African Christmas greetings, a photo from Littoral, South

Photographer's Note

It's time to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. I don't have any photo to convey such greetings in a proper way: no festive decorations from my neighbourhood, no Santa Claus and definitely no snow. In my part of the world it has been raining almost endlessly for the past several weeks. Does anyone happen to know if there is some kind of climate change going on?

But since I would personally appreciate a nice smile just as much as anything usually connected with Christmas, this photo will have to do.

I met these "friendly natives" in a somewhat slummy area near the beach of Cotonou in Benin, West Africa. It's a photo from almost 38 years ago that I recently scanned from the usual Kodachrome slide. Here is a larger version.

So from all of us to all of you: A Very Merry Christmas.

ikeharel, Fis2, ChrisJ, jhm, pierrefonds, bona, jean113, jemaflor, worldcitizen, PiotrF, macjake, mcmtanyel, aliabazari, cornejo, alvaraalto, COSTANTINO, Ilonka1974, maloutim, lucasgalodoido ha contrassegnato questa nota come utile

Critiques | Translate

pajaran (114801) 2019-12-23 1:11

Pozdrav.
Lep popgled i trenutak, dobar tekst ...
Lepa deca sa osmehom na licu.
Dobar rad skeniranjem slajda, lepo poakzano, dobro uhvacen trenutak.
Lepa fotografija i secanje.
Zelim vam lep dan, sve najbolej u novoj nedelji koja je pocela.
Paja.

Greeting.
Nice pop view and moment, good text ...
Beautiful children with a smile on their face.
Good job scanning the slide, nice pointing, well captured moment.
Beautiful photography and memories.
Have a nice day, best of all for the new week that has begun.

Gerrit (62042) 2019-12-23 1:27

Hello Gert,
I don't know wether there is a climate change but it is raining here in Holland, like it mostly does.
Thanks for the sunny greetings from these smiling kids in this lovely country.
regards, Gerrit

GyurMaster (24668) 2019-12-23 1:28

Dear Gert,

This year too, you did not fail me with your Christmas photo, which makes us remind how our continent will look like if the alleged climate change will really happen! Too bad that the cold and the snowfall, which arrived in first days of Decembers is replaced by 10-12 Celsius and rain.

Have a Merry Christmas!
Gy.

Fis2 (169609) 2019-12-23 2:05

Witaj Gert!
Amazing scene, the boys are great.
Good POV, composition and colors.
Well done.
Nice day.
Krzysztof

mesutilgim (0) 2019-12-23 2:20

Helo dear Gert,
Another topclass "oldie" in your gallery; taken with perfect pov and layout as well as timing.
Those kids must be nowadays around their end fourties, but I do not think that it has changed much in their life.
Again a perfect sample af analogue photography.Many good and usefull notes.
TFS and best regards
MESUT ILGIM

Tue (91478) 2019-12-23 2:45

Hej Gert,
Et godt billede af de to unge, smilende børn i det klare sollys. Det ser også ud til at den yngste også vinker til os. Farverne er meget attraktive også. God jul, forhåbentlig med ikke så meget regn!
Lars

Silvio1953 (220465) 2019-12-23 2:46

Ciao Gert, great portrait of cute smiling boys, good selective focus, excellent clarity, splendid light, fine details and wonderful colors, very well done, my friend, Merry Christmas, ciao Silvio

ChrisJ (171146) 2019-12-23 2:47

Hello Gert,

Superb use of differential focus to isolate and emphasise the 2 fg boys from the oof bg. Good sharpness and punchy light contrasts. The colour balance looks about right here. I try to look for something grey or close to it to determine what color cast if any is present. The most common are yellow green and blue magenta. It is so much easier these days in photo shop than putting through dozens of paper color photos in a lab to get the balance just right. And a Merry Xmas and a travel filled 2020 to you!

jhm (211734) 2019-12-23 4:45

Hello Gert,

What a pleasure to see children with a big smile.
Children have nothing, but are satisfied with this life.
Lovely clear and sharp.
An excellent composition, splendid presentation.
Very well done, TFS.

A Very Merry Christmas
Have a nice day,
John.

pierrefonds (113492) 2019-12-23 6:06

Hi Gert,

You have captured well the smiling expression of the children. The point of view is showing the details of their physionomy. The light is bringing out the colors. Have a nice day.

Pierre

bona (15057) 2019-12-23 7:09

Hello Gert,

something that always call my attention in poor Africa is that the kids always have a smile in their faces even with all the difficulties. Nice capture and good you have save it from your old negatives.
About the climate changes I think it is happening not from today but is changing along the years.
Here in my city we are weeks with rain and doens't look the hot summer with no rain we normaly have in december.

Merry Christmas.
Andre

rychem (72187) 2019-12-23 7:56

Nice double portrait of smiling boys, this smile is really a gift for Christmas,
Merry Christmas to you
regards Ryszard

jean113 (27585) 2019-12-23 8:40

Hello Gert, the boys' smiles are charming.
Good shallow depth of field. All the people in the background are looking towards you, and perhaps wondering just what you are doing.
I guess that these two boys will be middle aged now!
An excellent scan.
Very best wishes for a Happy Christmas.
Kind regards, Jean.

jemaflor (146190) 2019-12-23 9:02

Hi Gert,
Friendly smiles, well photographed, good exposure and light management, et Joyeux Noël !

jmdias (114170) 2019-12-23 11:45

gert

lovely smiles, children talk us with the heart. excellent the boys playing with your camera, enjoying the moment. marvelous portrait and well fitted to christmas time.
here the storms and intense rains stopped for while and the intense heat is coming back to the summer.

take care

jorge

worldcitizen (15930) 2019-12-23 12:46

Hello Gert,
A smile is the best present for Christmas, and you are sharing a lovely one with us. The bucket that the boy on the left is holding also has a festive design. :-) I enjoyed seeing this oldie from Africa. A very Merry Christmas to you!

