Otherness, a photo from Lao Cai, North East

Photographer's Note

The other, is it me?

Taken in Can Cau, north-east of Bac Ha, a Flower Hmong tribe market where Flower Hmong girls meet Flower Hmong boys.

Not much to sell or buy, except the same Flower Hmong pattern clothes, more of a social meeting place where girls seem to take the lead over quite dumb Flower Hmong boys.

Makes me think a long time ago, TrekEarth was not even in Adam's mind, I once wanted to set an exhib with an old friend photographer, the name we chose was "The Other and the Same". That was about the illusion of otherness.
We didn't go all the way because we felt there were more difference between us two than with the subjects we photographied.

I found the way back to my home wet darkroom last weekend and enjoyed it, after a year long break. Felt a bit rusty but it's ok now. There's nothing like a good paper print... screens lie, paper doesn't... so, that's a scan of a paper print on Moersch warm VC paper.

brevbrev14, cessy, Curioso, dolin, euryan, scalerman, sowhat ha contrassegnato questa nota come utile

Critiques | Translate

Flavia (10352) 2006-10-27 19:12

Hi Luko,

This picture could had been taken hundred of years ago... the gray, the B&W, the subject clothes... I love their suspicious expression, especially the first on the first girl's eyes. Really beautifull.

Regards,

Flavia

Jeweller (4) 2006-10-27 20:54

Excellent shot and excellent quality. I really like the expression on the girl in front. Well done.

vapours (8264) 2006-10-27 21:14

Mmm theres something I just love about the grain here. Perhaps its because it's from an era before the digital age when I got into photography, or because it reminds me of the old photos in a Spanish restaurant I was at last night, but theres some great emotion and genuine feeling in this photo. Love the look on their faces, they really mean business.

A photo I'd love to have for my own collection.

Homerhomer (4080) 2006-10-27 23:05

remember on your last picture I have said I couldn't tell if it was film or digital, ohh this has the out of this world textures, there is just something special here in the feel of it;-)
Lovely photo, just love the girls expressions: hesitance, indifference and discovery. Fabolous debth with geometry.
I will however point out as well what may be a tiny problem (do I sound like Darren;-)
Wondering if it wouldn't be better if the third girl would be just a wee bit more to the right so her mouth isn't obstructed. The fourth girl in the background: here I am hesitant whether I should complain that her head covering is too white(as well as her bag), or be happy that it provides additional contrast.
All in all a superb image.
Peter

Darren (6823) 2006-10-28 1:19

I like this a lot Luko and it is just further evidence for me that no matter how good the conversion, digital is still miles behind when it comes to b&w, even at web sized. Very interesting looks they are giving you; they don't look entirely welcoming. This is pretty tightly cropped for you and while I like it, I think slightly looser would be at least as good.

Some technical questions for you. First of all, how large do you usually print in the wet darkroom? Secondly, and since this is a scan of a print not a net, this is not entirely apropros, but when you scan negs, do you scan them as b&w negs or color? Just curious about that second bit, as I have found lately that I much prefer the color scanning method, then converting to true b&w later if need be. I had another question, but I forget it now.

Nice shot.

cessy (13647) 2006-10-28 2:59

Hallo Luko
Great capture of different expressions, and very nice note with it
the BW tones simply marvelous

naxius (16685) 2006-10-28 4:26

C'est du beau travail cette photo Luko..J'aime presque la gravité du moment, dans le regard des deux femmes..on sent une force dans l'instant. J'ai du mal a decrire ce que je ressens en fait..mais j'aime beaucoup.
a+
Alex

dolin (7369) 2006-10-28 4:54

Salut Luko.
Une photo avec de fortes expressions, les 2 premiers visages sont superbes, très fort ce qu'ils déguagent.
Pis j'aime bien la 3ème, reculée, plus timide et détachée.
Le fond est top, il me fait penser à une peinture.
Sacré impact cette photo, elle est prenante et touchante.
Bon we
Fred

rowanb (864) 2006-10-28 5:06

great shot luko, love the expression on these girls faces, very powerful, just wish that girl in the middle was a little more central..
and of course the tri-x grain and texture is excellent as always.

brevbrev14 (140) 2006-10-28 5:21

Hi Luko, what a great picture!the expressions of the girl with this typical dresses are just fantastic...i like a lot the game of the faces with this blured background
and after Leica M6....i love all here (can i say these words..?)the gray tones, compo....ALL!
Great.
A FAV. FOR ME
Ciao Luko!

