Making Nice nice again, a photo from Provence-Alpes-Cote-dAzur, South

Photographer's Note

Market day is over. It's time to take down the stalls and clean up the mess.

Here is a larger version.

This is somewhere in the old part of Nice on the French Riviera in October 1981. During that autumn I was preparing a long journey to West Africa. Since I was to spend nearly all of four months in former French colonies it had dawned upon me that I had hardly spoken a word of French since I left school more than 14 years earlier.

Did I remember anything at all? I realized I desperately needed to brush up my French, or the entire journey could become a giant failure. So I found a school in Juan-les-Pins on the Riviera giving crash courses and signed up for three weeks of intense training.

During the days I had classes or did my "homework", in the weekends I made short trips in the area. A couple of times I visited Nice, which I found to be a suitably Nice City.

Two postcard kind of photos taken from a hill can be seen in the WS. One shows mainly roofs, the other mainly the city beach. All photos were scanned from Kodachrome slides.

This is not the start of another long series. Maximum two more uploads, then I will go somewhere else.

pajaran, ktanska, alvaraalto, Fis2, ikeharel, ChrisJ, pierrefonds, jhm, bona, worldcitizen, dale54, PiotrF, mcmtanyel, macjake, COSTANTINO, jean113, aliabazari, Royaldevon, Hansaphotos has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

pajaran (117063) 2019-12-15 0:41

Pozdrav.
Interesantan pogled i trenutak, dobar tekst ...
Dobar rad sa fotografijom u radionici, lepo pokazano, dobro uhvacen trenutak.
Zelim vam lep dan za odmor, sve najbolje.
Paja.

Greeting.
An interesting view and a moment, good text ...
Good work with photography in the workshop, beautifully demonstrated, well captured moment.
Have a nice day for you, all the best.

mesutilgim (0) 2019-12-15 0:51

Hello Gert, my neighbour again.
Another topclass capture/entry from your archive.
The Romans ujsed to say (in the antiquity) "nihil novum sub sole". Which means : "nothing is new under the sun" .
Most probably this scene can be observed also today.
Again a capture with the timeless taste of the analgue photography.
A perfect TE job enriched with many good and usefull notes.
TFS and have a nice weekend
MESUT ILGIM

ktanska (45056) 2019-12-15 0:57

Hej Gert,
Quite gritty picture from this market square. People rarely pay attention to works after the actual business is done. There is something statuesque on the guy standing with the apron and rubber boots.
Kari

lousat (139990) 2019-12-15 1:45

Hi Gert,of course going to school in a magnificent post like Juan-les-Pins is the dream of so many .. ehehe..3 beautiful memories of your prelude to the African journey during the French stop to refresh the knowledge of the language, two classic postcards in the WS , while the former is undoubtedly the most beautiful, when the market is finished and cleaning is provided, a scene that is very reminiscent of Italy.Have a nice Sunday and thanks,Luciano

alvaraalto (42804) 2019-12-15 1:46

Hello Gert,
A great title for a nice series from Nice with a nice reference to less nice slogan of the Donald across the ocean.
In the Netherlands you can go to the nuns in Vught if you need a crash course in a foreign language. They are a household name for these types of courses.
Have a nice Sunday, groet Rob

Fis2 (171937) 2019-12-15 1:53

Witaj Gert my neighbour today!
An interesting scene from everyday life.
A nice square with a fountain and a mess to clean up.
Next interesting picture from Your archive.
I like framing and colors.
Well done.
Nice sunday.
Krzysztof

ChrisJ (172436) 2019-12-15 2:25

Hello Gert

A good daily life scene from Nice which I also enjoyed in 2013. I was saddened at Athens airport enroute to Cairo in May 2016 to see the tv footage of the senseless massacre of over 80 people on the promenade. Not nice! Tfs!

emka (158826) 2019-12-15 2:31

Hi Gert, You went for four months to Africa, and you think that I am crazy when I go for five weeks.:) What is the difference? At the end of 1981, sometimes, I couldn't go to the other side of Vistula without permission. It is just the anniversary of these sad times. In my youth, for various very important reasons, I could not travel. Now I have "my second youth".
Fantastic composition, great quality of this photo so old. The guy in blue has a very strange brush. Why there is so much garbage? And what about this language course, have you learned French well enough?
Nice also the Workshops.
I was in Nice and Monaco in nineties, on the way back from Morocco.

