Probably preparing porridge, a photo from Midlands, West

Photographer's Note

This woman was probably preparing 'sadza', maize/corn porridge, in a communal kitchen. I met her in Musume, a municipality in southern Zimbabwe, in January 1984. The area was hit by drought for the third successive year and most crops had been destroyed.

Musume seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, but there were good connections with the major cities, so essential food was probably delivered here. I didn't see any obviously undernourished persons in Musume, but the situation was much worse in small and isolated places off the major roads.

During my visit to Musume I was shown around by my host, a Swedish missionary priest, after we had been to the Sunday mass which had been performed by a local preacher. I had spent the night in the vicarage on a matress on the floor, protected from mosquitoes by a net hung from the ceiling. Having been told that they had recently found a cobra in the children's room, I felt assured the net would also protect me against snakes.

I had completely forgotten this photo but was happy to find it. Perhaps she looks too closely into the camera, but this was long before the days of mobile phones with cameras, so it may have been a special event to be photographed.

Two other ladies I met in Musume can be seen in the WS. All photos are original B&W, scanned from Kodak TRI-X negatives.

burmaman, pajaran, Fis2, Royaldevon, jean113, ChrisJ, lucasgalodoido, pierrefonds, adramad, jhm, PaulVDV, COSTANTINO, clic, ikeharel, mcmtanyel ha contrassegnato questa nota come utile

Critiques | Translate

pajaran (114945) 2021-03-08 0:29

Pozdrav.
Interesantni pogledi, dobar tekst ...
Dobar rad sa crno belim fotografija, dobro pokazano sa kontrastom i uhvacenim trenutkom.
Lepe fotografije u radionici i secanje.
Zelim vam lep i uspesan dan, sve najbolje u novoj nedelji koja je pocela.
Paja

burmaman (1336) 2021-03-08 0:35

Hello Gert!
This is a very nice photo.
She looks very friendly and I like her pose, looking at you while stiring the porridge. The background is nice too with the firewood.
Regards,Ronny

Fis2 (169759) 2021-03-08 0:45

Witaj Gert my neighbour today :)!
You are not late today
Another great set of everyday photos.
Excellent b&w pictures.
Well done.
Have a nice new week.
Krzysztof

Silvio1953 (220637) 2021-03-08 1:27

Ciao Gert, great portrait of lovely woman at work in a beautiful B&W, intense expression, fine details, excellent clarity and splendid light, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

Royaldevon (85606) 2021-03-08 2:13

Hello Gert,

Three delightful photographs.
I was surprised that you made reference to the lady looking into the camera for it is exactly what happens when people see a stranger with a camera ... especially when such a thing would rarely happen!
This lady, though making food, looks totally serene, as if it is a piece of art! (Have you ever seen Nigella Lawson cooking? She can sometimes have an expression like this!) It really is a very beautiful photograph, lovely composition, sharply exposed and with a timelessness.
Isn't it so interesting to be shown round important places, where praise in expected and very gratefully received!

Have a good day,
Bev :-)

jean113 (27639) 2021-03-08 3:27

Hello Gert, three excellent shots from your visit to Musume.
In your main post, I see a lovely portrait as the woman looks directly at you, with a lovely expression on her face.

I assume that the wood in the background is firewood?

This particular time was when the world was made aware of famine in some of the African countries, which led to Live Aid in 1985, if you remember?
Interesting note as always.
Kind regards, Jean.

ChrisJ (171252) 2021-03-08 4:08

Hello Gert!

Good tonal range and sharpness, and the bg firewood illustrates the cooking method. The corn porridge has to be better than nothing to eat at all, which is what happened in Ethiopia and other parts of the African Horn to the north east. Tfs!

lucasgalodoido (27698) 2021-03-08 5:32

Olá Gert,
belas imagens documentais fez aqui, o curioso é que devidos as precárias condições do pais à época, talvez sejam as únicas imagens de quando crianças, dos hoje adultos, retardados no WS. Belo trabalho.
Parabéns e Abraço,
Lucas

pierrefonds (113610) 2021-03-08 6:05

Hi Gert,

You have captured well the wondering ex^ression of the woman and of her action cookinb a meal. The point of view is showing the details of her dress. It is clear and sharp. Have a nice day.

Pierre

adramad (72564) 2021-03-08 8:45

Hi Gert.
Three magnificent photos in B&W, with three portraits of women who undoubtedly struggled to live the hard day to day Zimbabwe, almost forty years ago, although it will not have changed too much, sensational the quality of these black and white photos, with all the variations gray.
Sharpness, lighting, and the magnificent composition; they are all perfectly realized factors, in this optimal image.
Well done. I like it a lot.
You have a good day.
Very best regards.
Luis.