:)

Valeria

delnaja (2056) 2006-10-28 5:29

Bonjour Luko,
encore ce grain et ce superbe n&b... à m'en rendre jaloux : D
Très bonne compo... ET ces yeux qui nous regardent alors que la 3ème personne trace son chemin sans regarder...
Belle atmosphère.
Encore réussi...
Fred

pilpel-adom (3018) 2006-10-28 5:37

Lovely tonality and exhibited, Luko! The grain is well displayed, timing is just excellent here, "grabbing" her composure at the moment, bewilderment as it looks, the right eyebrow eye and twisted, the wrinkles of her forehead, frowning...
:)
Very very nice...Too bad these lines at the top of the frame, not really know where they came from but it is quite obvious they were not part of the scene. I prepared a WS excluding them, and also enhancing the atmosphere of "togetherness", as the trio looks more close together, as they were a group.
Thanks for sharing this moment with us!
Chen

[workshop] [compare] +

faubry (35447) 2006-10-28 6:04

impressionnant cette photo avec ces regards presque "dérangeants", j'ai du mal à les soutenir, je ressens ici, beaucoup de colère enfouie dans la première, plus interrogatif dans la seconde et la troisème semble vouloir se cacher! très belle photo; merci
francine

maciekda (19895) 2006-10-28 6:17

it is a beautiful photograph Luko, nice scene and interesting expressions. one thing that would improve the photo - if the girl in the middle was not obstructed.
and this B&W is so pretty, nothing beats tri-x 400, I don't like digital B&W, haven't seen many succesful conversions. real B&W rocks

s10001in (0) 2006-10-28 6:48

Amazing LUKO.
Damn I started feeling that I made mistake going with degital.
I want that wonderul grain of Film but I am not getting on my D200.
I hate PP for degital..
I may change myself to analog...

Wonderful Photo LUKO.
-Regards,

Furachan (0) 2006-10-28 10:14

Sensational anti-Sapa shot, Luko. This one has a kind of "engage" grit to it, tehre is something ferocious in those glances, hints of a very harsh world out there. The leica with teh Summicron works wonders, you've got your favorite THREE patter going on (in the foregournd anyway where it counts). The scanning preserves all that grit, leaving us with a shot that could have been taken by some lost French anthropologue almost 100 years ago...

entrelec (8328) 2006-10-28 10:56

Une photo intéressante, on n'est pas vraiment sûr des sentiments derrière les expressions...
C'est vraiment dommage que la 3ème soit cachée, elle semble dans une autre gamme quand à son état d'esprit.
Une gamme très riche de gris, le numérique n'en est pas encore là dans ce domaine.
Bon we

Joel

roamermark (1592) 2006-10-29 1:02

There is nothing in this photo to indicate that it was shot two months ago...you would have a hard time proving it. It's impressive enough to make one realize that all the fancy labour saving idiotproof (within reason) equipment many of us are buying doesn't do anything to improve one's ability to see photos in front of them and have the courage and ability to go in and get them right.
I like the shot in case you couldn't tell

Cheers
Mark

euryan (8442) 2006-10-29 1:40

The fact this was taken with film somehow makes me respect it more. I don't know why. For some reason I’m more impressed, and I was already super impressed. The girl on the right is truly looking at you strange, but it's the look of the girl on the left that intrigues me. Somehow her gaze seems more intense, even though her expression is subtler. Great shot. A classic in my book!

markoci (3933) 2006-10-29 12:20

also wish that the 3rd girl was less obstructed, but no biggie for me (lately i get this weird mixed feeling of awe and suspicion, when people are "too perfectly distributed" in a photo... not sure why, perhaps it is my own relentless quest for it, rather frustrating as it keeps eluding me most of the time...)

i won't comment much on the quality partly because others have done it and partly because i have never shot b&w film... lemme just say that these leica photos are the one of the reasons why i rarely convert to b&w (plus i really suck at it)..

p.s. i admit it's too touristy (though i've been to much worse places eg in thailand) but i was surprised about your aversion to sapa... have you done any short trips around the town, further than cat cat (mind you even there when i visited i had some great photo ops and no tourists except on my way back... maybe my timing was lucky)?

luisafonso (862) 2006-10-29 14:02

Ah, the magic of film. It's incredible the perfect softness of the edges in b&w film. Amazing... Love your compo here. Especially what you did you the two on the left. Man, they are so lookalike. As if it was the same girl ten or twenty years from now. And the fact you hidden the older one behind the younger is even more thoughtful. The third on the right complements the trio and give meaning to all this. Great light on their faces. I like this one a lot.

kajspice (4542) 2006-10-29 23:10

Well...mr. Luko, I have just come back after a weekend with my best friend...A girl named Toi Lan Ly (Lan for short). I thought...hmmm - whose photographs can I show to her, which will evoke some of her memories for me to feed off??? (cheeky grin)...

step 1: go to mr. Luko's gallery...
step 2: click on Vietnam (there's bound to be something in there which I can shake some dust off from)...

and here it is - as fresh as the day it was taken...

a little information about my best friend Lan...she was born in Vietnam and was one of the boat people who arrived into England in the late 70's...