Have a nice Sunday

Silvio1953 (222925) 2019-12-15 4:05

Ciao Gert, lovely urban view with people at work, excellent clarity, wonderful colors and splendid light, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

pierrefonds (115546) 2019-12-15 4:48

Hi Gert,

You have captured well a daily life scene. The point of view is showing the details of the mess tobe cleaned up. The light is bringing out the colors. Have a nice day.

Pierre

jhm (211738) 2019-12-15 5:06

Hello Gert,

I know not or, today much is changed, when the market vendors coming
You play nice with light and shadows.
A lovely panorama view too.
Wonderful soft contrast picture.
Excellent captured and perfect presentation.
Very well done, TFS.

Have a nice Sunday,
John.

Tue (93436) 2019-12-15 5:17

Hej Gert,
En meget god titel! :-) Har der aldrig v鎟et en lokal politiker som har brugt den? M錽ke er den lidt for engelsk til franskm鎛denes smag. Et udm鎟ket billede ogs�, efter markedet lukkede og torvet skulle renses. Husfacaderne giver en god baggrund.
Lars

jmdias (116477) 2019-12-15 6:06

gert

I had plans to learn french when I was a boy, but when I visited france I gave up the project. nice view of the daily life with people cleaning the area around this fountain.

take care

jorge

bona (15057) 2019-12-15 6:19

Hi Gert,

nice capture of the men working after the market. I like this kind of theme of people work. Your note it great and the workshops photos add a lot showing the city of Nice from above.

Regards
Andre

rychem (72187) 2019-12-15 7:44

A very nice main photo and beautiful postcards in WS, after a long market day cleaning crews have a lot of work to do, very well observed
regards Ryszard

worldcitizen (16226) 2019-12-15 8:06

Hello Gert,
The WS views of the city are nice, but the man with the strange broom, looking right at the camera, is my favorite view from these photos. :-) Everyone else is busy working, and he has stopped, looking a bit startled as you take your photo. It's amusing. :-) I like the architecture in the background, too.

dale54 (17768) 2019-12-15 9:13

good evening gert and hello..ah,the clean up after the party! impressive scanned job here,nicely timed and captured! tfs dale

Nicou (193814) 2019-12-15 9:59

Hello

C'et eu les march閟 et attirant apr鑣 il faut nettoyer touts les d閏het quelle vue et sc鑞e sur cette place des ce homme en train de nettoyer et le autres en trains de d閙onter les stands superbe
Bravo et amiti�
Nciou

PiotrF (56012) 2019-12-15 11:44

Hello Gert,
An interesting story and a series of photos from Nice.
I like the view of the promenade and the high point of view of this photo.
Good work, fine presentation from your archive
Regards
Piotr

kasianowak (17676) 2019-12-15 12:12

Hi Gert
First of all, I really like the play of words in the title. :-)
I can see that almost 4 years ago you already had an eye for daily life shots. I'm not sure it's "nothing special" though, there is so much happening. ;-) Great composition showing some of Paris architecture and brilliant timing/
I love the WS "postcards" too. The one with two strips of blue, one vertical, one horizontal - it reminds of my brief stay in Nice about 20 years ago. And the red roofs are very pretty too.
Have a nice week
Kasia

Miguel82 (47110) 2019-12-15 12:51

Gert, the merchants are cleaning the square where they work after a market day. Cardboard boxes and wrappings cover the ground. I like the old fountain. I never visited Nice, i crossed its urban area by car to go to Italy. French is indeed a useful language in north, west and central Africa. According to foreign friends, the grammar and the orthograph rules are difficult for a beginner. Fine colors, good sharpness, absorbing photo note, regards.

