips (1853) 2003-09-21 0:57

I agree with your approach to underexpose in order to hold the color in the shrimp. It worked well. And holding down the exposure kept the hanging bulbs from becoming white blobs.

However, there's a lot of rich detail in the shadows. It can be brought out fairly easily. There's a lot more to be seen in this image.

I agree with cdewet about the florescent light. And the other strange light in the top left is distracting (to me).

I've posted a Workshop with the top cropped and the darkest parts lightened. Not a high quality job, that's for you to do if you want to bring out the details.

[workshop] [compare]

Darren (6819) 2003-09-21 1:52

I really like this shot Luko. I love how the shrimp are lit, and I personally am not bothered by the overall darkness here. Compositionally, It is pretty much perfect, especially considering where you have placed the vendor. It is also nice and sharp, even though it doesn't say you used a tripod, and I am guessing you didn't simply due to the height the shot seems to be taken from.

sunny (3068) 2003-09-21 5:20

I like this shot the way it is - a night one, natural and clean of manipulations..:-)And I am happy you didn't crop the fluorescent light, for it is by me important part of the whole "lightning comlex". There is so much atmosphere!

maciekda (19599) 2003-10-09 0:47

it is a great picture, i like "market pictures" a lot, i often wander around those places, and this one is like the essential market photo, really great... i can feel the atmosphere of that place... dark place and all those small bulbs, and the guy sitting exactly there where should be... bravo!

htremblay (1664) 2003-10-23 15:18

Cette photo me plait beaucoup, bien vue, réussie. Bravo
This photo pleases me a lot, seen well, made a success. Bravo

rage_tm (623) 2004-11-06 5:57

Nice night capture of this marketplace. I like the atmosphere and shrimp colors here. Interesting notes too. This image is an inspiration for me. Good Catch!

sohrab (7423) 2004-12-12 13:55

i think you've handles the light beautifully here..
i love the yellow light of bulbs.. it gives that really warm touch especially to the shrimps.. and i love the way the man is sort of coming out of the darkness here.
ive always loved these kind of low key shots.. where there is a lot of blending of the darkness with the subjects in the composition..
people are right about the tubelight... it seems quite alien to the warm atmosphere over here..
otherwise this is one really good photograph especially with the shopkeeper being in a pensive mood
take care :)

Furachan (0) 2005-07-19 0:53

Je revisite cette image (je dirais presque ce tableau) injustement peu frequentee, que j'avais vue en passant il ya pas mal de temps. Ton choix d'eclairage me semble inspire (la preuve, y a qu'a voir le visage du gars...)Je crois que tu as reussi sur deux plans: le plan documentaire (puisque le mood Ben Thanh, c'est precisement ca!) et sur le plan artistique. Bravo! Francis