Miguel82 (47110) 2019-12-23 13:00

Gert, the older boy is shy in front of the camera whereas the younger one is more extrovert, today they become adult. Good idea to post a picture of children as Christmas is a period they appreciate a lot. It s the time they receive gifts. A value archive from Benin. Fine colors, good sharpness, interesting photo note, regards.

kasianowak (17662) 2019-12-23 13:38

Hi Gert
It's a beautiful photo, the boys' faces with lovely smiles. Actually, I think it works really well for the occasion and I'm sure it would sell as a Christmas card as these days everyone is looking for something original and unique. Snow in a Christmas card?? Boring...
Does anyone remember what "White Christmas" means anyway? I've checked my photos recently and the last time we had snow at Christmas in Poland was... 2014. Today it's been raining relentlessly all day and my parents' drive has turned into a pond. Even the asphalt-covered street looks like a swimming pool and driving feels like being a war correspondent in the Mekong delta... Hmmm... well... maybe I shouldn't complaint after all. ;-)
Thank you and have a lovely Christmas yourself!
Kasia

lousat (138541) 2019-12-23 15:20

Hi Gert,even now the snow has become a mirage for me. It has been snowing little or not snowing for many years. La Greta is right, the climate is changing and these are the results. I really appreciate your idea of showing this photo for the best wishes, the happiness of these poor children is the symbol of Christmas away from the frenetic consumerism we are used to, to be happy with more people than things, and the more we get older , and the more people we miss that we want these days. I wish you all the best and thanks for share,Luciano

PiotrF (54246) 2019-12-23 15:35

Hello Gert
A smile at Christmas is advisable and necessary.
Great photo from Benin. Your archive is amazing.
Merry Christmas.
Regards
Piotr

emka (157280) 2019-12-23 18:45

hello Gert, Wonderful smile of this boy, so poor, with only a primitive toy, probably hard life, and still quite happy. The western children should see it. Splendid composition. In black Afrika you are much better: 19:6 :). I can go alone to other continents but I am afraid of Africa. Ethiopia is my dream.

But your latest journey was, I think in 1994. Didn't you want to go there later? And now (apart of the health problems) would you go to Africa?
As to climate change. Our Prime Minister and President think there is no such thing. We will use millions of tons of Russian coal.
Merry Christmas!

MAlgo

macjake (98260) 2019-12-23 18:49

Hi Gert
Now THAT'S a smile! truely genuine and IN THE MOMENT.
I hate to admit it, but we can't really compete with this Xmas photo. How many of us have shots from this country? As im looking at this, I can't help but wonder what sort of experience this must have been for you. Being a white man in such a village, I wonder how you were perceived, i guess very well. this little boy is now a man, probably with children of his own. I get the feeling he'd love to have this photo! great shot, Christmas themed or not. cheers
Craig

mcmtanyel (67529) 2019-12-23 20:39

Hello Gert,
Well, it's got the Christmas colors and cheer! I wonder if theyse children got to be middle aged adults. 👍🏻👍🏻
Merry Christmas to you, too!
MT

aliabazari (21139) 2019-12-23 23:57

Hi dear friend Gert
A beautiful view of the daily life of these happy children. Exposure and composition well done. Merry Christmas

cornejo (61504) 2019-12-24 3:35

Hi Gert, thanks for your congratulations and merry Christmas to you and your family. Very nice photo of this interesting scene of everyday life, very well captured in this good and beautiful photograph. An interesting image with good sharpness, light, color and quality. Very good and beautiful work perfectly done, my congratulations my friend. Thank you for sharing this interesting work.

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

Nicou (193806) 2019-12-24 6:36

Hello

quel portrait de ces deux jeunes quelle image qui dégage de la joie leurs sourire leur attitude ils n'ont rien mais sont heureux avec ce qu'ils sont c'est une superbe composition
Belle fêtes et joyeux noël
Nciou

alvaraalto (42804) 2019-12-25 6:07

Hello Gert,
I prefer this appealing photo for Christmas over all those pictures with coloured lights and religious images.
A beautiful photo that makes us think again.
Merry Christmas, groet Rob

ikeharel (112393) 2019-12-25 6:26

Happy faces for you, Gert, even as those guys seem to be poor - but take any advantage of what life can offer to them.
Wonder how they would react f see this picture now.
My best regards,
Ike

COSTANTINO (115421) 2019-12-25 23:43

Hello dear
thanks for your greetings for Christmas day
in a different way.I liked very much
your thoughts about luciano s postcard
about Bethleem......
welldone
regards
Costantino

Ilonka1974 (10275) 2019-12-27 5:46

Hi Gert,
You really got excellent colors here. Also, you succeded perfectly at catching the expression of your main subject.
Best regards
Janusz

maloutim (13617) 2020-01-02 1:25

Good morning Gert,
This is a perfect photo for seasonal greetings ! Children from a slummy area, with big smiles on their faces ! They weren't raised in a consumer society, their carbon footprint was quasi nil, but they were happy !
It's probably the best message for the start of this new decade.
A Happy New year to you and your loved ones.
Kindest regards.
M-Louise.

lucasgalodoido (27698) 2020-01-17 8:33

Olá Gert,
sensacional essa captura, o sorriso contagiante do garoto levou ela pras minhas favoritas. Belo trabalho.
Parabéns e Abraço,
Lucas