Gerrit (62042) 2019-12-15 16:16

Hello Gert,
great clear photo with a perfect definition and very well timed too.
Thanks and regards,
Gerrit

mcmtanyel (69227) 2019-12-15 20:18

Hello Gert,
I like all three photos. The main entry is the most interesting one. It reminds me of the clean-up process that used to take place in Pendik (a suburb on the Anatolian side of Istanbul) after the market day (saturday for Pendik). 👍🏻👍🏻
Regards,
MT

macjake (98544) 2019-12-15 22:31

Hi Gert
what in the world is that man holding in his hand...do you know what it looks like??? It looks like an oversized Hockey Stick! hahahaha....obviously its for a quick clean up, but it just looks so strange. even almost more amusing is the man with his back turned to us, he's just standing there doing his best Statue imitation. Nice is certainly one of those cities that's on my to see list. Good for you to take french lessons before your arrival, that's dedication and more than I would have done! cheers
Craig

COSTANTINO (117792) 2019-12-15 22:48

Hello dear GERT
have a nice time
a new title for your photo from me
...market day is over.......
I love photos of this kind
and this part is somewhere in the old
part of Nice...
welldone from you
YOU ARE THE FIRST.....
regards
Costantino

jean113 (28281) 2019-12-16 9:53

Hello Gert, the market has finished for the day but there is still work to be done.
I am always surprised at just how much mess there is at the end of the day, the stall holders don't seem to take any responsibility for it.
An interesting note, as always, to accompany this scene from everyday life.
Kind regards Jean.
P.S. The workshop shots are interesting too.

aliabazari (23259) 2019-12-16 22:28

Hello Gert
I like the images of everyday life, people all over the world. Well recorded and exposed. Thanks for sharing

CLODO (45118) 2019-12-17 3:47

Hi Gert

You're not stammering to write your title! Of course I prefer the mainpost with some human activities at the end of the everyday market to get a clean picture of Nice! There are still many persons on the beach in October but no one dare to go swimmming!
Have a nice day
CLODO

Royaldevon (86478) 2019-12-17 11:41

Hello Gert,

Markets often create lots of street rubbish but it would appear that this is quickly removed.
Your photograph shows the result of the market and the activities of the diligent workers.
Your photograph has scanned well.
Did you practise your new French speaking skills at this market.

I like the beach and promenade scanned photograph, too.
It gives a fine impression of this part of the city, with a vast depth from this elevated viewpoint.
It is surprising that it hasn't changed a vast amount as I took a shot from a similar location in 2008.

Kind regards,
Bev 😊

GyurMaster (25033) 2019-12-18 0:38

Dear Gert,

And this is not only nice, but excellent together with is title. Its a nothing special, but with some characteristics of Richard Scarry's busy world. Everybody is involved into something, has his/her own task. Its no doubt however, that the main character is the man on the right with that special tool designed to sweep the mess. The WS photos are nice addition and the Kodachrome did not fail you this time too!

Best Wishes,
Gy.

Hansaphotos (11381) 2019-12-18 14:13

Hei Gert

En veldig fransk scene, eller det kunne kanskje like gjerne v鎟t fanget inn p� en italiensk piazza. En flott 鴜eblikksbilde fra dagliglivet i denne s鴕-franske byen. Artig ordspill i tittelen, som ellers f錼 meg til � tenke p� en skikkelse p� andre siden av Atlanteren. Du har til og med klart � inkludere et bilde av stars&stripes i bildet. Fine oversiktsbilder i WS. Veldig bra!

Hilsen Erling

clic (76) 2019-12-21 8:21

Hallo Gert The title on top of your picture in a stroke of genious for a perfect match to the topic of your photo and for the sameness to a presidential pre-electoral public grand speech! Lot of depth in there provided by the inner-corner view
underlined precisely by the standing lady, who seems in charge of cleaning the mess! Halsningar

ikeharel (114605) 2020-10-08 1:20

End of a working day, Gert, and lot's of action collected in one shot.
As always, an immaculate scanned picture from long ago.
Best regards,
Ike

*** Not only I can't take planes picture nowadays with the curfew, nor I can take any other pictures when confined to 1km away from home, which is not much. Thanks.