(X) Don't pay the Ferryman!, a photo from Florina, Macedonia

Photographer's Note

An "oldie" for today. Photo taken on the small harbour, of the islet of Aghios Achilios, one of the 2 inhabited islands-in-a-lake of Greece (the other one is "Nisaki" in the heart of lake Pamvotis-Ioannina). You can see two "plavas", traditional, flat bottomed, boats of the lake and a small pier. When fog falls, the mountains in the distance dissapear, and the place becomes very atmospheric, poetic, mysterious, even trancendental.

The lyrics of "Don't pay the Ferryman" by Chris de Burgh:

"It was late at night on the open road, speeding like a man on the run
A lifetime spent preparing for the journey.
He is closer now and the search is on, reading from a map in the mind:
Yes theres that ragged hill and theres a boat on the river.

And when the rain came down, he heard a wild dog howl
There were voices in the night
(dont do it!)
Voices out of sight
(dontt do it!)
Too many men have failed before, whatever you do;

Dont pay the ferryman!
Dont even fix a price!
Dont pay the ferryman
Until he gets you to the other side.

In the rolling mist, then he gets on board, now therell be no turning back
Beware that hooded old man at the rudder.
And then the lightning flashed and the thunder roared,
And people calling out his name,
And dancing bones that jabbered-and-a-moaned on the water.

And then the ferryman said there is trouble ahead,
So you must pay me now.
(dont do it!)
You must pay me now.
(dont do it!)
And still that voice came from beyond, whatever you do;

Dont pay the ferryman!
Dont even fix a price!
Dont pay the ferryman
Until he gets you to the other side."

Copyright � 2008 � Hercules Milas. The reproduction, publication, modification, transmission or exploitation of any work contained herein for any use, personal or commercial, without my prior written permission is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved.

daddo, antua, atha2pan, vasilpro, ciakgiak, bostankorkulugu, g_panakia, leonorkuhn, Dashab has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

mesutilgim (0) 2009-09-11 4:37

Hi dear Hercules,
Wonderfull b&w capture accompanied by a wonderfull text!
Great graphism and great message. Nice framing.
TFS and best regards
MESUT ILGIM

jasmis (58653) 2009-09-11 5:00

Oh yes, I remember this song.
Excellent photo in superb tones. Amazing lines of oars.
Regards.

daddo (28748) 2009-09-11 5:05

Hi Irakli. Poetic is what comes to mind.Something metaphysical about it, a place not of this world yet has humans in it. Beautifully composed. The sharpness in the foreground and the misty distance makes us wonder. Regards. Klaudio.

Souvlakolikos (110) 2009-09-11 5:43

A half frame within a frame, well spotted.
Works especially well in B&W given the haze or fog in the background washing out any distant detail.
Kind of dream like, nice post.

Kind regards
Colin

hardyuno (4652) 2009-09-11 6:11

Hi Hercules,
it's a great piece of art what you're showing here. The POV of this picture with the BG gives me words in mind: somewhere in nowhere, the world ends behind the jetty, if you know what i mean. Fantastic shot, TFS
Hartmut

Budapestman (82620) 2009-09-11 7:23

Hi Hercules,
a fantastic B&W photo with splendid composition, the mood of the photo is great, superb details, Congratulations. Have a nice weekend!
George

antua (16) 2009-09-11 7:53

Kalispera Irakli,

yperoxi synthesi se aspro kai mauro! Pragmatika to skiniko deixnei poly mystiriako kai poiitiko opos les kai sto simeioma sou. To kadro kai i gonia lipsis einai eksairetika. Sygxaritiria!

Xairetismous,
Antonis

atha2pan (3811) 2009-09-11 11:14

mallon melanholia mas epiase, pou anevasame palies foto.
Mou aresei para poly touti i foto.

Kalo Sav/ko
Sakis

vasilpro (41801) 2009-09-11 12:09

Ηρακλή, δεν λέω τίποτα παραπάνω, ΥΠΕΡΟΧΗ!
Καληνυχτίζω, Βασίλης.

ophelcia (0) 2009-09-11 12:38

Your oldie makes me feel how lonely we are ...
The space in front is so....BIG...great reflections as well,
G.

francio64 (39888) 2009-09-11 12:56

Ciao Hercules,
eccellente B/N con atmosfera quasi mistica.
Bello il riflesso dei remi nell'acqua.

