#1 - What can you see in my photo?

[AdamGT]

Sometimes when I travel I take photos of places, people or things and at that time, without really giving it much thought. It’s just that something catches your attention and you point and click, nothing more than that. However, weird things can happen! There comes a time, maybe years later when you are looking through your photos and you come across a particular photo that for one reason or another, just stops you in your tracks. You stare at it and in deep thought you start asking yourself about that time, that place and what you captured in that moment. Let me share this small story with you…

Like many Local Guides, in my travels I have taken many tens of thousands of photos and some of these are spectacular like the Midnight Sun in Norway or gigantic icebergs in Greenland, and some in the most breathtaking places on this planet like a photo taken at the Top of the World! But why is it that sometimes, when reminiscing while browsing back through your many photos, the least spectacular of these and in the least breathtaking place can grab your mind and throw you into deep thought about it. This happened to me today.

Below is the photo and as you can see it’s not by any means anything spectacular! Nor is it a photo of a breathtaking place or view. It’s not a photo of the Statue of Liberty or Times Square in New York. It’s not the Taj Mahal or the Blue Mosque! It’s just some random click I took as I approached a small village in Sighetu Marmației, Romania, a place located along the Tisa river, the Romania and Ukraine border.

When I took the photo my focus was on the small village that after hours of walking and with great anticipation, joy and excitement, I was longing to get to as I was approaching the territorial border. I have no recollection that anyone was in my view but now I see a woman there. Perhaps she wasn’t there when I took the photo! But she is there now! Can you see her or am I imagining things? It’s an old woman with a long and sad looking face, wearing boots that look like her husband’s old army boots, perhaps they are! She’s dressed warmly but nothing impressive there, pushing some sort of trolley with a small load, in a remote village setting. I can hear the squeaking wheels of her trolley and the sound of her marching boots. It’s a hard road she travels, or has traveled!

Yes it’s a plain and rather ordinary photo but for some reason it has an inner beauty that I struggle to explain, and when I stare at it I get a sad and choking feeling! The reason why I say this is that now while reminiscing and looking back at this photo, I see that it’s not the village that after hours of walking I was so looking forward to reach that is the focus of my point and click photo, it’s this old local woman that appears in the foreground! Look closely, and please tell me what can you see in my photo!

#1 - Fundamentally, this is just a story about a photo taken of a road in a remote village. But why #1? Well because there is also a sequel, yes a #2 so do check out the next story!

Do you have a story to tell about what might first appear to be one of those just another photo? Perhaps a story like mine above that you wish to share!

[Ewaade_3A]

@AdamGT

What I see in the Photo is ‘Resilience and Survival’, set against an Old Rustic village with Nature in full bloom.she is determined to succeed and do that on her own terms. She struck such a great pose for a good Photo Op, she could have passed for a Model. Find her and pay her Adam.

I don’t want to be the first to comment . Where have you been, Adam?! I missed you, a little or your teasing rather

I have 3 photos to share. I will look for them in the morning and share.

1. The first is of a girl walking by, she seemed to have no legs and be flying
2. The second is.of a painting that looks so good you will think it’s a painting
3. I will think about it when I wake up. It’s 04:51 here

ahahaha, now, I look at the photo and see That was the way I registered it in my brain.

fun fact about this photo @AdamGT ;

I posted this elsewhere with the caption;

"Being a Google Local Guide is fun
The kind of things you capture!
You get home are looking at your photos and laughing

There is something we call “Waka” here in Nigeria, that’s the sign this lady is making with her right hand.

The intention was to capture the bank, but seeing this ‘unknowing Waka sign’ has got me thinking;
Was the guy coming behind trying to make advances at her and she was giving him the “Waka” sign?

Now, what does “Waka” mean, there is “Waka” a swear word and “Waka” a word that means; walk"

2. This I actually a Picture not a Painting

Just imagine everyone took this long to respond to a message, what a mess it will be! I am sorry.

P.S. - Please pity those of us with these kind of eyes. Space your sentences. I am tearing already.

[TusharSuradkar]

This is what I would call true photography - a frame with a story and emotions and a lot of subtle features that only a sensitive mind can pick up.

@AdamGT I will dig out some photos of mine that too had something to say beyond what is obvious and share here soon.

[Pratik_89]

Hi @AdamGT i like to never miss your story coz there is always something meaningful that’s what I love. I get too touched when I read such articles. Here I am sharing a picture of a girl flying balloon and I can say sky has no limit dream as much you can. Coz good dreams make person happy and I believe being happy is a wonderful Medicine in today’s world.

It was 15jan 2020 it was kite flying festival in india the child was enjoying the flying balloon

[AdamGT]

Oooh I do love that’Resilience and Survival’ thought @Ewaade_3A Yes definitely a determination to succeed, perhaps survive, no matter what!I don’t think she knew I took her photo, maybe she did, and to I have to add, at the time I didn’t know she was in my frame of view.

I tend to run with my words like a flowing, sometimes turbulent river because I want to get the words out of my head quickly before I forget my thoughts…lol. However, just for you Ewaade, I have just revisited and edited the wording. Is that better? I’m still learning Ewaade so thank you for your patience with me…I will keep improving, I promise

I look forward to seeing your photo stories Ewaade.

