Blue and White, a photo from Balkh, West

Photographer's Note

Two women walk past the beautifully decorated Shrine of Hazrat Ali in Mazar-e-Sharif. One of the women wears the blue burka most commonly associated with Afghanistan, particularly Kabul. The other wears white, the predominent colour seen in Mazar.

Hazrat Ali was assassinated in 661AD and supposedly buried in Iraq. However local tradition says that instead his body was placed on a camel and buried where the camel dropped. In the 12th century the unknown burial place was revealed to a mullah in a dream. The shrine was built here in 1136.

The shrine was subsequently destroyed by Genghis Khan but rebuilt in 1481. It has been extensively renovated since.

(Information from An Historical Guide to Afghanistan by Nancy Hatch Dupree.)

rahul__rahul__, jafadabret, don_narayan, riclopes, capthaddock, SamB, bibiweb, xavshot, quantabeh, weswang, jjbach, Fixfocus, cengiz, Cormac, ChristianS, Tue, fireflyz, krishindu, alvaraalto, lasscor, Serendipity, kschanna, MiffyO, parmeet has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

rosaline (0) 2006-01-02 12:08

Jonathan
Nice shot and great framing. The pattern of the tiles is great and the placement of the two women is good. Nice exposure.
Can't wait to see the Sri Lankan shots.
Cheers
Aubrey

jafadabret (56501) 2006-01-02 12:13

Jonathan, c'est une photo � couper le souffle ! Les deux femmes sont au bon endroit et nous am鑞ent � contempler une merveille d'architecture.
C'est encore du tr鑣 bon travail !

kensimage (8563) 2006-01-02 12:21

Very well done, Jonathan. I like the very low placement of the figures to create scale, suggesting that the size and import of the building dwarfs mere individuals. And it's nice that the burka colors match with the building. A well planned and successful shot! Regards, Ken.

don_narayan (2014) 2006-01-02 13:29

Hello Jonathan. Great shot, the background is the star here and your human elements are perfect, they compliment the scene so well... great job.

Narayan

riclopes (35577) 2006-01-02 13:34

Hi Jonathan,
Welcome back. I hope you had a wonderful time in Sri Lanka and I'm curious about your shots from there...
Meanwhile, another marvellous one from Afghanistan. Beautiful drawings of the tiles and very well captured with those women in burka, passing by. Good note explaining the blue and white of the burkas. Thanks a lot,
All the best for 2006,
Ricardo

p.s. - I stopped the postings for undetermined time, but I'm still visiting TE, once in a while

gebala (0) 2006-01-02 13:59

hello again after a small break:) I hope that you had a nice time:) and now you are ready to show us ur works:) I love this shot becoz is colorful and I like those 2 women in the corner of this image. well done
best wishes:)

capthaddock (28790) 2006-01-02 14:02

Hi Jonathan - fantastic mix of culture and graphism, the different colours but nearly identical poses of the women, and a great explanation of the different colours in the note.

recepyuksel (18640) 2006-01-02 15:02

1 word: perfect
bravo

SamB (1948) 2006-01-02 15:27

Very dramatic composition. The position of the women really draws the viewer into the frame, and they also bring out the immensity of the scale of the shrine.

Nice work!
sam

Ebbe (9625) 2006-01-02 16:16

Great architecture shot. You picked out a nice part of the building and your use of the two woman for scale and presence is great. Good corner position too.

AmiBe (6042) 2006-01-02 16:56

Hi Jonathan and welcome back ! ;-)
Very interesting shot, I like the texture of the shrine.
The 2 veiled women are well placed and the column balanced the shot.
Well done

quantabeh (5205) 2006-01-02 21:04

hello Jonathan,
I like your composition here. The framing is just perfect, with the two women undisturbly placed on the corner, letting the eye enjoy this beautiful monument.
good shot!

weswang (18247) 2006-01-02 21:45

Wow, this is a very neat picture Jonathan. I enjoy the repetitive patterns, the color contrasts and well captured two person to show the culture of this place. A very well taken picture. Thanks for sharing.

jjbach (9326) 2006-01-03 2:36

Hi Jonathan,
Excellent composition with wonderful patterns and great details. The two women work very well inside the frame. Splendid work!

