the great mosque, a photo from Mopti, South

Photographer's Note

The Great Mosque of Djenn� is the largest mud brick or adobe building in the world and is considered by many architects to be the greatest achievement of the Sudano-Sahelian architectural style, albeit with definite Islamic influences.

The mosque is located in the city of Djenn�, Mali on the flood plain of the Bani River. The first mosque on the site was built around the 13th century, but the current structure dates from 1907.

As well as being the centre of the community of Djenn�, it is one of the most famous landmarks in Africa. Along with the "Old Towns of Djenn�" it was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1988.

This picture shows the mosque with the weekly market (on Mondays) in the front.

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slightly different colour view in WS

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scan from colour print, cropped, converted to bl/w

sevy, cebe, hmusty, robob, nicol_g, nchen2000, Wanda1, radiohead, happypoppeye has marked this note useful

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sevy (58) 2009-01-26 6:41

Bonjour Benny,

Voila un de mes grands reves: aller un jour visiter le Mali. Ce pays a l air passionant. Ca fait plusieures ann嶪s que j y pense mais je ne l ai pas encore fait.
Le N&B fonctionne tres bien ici. La partie basse est un peu trop contrast嶪, mais difficile de jouer apres un scan. L id嶪 est bonne en tout cas.

Yves.

cebe (1491) 2009-01-26 7:01

Bonjour Benny. Belle et informative photo. Satisfait parfaitement un des objectifs de TE (apprendre sur le monde par la photo). J'aime beaucoup. Ca donne le gout de preparer son sac a dos. Claude.

hmusty (171) 2009-01-26 7:22

Hello Benny,
This is tricky, I thought it was an old one :). A sharp b/w photo showing daily life in a country which some might not know about it. All I knew about Mali was only Timbuktu. Thanks for sharing this. I like the ws version, too. Kind regards.
Henny.

pawelx (11) 2009-01-26 7:59

Good use of B&W � certainly this enhances the atmosphere of this shot. I have been to some neighbouring countries, but not Mali � it must be a very interesting place to visit.

robob (3648) 2009-01-26 8:16

Hello Benny,
C𨬓st une tr鋊 belle et 彋onnante architecture, cette construction a quelque chose d𠌊n peu irr嶪l,
J𠿟ime beaucoup cette version B&W ainsi que ton recadrage,
Amicalement,
Robert

ViktorVaughn (1525) 2009-01-26 9:46

I continue to be impressed by this place, and enjoy every photo posted of here. I hope to visit one day, and to capture the moment like you have here.

An excellent shot showing both the structure but also the surroundings.

Regards,
David

nicol_g (859) 2009-01-26 10:36

Nice to see this upload from you, Benny - I didn't know about the mosque till recently when I learned about it on Travel Channel :) - looked impressive!

I'm a b&w photography lover, but in this case I'm heartily voting for the WS (color) view, it's easier readable and more convincing, I'd say - I like the beige color of the mosque, it's important to me, carries the story... And I also like the market taking some more space in the photo - a bit too severe cropped in the main post (my opinion).
Finally :) - the blacks are too black :) in the main post, at least that's how it looks on my monitor, I'm having troubles reading the market area.

Thanks for sharing your scans, I like your 'earlier' work, the stories...

nchen2000 (102) 2009-01-26 17:15

Hello Benny:
I like architecture art.This is one of fantastic architecture.
The disorderly market was set in front of peculiar buliding gave me great vision contrast.
Best regards,
Nelson

hdl (7035) 2009-01-27 4:21

Dag Benny. Een heel uitzonderlijke structuur heb je hier vastgelegd. Het contrast tussen de drukke voorgrond en de moskee achteraan is mooi gedaan. Door je keuze voor b&w ziet deze foto er uit alsof die jaren geleden is genomen; de omgeving laat het ook toe (geen anachronismes). Ik vind de kleurversie in je workshop ook heel aantrekkelijk.

bukitgolfb301 (54014) 2009-01-29 12:56

Hello Benny

This is also great and impressive shot.
B&W expression is good finally you succeed.
This subject is better appearance by B&W, compared with full color. Congratulation on your great job !

Best regards and many thanks

Takero

kensimage (8563) 2009-02-01 12:18

That's quite an amazing structure, Benny. I think it's good you shot it not just in isolation, but with real human activity, in fact very chaotic activity, nearby. Perhaps you could have included more of the market, in fact. Anyway, it emphasizes that this is a building that is (or was) part of everyday life, not something in a museum. Regards, Ken.

jmdias (115156) 2009-02-02 15:36

benny

impressive view, the mosque itself is fabulous tom see and the inclusion of the traditional fair in the lower area is another amazing detail, send us to the place. well done, nice option for B&W

hugs

jorge

MarcT (20964) 2009-02-03 23:45

Hallo Benny,
Prachtig gebouw. Het ZW beeld zou even goed 100 jaren oud kunnen zijn.
Mooie presentatie ervan.
Groet
Marc

marcdemoulin (1870) 2009-02-04 11:23

I like this picture of this very famous building with the market in the foreground and BW suits very well.
Marc

pisces (782) 2009-02-05 8:44

Hi Benny!
Turning this picture in B/W was a bold choice - and I am still trying to decide if I like the original version a bit better!
However the B/W gives a very nice effect - just wondering if maybe you shouldn't have cropped the picture...I liked the business of the marked in the original.
In any case - both are very nice pictures with great sharpness and a good POV!
TFS
Maria

Wanda1 (15142) 2009-02-07 21:49

Hi Benny,
Okay, so Mali is one of the places in the world I really want to see, and your shot is a good reminder. I like that you have converted it into black and white giving it a timeless feeling and a asense of age. I love the contrast between the hustle and bustle of the market in the foregroud and the beautiful mud Mosque its self.
Regards
Wanda

devimeuxbe (58557) 2009-02-17 13:20

Hi Benny
This famous place is very impressive. It's not usual to show in black and white but the result is amazing.
Well done
Bertrand

greg (2835) 2009-02-19 8:47

Every time I see a picture from here, I think - this is a place I have to see! I like both versions. For the crop, I prefer the colour one. I'd probably have chosen a perfect square there: it's so close already. Tinting the sky... you did it well, but I think it would stand without. It costs you something in naturalness. There's nothing wrong with a white sky to me.

Paolo66 (169) 2009-02-26 3:58

Hi Benny! Very impressive shot.
The strongest IMO point is the b&w. It gives a very dramatic sense to people in contrast with the quiet gray of the mosque.
Well done

radiohead (359) 2009-03-21 5:20

Hi Benny,
Love the image in B&W as it captures well the texture of the mudbrick. Great composition and POV also. TFS.
Cheers, Michele

holmertz (102700) 2009-12-29 12:46

Hello Benny,
I was here 20 years before you, but the place looks exactly the same, just that I didn't see the Monday market. It's still one of the most fascinating buildings I have ever seen, and you have captured its magnificence very well. The busy market gives the place a quite different atmosphere than in my pictures taken at dawn. The conversion to b&w has been very succesful, giving the place a timeless feeling.
Well done,
Gert

happypoppeye (4819) 2010-12-19 10:59

Nice rendition. Something to see, especially with the Monday Market going on below. Love Djenne. So small, yet so much to see and so interesting. Seemed like every corner turned just fascinated more and more.
John

HFASSOURAKIS (4) 2011-02-09 13:01

LOVELY CONTRAST BETWEEN SKY - MOSQUE AND MARKET PEOPLE.

YOU CAN FEEL THE NOISE OF THE PEOPLE TRADING

NICE POV
LOVELY PICTURE
THANKS HERCULES