[AdamGT]

Now there’s another very fitting word @TusharSuradkar . Subtle! And I like the “beyond what is obvious” bit. Perhaps it’s “the soul” or “spirit” of the photo! Quite unintentional at the time of pointing and clicking after all, it’s not what you saw then and was not the purpose of your shoot. I can’t wait to see your examples Tushar!

[AdamGT]

Hello @Pratik_89

Thank you for your comment and I’m so glad you jumped in here as your message “hits the nail on the head”. Even in the simplest of photos, like my rather ordinary photo in this post, there is a story to be told and I miss this so much in so many beautiful photos contributed here on Connect. I wrote about this before here on Connect and I know that others have too. We need to look deep into our photos because there is always something meaningful there that we can share.

Yes I can see the story in your lovely photo of a young girl flying her balloon. I wish the photo was larger and perhaps in landscape rather than portrait so that we could better see her facial expression and better interpret that dream. Perhaps she was startled by you taking a photo of her but perhaps you spoke to her first. However, perhaps unable to afford a kite, white balloon was her way of participating in one of the biggest festivals celebrated in India! Is this the so called Makar Sankranti?

[Pratik_89]

@AdamGT totally agreed wish I could click in a better way but I was in my car on a signal and got a chance to take this beautiful shot.

[Ewaade_3A]

Oh! My dear sir! Today has been hectic!!!

Yes, it’s a lot better, even it reflected in your response to me.

Keep improving? to become what a Greek god? You are already too fantastic as you are, please don’t improve, else you will send your competition to oblivion. Wait, let them catch up.

I will catch my breath and then add the photos for you @AdamGT

[Andreika5]

мне почему то стало грустно от этого фото, скорее дело в женщине. Ее усталость написана на лице.

[Paragon]

It’s the same thing with news photographers, notice they have lots of cameras on their shoulders. When you are on something you wanted to take picture, often we don’t want to run out of moments to capture them with the camera. While most of us will take pictures as if we want to stop time-- for me this is intrusion. Like when we attend a party with our family, we usually say, ‘cheese’ or ‘hold still’ - look at the camera. For me the best way is to shoot right away. Yes their are times we get a bad shot but then when we get used to it, everything will be perfect. It isn’t about the camera you’re using, it’s about capturing the emotion on that moment that make up the story.

[AdamGT]

Hello @Andreika5 and welcome to Connect. I can understand how my photo could make you feel sad and as I wrote in my post, even though I was happy and excited at the time of taking it, I too was sad and it gave me a choking feeling when I was recently looking at it.

[AdamGT]

Helloand welcome to Connect @Paragon . I’m pleased that my photo caught your attention. While I don’t understand what you mean by it being an intrusion for you if you were stopping time when taking a photo, I do understand what you are saying about shooting straight away and capturing the ‘real’ moment. Have you ever taken a photo and later discovered that it has an alternative but interesting story within it?

[FalguniP]

Pictures tell a different story @AdamGT

That’s the beauty of the random photos many times people might have different thought over the same picture.

I guess the picture would be just a blank scenery without the lady.

She seems lost in her thoughts while she is moving with the trolly.

[AdamGT]

Yes of course like a painting, we all see different things in a photo @FalguniP and it’s interest how different our perceptions of the same things can be. Perhaps without the old lady the focus might be the red roofs of the village houses but once again, no doubt, we would each have different perceptions of that scene. Yes she certainly is in deep thought pushing that trolley!

[Paragon]

I mean most often we take pictures on things we only like, by doing that we miss the things that are also equally good. I’m sorry about ‘intrusion’-- I run out of words to describe it. I’m trying to describe on a party wherein we usually dictate who could join on that picture. Taking pictures shouldn’t be that way. Sometimes we need to take a candid shots. Yes I have taken lots of photos and with story within it - like the place where I used to play as a kid. Though few things have changed but the memories are there and only few can relate.

[AdamGT]

Yes I totally agree with you @Paragon and also like taking candid shots. You should share some of your photos with stories within. Take one photo, start a new post and tell us the story!

[SunshineNY]

@AdamGT Thanks for the picture with good explanation. I will add to your picture that the birds are joining the sounds of the wheels and it’s very quiet there. Maybe few cars are driving once a while not a traffic place. It smells the dirt because it shows that it was raining before. I love the picture very peaceful but in the same time there is some sadness . How an old lady could do that? Pushing her trolley? Where’s the husband? Maybe he died? Or her children? Maybe she didn’t have them or maybe they left her and they live their life… no time to parents!! The time when their parents need them, they are far away!! I feel sorry for her. It’s just my opinion

[SunshineNY]

@AdamGT

I took this picture from my window. It was in summertime at the beach in Martil, Morocco. It was in the afternoon, I went back to my apartment for having lunch. When you look forward but a little far away, you can cross to Spain .

This picture, I had it on my homescreen of my tablet that for long time I didn’t use it! After three years from now, I cannot see the same picture because of Covid-19. You can see how crowded the beach. People were not wearing . Everything looked wonderful. There was a better life that we wish to go back to that life.

[Niv1234]

@AdamGT I really like this picture that you took. I can see there daily life in a small village, I can see women who working all her life and I can see amazing beauty.

Here is my picture that I want to share with you. took in Arslanbob, Kyrgyzstan. its one of the pictures that I very much like. daily life, innocent child and one beautiful moment.