Best wishes to you and your family for 2006!
Regards John

bibiweb (8) 2006-01-03 3:45

Welcome back Jonathan,
A beautiful shot from Afganistan. The tile work in the background is remarkable and the two women are perfectly placed within the composition of your photo and the colors of their burkas match the decoration!
I wish you and all your loved ones a wonderful new year full of travels and great photos!
Regards, Brigitte

Fixfocus (9385) 2006-01-03 5:27

Hello Jonathan,
A capture full of local spirit.Excellent placement of the two women in front of the impressive architecture.
Best wishes for 2006,
Hermann

cengiz (3593) 2006-01-03 9:49

hi jonathan,perfect shot I guess Backround is great and womans totaly perfectly composition compliments
cengiz

Cormac (26565) 2006-01-03 11:00

Wow - one of your best! The detail in the tiles is just amazing. I've heard a lot about the mosques and shrines in central Asia, but never seen them. Your shot really brings this one to life. The two women, one blue and one white, is the perfect accent to the mesmerizing tiles. Excellent!

xavshot (69835) 2006-01-03 12:52

Bonsoir Jonathan,
tr鑣 joli cadrage vertical qui permet de nous laisser admirer cette superbe architecture superbement color閑. La pr閟ence de ces deux femmes est un r閑l plus dans ta photo ; elle donne son 閝uilibre et rompt le c魌� sym閠rie.
C'est tr鑣 beau
Bravo (et meilleurs voeux pour 2006)
Xavier

Stepan (27210) 2006-01-03 14:57

Impressive and beautiful composition : the colors, the dof, the view, the foreground... A good work as usual.
It's cool you're back and I wish all my best for 2006.
St閜hane

ChristianS (2997) 2006-01-03 15:32

Hi Jonathan,
Very nice composition, I really like how the two women stand out against the richly ornamented shrine wall. Teh colours and the contrast are very nice. Well done!

Regards, Christian

Tue (91604) 2006-01-03 16:17

Hej Jonathan,
Great capture of the two women in front of this wonderful and richly detailed background. Very good composition. Good work!
All the best for 2006!
Hilsner,
Lars

krishindu (469) 2006-01-04 4:55

Jonathan
Another great shot, which does full justice to the marvelous monument you are covering. Great colors, wonderful POV and excellent sharpness. Well done

fireflyz (2097) 2006-01-04 13:29

Jonathan,
Your photos from this trip are really interesting and among favorites of mine. I'm facinated by the fine artwork on the walls of this shrine. Even if the women weren't there it would have been a nice photo. However, I'm glad you placed the women where you did. Perfect composition and color balance in my opinion. congratulations..
Skye

alvaraalto (42804) 2006-01-04 18:30

Hi Jonathan,
At first I wish you a happy new year.
A beautiful picture of the ancient and yet so actual world!
This picture is an excellent illustration of it.
Besides the picture is marvellous composed. My compliments for all of it.
Groet Rob

colinbrenchley (6431) 2006-01-07 16:25

Your use of a fanastic peice of architecture has lifted this image into perfect!
Regards Colin

Ber (8242) 2006-01-08 16:03

Hi Jonathan,
Another great shot. Very nice composition.
I like the texture of the shrine.
Regards, Ber

lasscor (7640) 2006-04-07 16:57

Very beautiful colorful composition.
I like the mosaic details and the color of the burka which recall and emphasize those of the wall.
Well seen!
Regards,
Corinne

partha (14023) 2006-04-21 22:27

Terrific shot. A nice background and u have positioned the ladies well wnough.
Partha

Mistral (15416) 2006-06-26 16:40

Hi Jonathan,
the women walking gave an idea about the size of this shrine, colours and graphism are stunning and your note interesting.
A smile
Luca

rahul__rahul__ (2250) 2006-07-02 11:02

Hi Jonathan,
nice picture, I like how they are in the corner and the contrast of their solid colored burqas against the ornate designs of the shrine. They give scale to how big the shrine may be. Thanks for sharing.
Regards,
Rahul

chicca (356) 2007-07-24 5:45

Meravigliosi i colori di questa foto, complimenti!
Federica

lucinka (9976) 2007-09-11 8:49

Hello Jonathan, I really wonder how did you happen to travel to such a country as Afghanistan. Not really typical tourist destination these days. You brought back some lovely shots. This one is such a nice graphic shot. I currently live in Kuwait and all women wearing abaya or chador are in black. You would hardly find any wearing blue or white. Probably something typical for Afghanistan. I particularly like the combination of the white/blue ladies with white/blue tiles. TFS. Lucie

loufah (68) 2009-04-29 1:04