...we sat for some time after looking through your gallery. Afterwards, we discussed the details of her parent's journey on that boat, as they watched others who were not so lucky to have made it...It is a conversation I will remember forever.

...Later that day, she showed me pictures and mpegs of her baby nephew, and her elder sister who was also on that boat...

...It is a weekend that I will remember forever...

...It is a picture I will remember forever...

designsoul (17843) 2006-10-30 9:54

Hi Luko,
three faces with tree different expressions, three women with distinct faces and yet one with their world and culture. The girl in the front so beautiful in her intensity, juxtaposed with the tallest who is so gentle-looking and the third, beside her, almost confrontational. Three Sisters in Can Cau... lovely triangular composition. The grain here is so beautiful, it wraps the shot in a veil that enhances it. I can imagine why you love Leica so much, there is a grit, a wonderful textural quality to the photo.
sasa

nicoz (1979) 2006-10-31 12:30

OK, encore une et j'arrete. Je pourrais passer mes journees a regarder ta gallerie en boucle...

Si ca c'est pas du regard qui tue, 1+1=3. Cette photo est geniale. J'ai l'impression d'etre un privilegie, de pouvoir acceder pour l'eternite a cette instant furtif. Les expressions sur ces visages sont assez mysterieuses.
Et avant tout la photo est belle.
Nicolas

yanseiler (20) 2006-10-31 20:56

Salut Luko, une image tres forte, les regards sont puissants. J aime bien aussi cette femme dans le bokeh qui semble aussi te regarder ainsi que celle en milieu de plan qui semble timide, tres sympa...
Yan

Galeota (10352) 2006-11-06 5:12

Computer screens play the role of a luminous support, a sort of lightroom where it is sometimes easier to perceive images visually. But, even if everyone (me included) praises the tones and textures of these particular ones taken with your old Agfamatic (…), I can’t help thinking that we’re all loosing something by not being able to look at this scene on a fine art paper print, hence giving it a sort of material dimension. The quality of a lens goes far beyond its ability of producing surgical MTF sharpness. You once told me it was called modelé and I’ve grown to think that it is not possible to surrender entirely to its impact, neither to understand it properly, unless we’re able to associate our visual perception with the sense of touch. Still, it remains possible to approach the difference in here. The image seems to live from its details and the variety of layers in each one of the several focal distances of the scene. Like an architectural 3D representation of an object, faithful to the irregularity of forms. I think, if I’d touch their face gently with my hand, I’d be able to follow the lines of their skin. My fingers would caress the valleys on their foreheads and feel the breath of life slipping from their nostrils. When you take the very best out of photography, or when photography takes the very best out of you.

scalerman (26900) 2006-11-14 23:51

Frankly, Lukster, I have to agree with you on the paper note; albeit a bit of nostalgia on your part. Paper goes the way of the flesh...

walkmania (315) 2006-11-19 1:37

These girls looks so like girls in south east China with their unpolluted eyes and ethnic minority costumes. Direct scan of paper print has delivered a rather "gruff" taste,which is just a bull's-eye in this context.
Regards

alimo3 (6854) 2006-11-19 17:07

Bonsoir Luko,
Comme j’ai encore pas mal de retard à combler je me suis permis de fouiller dans ta galerie et me suis arrêté sur celle ci ,et pas seulement pour te féliciter d’avoir retrouvé le chemin du bon vieux labo.
La prise de vue est déjà très intéressante avec ses regards curieux (voire moyen amicaux) et la compo qui suit la pente de la montagne.
Bref c’est déjà bien sur l’écran alors j’imagine que ton tirage fait main avec le grain Tri x et ces visages rustiques doit être impressionnant.
une photo qui marque !

Tom

CedarBough (74) 2006-11-25 7:10 [Comment]

Show Comment

sowhat (1004) 2007-03-30 8:46

It looks almost like a war-refugees scene, i'm impressed by how much dramatism you managed to get from an, I think, usual scene. And the title suits it well, confronted with that piercing look, we are "the other" !
The composition also is very well chosen, I like the way you use the sides of the frame, they have a real importance in the picture. I don't know much about 1/3...2/3, I don't even bother to check if this applies here, I only know that this looks as if this is the only way to take this picture.
Thansk for helping us learn,
Ioana