Let's have a date, a photo from Adrar, Inland

Photographer's Note

This is a girl I met in the Timimoun oasis in the Algerian desert in 1975. She was carrying a basket filled with dates on her head.

Like most other small towns of the desert Timimoun had a huge palm grove, looking like a forest from a distance. It was a pleasure to get out of the intense heat and walk among the palms, feeling the freshness of the shade and the water running through the irrigation ditches.

Unfortunately I have no memory of this meeting, 35 years ago. I must be getting old.

This was scanned from a Kodacolor negative and converted to B&W because the colours had faded hopelessly. I also had to do a lot of PP filling hundreds of cracks and dusty spots.

danos, Pentti, CLODO, Budapestman, adores, hispic, happypoppeye, abmdsudi, wgreis, daddo, kato, ourania, Cricri, tyro, tyro, mcmtanyel has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

danos (110407) 2010-12-26 2:43

Good morning Gert,
perfect the portrait of this young girl of Algeria,with the native basket on her head o smiling you so friendly.A shot that can easily published in magazines.Well done.

Season greetings,Danos

janneman (4037) 2010-12-26 3:19

Excellent portrait!
Love your choice for B/W.

Regards, Jan

Pentti (1469) 2010-12-26 3:29

Hi Gert

a lovely portrait
superb composition
excellent tones

a real gem

Pentti

CLODO (45118) 2010-12-26 3:52

Hi Gert

good encounter, nice smiling girl, maybe a little shy in front of your camera.
Cheers
CLODO

jaywalker (16105) 2010-12-26 8:42

Hi Gert, A beautiful portrait & perfect in B/W, great detail, she has a very happy expression, the photo does look a little grainy, however still a nice photo, TFS, kind regards Wilson.

siamesa (28231) 2010-12-26 10:56

Boa tarde Gert

More one of yours lovely picture of that time. I like the smile of this girl. Perfect capture.
Abra蔞s
maria

emka (158932) 2010-12-26 15:01

Hi Gert, How nicely she looks at you! And such a wonderful smile. I like the title, haha, I have thought you had a date with her :)). Do you remember all such meetings after more than 30 years? impossible. I am always amazed how the women (or girls) carry heavy load on the head. Great work.

Warm regards

Malgorzata

Budapestman (82620) 2010-12-26 15:03

Hi Gert,
a superb portrait with attractive composition and graphic details, beautiful photo, Tfs! Have a nice evening! Kellemes est彋 k癉嫕ok!
Gy顤gy

adores (46979) 2010-12-26 15:25

Hi Gert!
Another great old one! Great in b&w! I even like the noise here! A very good portrait and a very nice smile!

hispic (9658) 2010-12-26 19:03

Hello Gert,
Beautiful portrait of a lovely date vendor. I love this photographing style that you have a conversation with the girl. Due to your hard work the image has a very good quality.
Best wishes to you for a Happy New Year.
Hisashi

mikolaj_kawa (0) 2010-12-27 0:35

Hello Gert!
String woman, fine face, nice eyes, fantastic smile.
Superb Black and White take. Good exposure and capture.
Original portrait. Hi Fi.
Well done!

SteveH (8220) 2010-12-27 3:24

Hi Gert, This one is a cracker, perfect light, great timing providing an appealling expression. Scan quality is good, as usual. I'm envious of those archives of yours. cheers, Steve

Glint (6171) 2010-12-27 5:29

hello Gert,
a charming portrait and she has an engaging smile. Interesting note as ever and I envy your life, so interesting that you have forgotten such an encounter!
best regards,
Bev

serp2000 (47063) 2010-12-27 6:37

Hej, Gert,
Unfortunatelly, I this is last your photos, what I can see in 2010. Excellent documental photo from far 1975.
An interesting note to this photo too.

Happy New Year!

Serghei

saxo042 (38078) 2010-12-27 10:03

Hej Gert,
A fine portrait of this girl and also a very nice hat. A pity this picture could not be shown in the original colours but the B&W version is really good too.
H鄟sningar
Gunnar (hemma igen)

leo61 (0) 2010-12-27 10:11

Hi Gert!
I envy you for your archive of great shots like this one.
The light is wonderful here and the framing perfect.A great portrait.
Regards,Leo

papera (14372) 2010-12-27 12:57

it took me a few seconds to understand the title ;)
thank God you have this photo - otherwise this moment would have left your memory forever and you would have absolutely nothing at all to remember it...
I must say you did a great job at cleaning the negative - this kind of PP is a pain, it takes time, patience and extreme precision.
her pose is spontaneous and her smile heart-warming - I like that necklace, I used to make them when I was a kid, we used to buy the beads and string them...
you must have had a nice light, it looks like afternoon sunshine to me, low and oblique.
c.

Waylim (25436) 2010-12-27 23:58

Hi Gert,
Cute title and so appropriate and the a lovely photo that fit. the smile if quiet captivating, a little bit shy but genuinly happy. good scan, nostalgic, even though in black and white but rich in cultural and emotion. My sincere complements.
Way

Gerrit (62042) 2010-12-28 13:38

Still a fine portrait and excellent omposition and very worth while the efforts.
Thanks Gert and a great time,
Gerrit

bukitgolfb301 (54014) 2010-12-28 15:56

Hi dear Gert

Wonderful and great portrait shot indeed!
A little noize adds the taste and good effcet to your this great work on contrary. Thanks for your sharing with fine work, have a good day and best regards,
Takero from very cold Tokyo day off untill 3 Jan.

patdeph (35750) 2010-12-29 14:04

hello Gert
this is a very nice portrait,the little girl has a lovely smile,and the basket on her head adds a great interest to the picture.Superb!
Regards
Pascale.