GyurMaster (24672) 2021-03-08 9:02

Dear Gert,

All three photos are nice, but for me it is obvious that this was your pick as a main upload.Its a very nicely made portrait in all regards with a subject who has a confident smile. The other two are fine reportage photos.

Best Wishes,
Gy.

jhm (211734) 2021-03-08 9:28

Hello Gert,

Incredible how this people live I would think that this woman also pregnant is, a pity for the child in this circumstances
But excellent sharp and clear taken
With depth and perspective.
Very well done, TFS.

Regards,
John.

jmdias (114296) 2021-03-08 9:59

gert

the main post has a special quality in terms of composition, like a painting in classic aspect. I liked the other images too, but they are more informative than beautiful. anyway the smile of the mother with the baby was very beautiful.

take care

jorge

Tue (91604) 2021-03-08 11:46

Hej Gert,
Et meget godt portræt med kvinden ved gryden. Hun sidder der meget elegant fordi hun havde vendt sig mod kameraet mens hun stadig var i gang med at røre rundt i maden. De lyse farver står meget godt frem fra den mørke baggrund.
Lars

PaulVDV (62804) 2021-03-08 13:51

Hello Gert,
It must be nice to meet fellow countrymen who work and live there and can thus give you a different view of the country and its people. They probably also approach the problems of development from their personal experiences.
That gives a different view of things than when one is just a tourist. As a journalist, you obviously always wanted to look beyond the ordinary traveller.
Interesting and beautiful daily life-pictures. I like the one with the woman and her baby waiting for the bus. Could it be that it was fairly chilly there at the time?
I also like the proud attitude of the lady who is cooking.
Best regards, Paul

lousat (138623) 2021-03-08 14:46

Hi Gert,reading your notes is always a pleasure, you will have noticed that I always arrive late to comment on your photos, but because I prefer to do it calmly after reading your stories carefully. Here too a beautiful adventure, between mosquitoes and snakes .. hehe ... and three beautiful photos, a beautiful portrait of the cook and two beautiful photos of very young mothers in the WS. Have a nice day and thanks,Luciano

ifege (46985) 2021-03-08 21:34

Hi Gert
It must have been fascinating visiting a totally non-touristed town in Zimbabwe. 3 excellent B&W scans and an especially good street portrait for the main one.
cheers
Ian

COSTANTINO (115563) 2021-03-08 22:55

Hello dear Gert and have a nice day
excellent capture with
the stamp of Gert...
greetings dear friend...
you area real photographer
with a great treasure
of valuable old photos
regards
costantino

foxy (3447) 2021-03-09 6:30

Hello Gert,
Probably I would say, there's a chemistry in this photo....like an 'opposite attraction' :-)
The dreamy expression she has, she doesn't know what she is preparing ,just keep stirring and stirring ,to the heart beats as the flame getting more and more intense......the rest, well....
Btw, I do like the WS1. At least , I see a beautiful dressed woman with her baby, smiling sweetly .... and I also see that she has a lovely pair of shoe :-)
The young mother and her child in the hospital, there is a sadness as well as hope in her face.
A snake found in the children's room !!!!!!Thank God, it was not a python :-)
Thanks for sharing these 'ladies'.
Loong

everlasting (19680) 2021-03-09 6:43

I don't think she looks too closely into the camera, I think this is just beautiful. So natural! How did you ever lose a beauty like this. ;)

clic (76) 2021-03-09 10:30

Hallo Gert
You didn't mention about the lady's elegant pose: Did you staged for a pleasant action portrait or rather did she naturally showed such an appealing body language that makes the impression of an exercised sense of artistry!
Congratulations, your picture is a winner because the raw beauty attunes softly with the traditional ways of living for a stylish uncompromised portrayal.
Halsningar

ikeharel (112467) 2021-03-09 11:05

Hello Gert,
It takes any photographer with a skill to take people photos, I still have to leran this "how-to-do", admittedly.
Three photos, second set from Zimbabawe following the previous one, we see local people on their daily life different situations. Marbvelous docummentaries.
Good evening,
Ike

mcmtanyel (67681) 2021-03-14 14:25

Hello Gert,
I think she was posing for you delightfully. She is a natural model.
Regards,
MT

kasianowak (17672) 2021-03-28 13:51

Three brilliant photos of everyday life in Africa, just like in your previous post.
Indeed, I found it much more difficult to photograph people in Tanzania in 2017.
Even in B&W we can see this lady is wearing a lovely dress which, at least at first sight, contrasts with her surroundings and the simple meal she is preparing.

Ilonka1974 (10289) 2021-07-18 4:01

Hi Gert,
Great portrait of preety woman.
Excellent b&w pictures.
Very well done
Best regards
Janusz