Have a nice WE!
Francesco

ciakgiak (30) 2009-09-11 14:32

Hello Hercules,
Superb composition, fascinated atmosphere, great BW image, absolutely splendid!
I put it into my favourite ones!
Congratulations and TFS.
Hugs
Giorgio

gneufeld (15890) 2009-09-11 19:51

Hi Hercules,
Simple beauty in perfect black and white. I like the ores and reflections, and the person in deep contemplation in the distance against the fog. Well done and TFS. Gerald

Dashab (2564) 2009-09-11 21:33

Hello Hercules,
A wonderfully tranquil and well composed scene and nice lyrics to accompany it. Thanks! Dasha

bostankorkulugu (42866) 2009-09-11 22:24

each one of the shots taken there are very good, i love them all, especially the naive model... yet another poetic one giritli mou... well seen and composed... superb indeed... hugs... bostani

syrus_persia (2270) 2009-09-12 0:27

Salam doste man Hercules
Beautiful view of the sea. The light is very well managed. Good perspective. Great B&W
Have a nice weekend
Mamnoooon
Cyrus

clio (27961) 2009-09-12 1:42

Geia sou Hrakli,
I think of this series that you had made on an unknown girl. I had liked it a lot. Maybe that this photo was made in this period. I find the charm, the sweetness and the poetry which I had liked.
Have a nice WE
Filika
Artemis

jaywalker (16105) 2009-09-12 4:34

Hi Hercules, A beautiful B/W photo offering a very peaceful picture, I love the reflections & the DOF, superb light & shadow, TFS, kind regards Wilson.

burGu (4840) 2009-09-12 7:41

Do you know what I like most here Hercule? The missing horizon which allows an undivided white-grey background. The image is getting darker from top to bottom, I like how you softly contrasted. And the "x" is a bonus for the compo, imo.
Congrats,
Burcu

luighi (5303) 2009-09-13 5:29

Querido amigo Hercules ,
impresionante de verdad .Bestial esta foto. me quedo con ella en mi galeria.
Un cordial saludo.
Luis

guillaumejm (0) 2009-09-13 5:30

Hello
excellent title, excellent picture. b&w fits so well. Great graphic impact with boats. So boetic with fog and the distance that diasappear.
Best regards
JMarc

jonathan_hart (21276) 2009-09-13 8:35

this B&W is amazing
even without the woman, the shot was fine, her presence makes it moer than great
jc

coco (30439) 2009-09-13 12:18

Kalispera Hercules.

澳ebo de pensar que 廥ta es una foto electrizante?
Podr燰 ser, pero eso lo podr燰s confirmar t�.

Y aparte de eso, una gran foto, s�.
El blanco y negro, el contraste, la composici鏮 y la luz son de diez.

Un saludo.

Rafer (0) 2009-09-13 12:50

Superior composici鏮 en acertad疄imo b/w...saludos

g_panakia (4031) 2009-09-14 2:26

kalimera iraklh!
paraligo na xasw ayth thn e3airetikh photo
teleiws kinhmatografiko skhniko
me ekplhktiko contrast...
ayto pou mou aresei omws poly einai pou h figoura einai etoimh na xa8ei sto leyko ths omixlhs!
kalh evdomada
filika
georgia

leonorkuhn (16237) 2009-09-14 3:23

Hi Hercules,

All the elements of this great composition seem to float in space of pure magic and beauty. I like this dreamy scenery. Very well balanced composition, perfect in B&W.

Greetings from Bras璱ia
Leonor

lightsensor (757) 2009-09-14 5:29

hi, Hercules,
even in this small harbour, there is still good moment to catch. and you did it! i like the "B&W". the person in the photo caught my eyes! what else i can say, Good one again!

J-P,

rigoletto (34279) 2009-09-19 6:19

An awesome scene from a movie! The "X" of the oars and their reflections, and the lonely figure in the mist, make a moody atmosphere. You'd be a very good movie director :)
Chereto,
Deno

npecanhuk (79329) 2009-09-20 4:25

Hello Hercules!
A radical change... no colors in this one!
But no way, it's still such a great photo job and colors are not needed here!
Pov, sharpness and specially exposure are just perfect in an awesome composition! Just fantastic!
TFS - congratulations!
Best regards,
Neyvan

athanvas (2369) 2009-09-30 4:05

Geia sou Hraklh!
Panemorfo A/M me yperoxes antanaklaseis,m aresei poly!!!
BASILIS

quillo (11858) 2009-11-05 8:46

♥

Hola H廨cules ----------------->

Y se convierte en el lugar muy atmosf廨ico, po彋ico, misterioso, incluso trascendental ...... estoy de acuerdo ... adem嫳 hace que nuestra fantas燰, nuestra imaginaci鏮 juegue a las pel獳ulas en B/N.
Me gusta la toma con fuertes contrastes y con ese inquietante fondo al infinito de la niebla en al mar.

Un abrazo amigo y hasta pronto.

♥

Leconte (5795) 2009-11-28 12:59

Hello Hercules

fantastic light management, the atmosphere is fully transcribed, excellent contrast and geometry of lines,

best regards,
Val廨ie.

livermore (1631) 2012-10-27 2:27