Inside the Mosque, a photo from West Bengal, East

Photographer's Note

Devotees offering Namaaz inside a small Mosque in my home town, Very peaceful atmosphere inside the Mosque.

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Critiques | Translate

USErin (189) 2006-03-28 11:06

What a powerful photo. I love that the sharpest part of the image is focused on the feet, which are worn and dirty from being without shoes. I also love the POV which suggests that you are just as humble, kneeling on the ground. The intensity of the saturation makes this photo magnificent.

nerve (10231) 2006-03-28 11:12

great composition Arindam, love your angle
here.. (and love his feet, lol!)
beautiful POV, gorgeous colours, superb work!
cheers.

Cuba-Junky (2817) 2006-03-28 11:20

Fantastic picture, angle and colors!
Thanks for sharing
An

alyssaroma (220) 2006-03-28 11:55

I love the colors! You have very poverful foreground, middle, and background and they all work perfectly with oneanother. The big pillar above the man who is bowing thros it off a little, but is not that big of a deal. Good work.

designsoul (17843) 2006-03-28 12:07

Exquisite, Arindam! The soles of the man praying tells it all...
your pov is daring and successful, the low angle works marvellously. The tones are also very nice, calming. A great shot all the way!
sasa

Framboisilla (5277) 2006-03-28 13:13

Hello Arindam,

Jolie photo, j'aime beaucoup le POV, les tapis en premier plan et la paire de pieds... :-) Belles couleurs en g閚閞al !

Regards,
St閜hanie.

don_narayan (2014) 2006-03-28 15:32

Hello Arindam. Fantastic shot, the composition is great and the timing is perfect... I have always tried to do something like this but i never can do it right... which you did! Well done.

Narayan

kajspice (4542) 2006-03-28 16:39

Elegantly masterful, as always...

Beautiful blue tones, all the way through...delightful!

sengir (4956) 2006-03-28 17:44

wow, the colours and light are just stunning here! I have slightly similar shot in my portfolio (http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Asia/India/photo161221.htm), but I like yours much more.

alimo3 (6854) 2006-03-28 18:04

Hi Arindam,
This a very good picture,
colors are so beautiful and the point of view very low is perfect.
my only remark would be about the composition ( i mean the man and the pillar at the same place)
but i like it very much anyway !

Tiom

jinju (14265) 2006-03-28 18:48

Pretty much the quintessential Mosque photo. That has its pluses and minuses. On the plus side, its highly symbolic, great moment that is instantly recognizable and understandable. No note is needed, it speaks for itself. On the minus side, its a bit cliche and something we have seen many times. But I think what does it for me here Arindam is the quality of the colors and the quality of the technical apect of this photo. Great focus on the feet, something different. Reminds me of Maciek's foot photo..check it out.

AMZINCHIA (1082) 2006-03-28 20:08

Hi Arindam, This is a very, very nice shot indeed. Your approach to this moment of life makes it different from all the similar mosque subjects. I like your low POV very much with its super-sharp focus on those hard-working feet. The colours are a marvel. One only slight minus for me relates to the white huge pillar which shows exactly on top of the bowing back of the foreground subject. I guess you did on purpose, of course. But I feel it would look better if you had just shifted it a little bit on the right, to disconnect it from the human figure.... Never mind, as this is a VERY VERY nice shot indeed! Cheers, --amz

Furachan (0) 2006-03-28 21:42

Extraordinary framing in this shot, Arindam. The soles of those feet at the foot of the column: iconic...ancient!
I find it brilliant and very stimulatinhg from a compositional standpoint. Lovely colors as well.
You do wonders with that A95, my friend...
Cheers,
Francis

ALSOM (6616) 2006-03-29 4:57

I feel like being a prayer with this pov. very good sensation. Nice captured moment surrounded by beautiful colors. Damn what the hell the pillar is doing there ;o).
Thanks, Alain -

arnab_thokder (63) 2006-03-29 5:09

Hi Dada,
A very nice colorful composition. But I think you made same mistake again. The background of the man in front. It's a pillar of the same color. Couldn't you get a different angle? Nice one.
bhai

ramesh_lalwani (3213) 2006-03-29 10:33

Hi Arindam
You really got an excellent picture of a devotee in mosque.TFS
Ramesh

ElSato (824) 2006-03-29 16:21

Arindam,

I can see the point Rafal (jinju) is making, but I would say that there's definitely enough here to take this well out of the range of the cliched mosque shot. (Not to dump on Rafal! He's right to raise the issue, I just have a different view.)

First, as he himself mentioned, there is the spectacular colour. Many photos of mosques (and of Islamic art in general) focus on colour, since such good use is made of it. But a lot of them don't do a very good job of bringing out the richness that you've got here. I especially like the play of light at the top left.

More importantly, as many people have said, there is the point of view. This is no postcard shot, not with those bare feet staring us in the face (so to speak!). This image is real and nuanced and human.

(As an aside, it can't hurt to expose as many people in North America and Europe to such a vividly humanistic portrait of moslem life during these difficult times, when it is so easy for groups to demonize one another.)

Finally there is the layered depth, as the viewer's eye is led from the man's feet, to the rest of his body, then back to the pillar, then to the wall, and THEN through a set of arches to yet another wall behind that. This is a more sophisticated and interesting compo than the cliched shot tends to have.

Really well done.

Lee

thaprem (2566) 2006-03-30 7:19

Arindam,
Catching the eye is what your shot does very effectively!...
The sharpness, colour & DOF allawesome...
Colours:8; Compo:9; details:8; Note:6; POV:9; Clarity:8;
Rated for maximum of 10.
Cheers,
Prem.

Svillegas (1169) 2006-04-04 3:15

-Hi Arindam
Lovely shot, great composition, natural light, colour saturation and use of the Dof. Great point of view.
Really a very, very nice shot.
Sonia

Angshu (56760) 2006-04-05 3:49

Hi Arindam
This is a super shot, not just for the clarity, but more for the moment of capture,
& the fantastic POV. Tumi ki upur hoye shuye chhobi tulechho je ei POV peyechho?
Regards
Angshu
:) kaal

partha (14023) 2006-04-16 12:29

I appreciate u for having such a good composition and expousure control.
Nice documentry shot.
partha

mafan (290) 2006-05-30 15:33

great picture. love the repetition of blue throughout, gives it such a fresh feel. the detail of the feet is superb & is definitely a strong enough subject for the pic. the only thing that i'm not sure about is the column. obviously there's nothing you can do about this (unless you had a sledgehammer & desire to get into trouble) and the best thing was to line up the guy with the column. it can almost be read as a continuation of his strength, but it's slightly distracting. still, nowt for you to do about it! and just a crackin' shot! thanks.

greg (2835) 2007-02-13 5:48

Impressive. I'd have preferred it without the second man - the casual mood he adds breaks that of the other...

martin_b (362) 2009-08-29 11:14

hi arindam,
excellent angle & compo. .....!!!

m.