Disabled_A (0) 2010-12-31 2:31

Hej Gert,
I like the photo and the title to it very much :))
as always, a very good portrait among the others in your incredible gallery of photos!
I always wonder how it is possible to carry such things (heavy things) on the head!!

My very best wishes of New Year to you! :))

May all good and happiest things be with you, and may we see more new photos in your TE gallery ;-)

varma h鄟sningar fr幩 S酹ra.... :)
Elena

happypoppeye (4819) 2010-12-31 8:07

Great shot.
1975!!!
Per your note ...well, you have just shown one of the great reasons for photography. You may have no memory of the meeting, but you have the "memory" right here before you.

Nice work. Great composition and love the girls expression. Although definitely "film-like" looking, it also reminds me that cameras haven't really come to far in those 35 years IQ wise. This is a classic.
John

abmdsudi (95869) 2010-12-31 8:47

Hi Gert
It must be very interesting and memorable moment, another excellent documentary shot. Perfect POV and lovely posed. Her expression superbly captured with the focus spot on the eyes. Love the tight framing creating lots of impact. Very good portrait and fairly good reproduction. As always a good note worth reading.
Warm rgds
Best wishes for 2011

wgreis (8267) 2011-01-02 13:18

Hello Gert,
the picture is a unique beauty! I liked the option for black and white and also the strong appeal of photojournalism.
The smile of a pretty girl is also featured!
Big hug.

wolf38 (30) 2011-01-09 2:26

Hi Gert. I look at your gallery and see this charming portrait. Here one might say, a portrait of the world of work. The headdress is very decorative and fits perfectly :-)) My compliments for this beautiful old and at the some time modern Photo. Regards, Wolfgang.

COSTANTINO (117884) 2011-01-13 11:20

Hello
this shot needs no words..
excellent capture of this pretty girl
carrying a basket on her head
impressive portrait welldone and wellseen
regards
Costantino

daddo (28748) 2011-01-13 14:45

Hi Gert. A great restoration shot. The eternal smile is there as is the soul of a child, undiminished under all the toil and life's demands. A shot worthy of the best of National Geographic images from yesteryear. Regards. Klaudio.

jmdias (116579) 2011-02-16 15:42

gert

very nice portrait. the smile of the girl is fabulous and the basket and her dates are very nice shown here. excellent light, framing and nice option for b&w, nice scan job.

hugs

jorge

akh (277) 2011-04-08 21:12

Hi Gert,

This is an absolutely great portrait! really impressive! I like it evern more when you said that you got it over 30 years ago.

TFS

Azadeh

Asiulus (1184) 2011-06-27 13:14

Pure and simple, seems taken from another world, long time ago(grain is increasing this feeling). Such pictures are best admired when presented on the wall, in big print... TFS
Best regards
Joanna

scalerman (26900) 2011-10-18 18:42

Gert: I can see you've been getting around since my last look at TE... some really nice stuff - but I only have time to comment on this one... it's a bit different, but agreeable. I think I'll watch Casablanca tonight... best, c

kato (11630) 2013-08-01 0:35

Hello Gert,

You're capturing well this portrait by a good angle and excellent B/W tone/clarity, so it's impressive and plesant to see a pure girl with smile and carrying a basket on head. It's impressive in her blouse of good flower design and necklace, too. Entering into a basket looks like a walnut.

Kind regards,
mikio

ourania (51103) 2013-11-17 11:16

Hello Gert,
I'm glad you did all the work required to bring this lovely portrait back to life. It's lively, attractive and delightful, the tight frame and the absence of any other reference enhance the impact of the girl's expression. There's a network of subtle diagonals that create an effect of dynamism that's very appealing. I like very much the way eyes, smile and hands seem to be making a statement on the part of the girl, establishing an effective contact with the viewer. It's great we can see the content of the basket. I also like the warmth in the monochrome. Congratulations and thank you!
All the best, have a lovely week,
Ourania

No_One (4) 2014-02-16 8:24

Hi Gert,
This is a wonderful and timeless portrait capture, enhanced and made even more beautiful by your so apt black and white. (not sure if originally B&W or converted, but beautiful!!). Her smile is very engaging and I suspect if we went to this place today, we could see the exact scene. Perhaps this girls daughter would be smiling in place. Really nicely done, a beautiful pic.
All the best
Noel

yquem46 (38752) 2014-02-16 8:33

hej gert
I found this one in the critiques page
Again what an excellent scan of this almost 40 years old picture
and a nice timeless portrait
bravo, have a nice sunday
patrick

Cricri (176) 2018-05-16 8:06

Hi Gert
Quel beau portrait de la jeune fille avec son joli sourire, belle version en N/B, le contraste est tr鋊 beau
Belle journ嶪
cricri

tyro (30513) 2019-05-26 6:22

Hello Gert,

Despite the age of this photograph and how, as you state in your note, the negative had suffered considerably over the years, this was definitely an image worth the time and effort to preserve and restore.

It is a beautifully happy and tender portrait, the innocent looking girl smiling at you while she carries her basket laden with dates. Not only that but you have managed to compose the photograph extremely well with no distracting features around or behind her. And actually remarkably good technical quality too.

Gorgeous!

Kind Regards,

John.

mcmtanyel (69310) 2019-05-30 21:13

Hello Gert,
A couple of clicks from one of your recent entries brought me to this lovely B&W photo. Nice portrait!
Regards,
MT

kasianowak (17676) 2019-08-17 3:21

It's always frustrating when old photos lose colour but in the case it may have been a hint from the destiny... ;-) This elegant portrait looks amazing in b&w. It should be on a gallery wall and I'm going to add it to my favourites.
Good idea for a title. :-)
Have a nice day.
Kasia