Towards evening in the red oasis, a photo from Adrar, Inland

Photographer's Note

I find it hard to drag myself away from the "red oasis" of Timimoun in the Algerian desert, but this is probably my last picture from that place.

In 1975 I spent a couple of days here, admiring the unique architecture of the small town located several hours' journey from the nearest town or village.

Soon after I had taken this photo night fell on the desert, and since this was during Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting, the few restaurants and cafés opened at sunset. I went back to my hotel, appropriately called "l'Oasis Rouge", and had dinner in the courtyard where i tried to chew a very tough camel steak while dozens of bats were flying all around me, narrowly skirting my head. I have more pleasant dinner memories.

As usual this was scanned from a Kodachrome 64 slide. As usual you can see it at full size by right-clicking and opening it in a new window, or going to the beta version.

abmdsudi, ourania, rbassin, PaulVDV, danos, Romano46, Cricri, daddo, bayno, Vasa, adores, Angshu, Miguel82, fritzi007, unclehotshot, mcmtanyel, COSTANTINO has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

yquem46 (38752) 2013-10-14 7:53

Hej Gert
I like this one, where the strong contrasts between colors, and lights and shadows convey perfectly the feeling of heat and extreme luminosity
Well composed with the presence of the 2 people and their shadows on the wall
Bravo, have a nice day
patrick

colinbrenchley (6431) 2013-10-14 8:31

Gert - great use of colour in this shot - the blue of the sky and the ochre of the buildings. The two passing figure who are ignoring each other add power to the shot.
Regards
Colin

rychem (72187) 2013-10-14 9:01

Wow! Fanatstic low light and eye catching colors, the contrast between the walls and the sky works very well, bravo
Ryszard

abmdsudi (95869) 2013-10-14 9:16

Hi Gert
A mouth watering deep striking red and this is a very brave use of it and the unique architectural style of the dwellings. Great composition in brilliant warm light and the use of white robes against the red backdrop is superb and the blue sky makes for more impact. An impressive pp image, Congrats.
Best regards

ourania (51103) 2013-10-14 11:02

Hello Gert,
this feels like a very interesting zoom in after your previous picture that was like a map including the settings we had the opportunity to see in this wonderful series. I like very much the mystery of the people without a face and of the shadows. The textures have been rendered in a fascinating way, we can feel the roughness of the surfaces and the thickness of the walls. The warmth of the light and the colours is exquisite and the sky provides a great, refreshing contrast. Behind the windowless walls there must lie a very different, cool and shady world but the shadows say that darkness will soon spread everywhere. Congratulations and thank you!
All the best, have a great evening,
Ourania

Fis2 (169921) 2013-10-14 13:30

Witaj Gert!
Curious scene,
A very interesting colors.
I like light and shadows.
Well done.
Good night
Krzysztof

fabbs99 (17179) 2013-10-14 20:28

Hi Gert,

Another great shot from you.Superb pov and exposure.Amazing sharpness and perfect light.
Thanks for sharing this beautiful work.

Cheers
Farhat

saxo042 (38078) 2013-10-14 23:25

Hej Gert,
Det starka ljuset skapar tydliga skuggor med stora kontraster mellan de olika partierna i bilden. T.o.m. elstolpen fyller en viss funktion i sammanhanget. Intressant bild!
Hälsningar
Gunnar

mjw364 (1466) 2013-10-15 2:58

Hello Gert

What vivid colours and warm light. A most amazing place I bet. Love that blue sky.

TFs

Mike

Sergiom (117241) 2013-10-15 5:18

Bonjour Gert,

Quel rouge, encore plus accentué par les robes blanches portées par les hommes qui se croisent dans la rue.J'aime beaucoup les pointes qui sortent du bâtiment de gauche et le jeu des ombres et de la lumière.

Amicalement

Serge

Nicou (193806) 2013-10-15 6:50

Hello

quelle iamge grandiose vue ces deux personnages en blanc avec la projection de l'ombre sur ces façade orange sombre superbe lumière et cadrage à l'excellent moment.
Bravo et amitié
Nicou

dkmurphys (79209) 2013-10-15 9:01

Hi Gert,
Lovely contrasts of this scene. The colors are amazing, very exotic image.
Enjoy a good evening.

Daniel

Silvio1953 (220779) 2013-10-15 9:43

Ciao Gert, great view of original architecture, excellent clarity, splendid light and wonderful warm colors, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

pajaran (115089) 2013-10-15 9:52

Dobro vece.
Interesantan tekst o mestu ...
Dobar rad skeniranjem, lepa fotografija.
Kako li danas izgleda ovo mesto.
Prijatno vece i sve najbolje na lepom secanju i 1975. godinu.
Paja.

Good evening.
An interesting article about the place ...
Good work by scanning, beautiful photos.
How did this place looks today.
Good evening and all the best and nice memories in 1975. year.
Paja.

rbassin (27472) 2013-10-15 9:56

hello Gert
une magnifique photo, j'admire l'architecture et la couleur.
Présence agréable des deux personnes.
Bonne soirée
Roland

macjake (98262) 2013-10-15 12:03

Hi Gert
So...Camel Steak eh?
hmmm....how did that taste? a bit dry? haha..get it? lol

Well, i don't blame you at all for posting more photos from this place, i'd be posting even more.
Hard to believe these structures even stood UP? how are they not collapsing under the influence of the climate? looks like well packed Mud or something.

For sure a wonderful post for TE, teaches us something about the world around us from far far away.
excellent photo.

cheers
craig

Royaldevon (85678) 2013-10-15 14:57

Hello Gert,

I marvel at your travelling experiences, to places that have only relatively recently become widely accessible.
This is so untouristy!
The colours of the buildings are so strong and it is very noticeable that they lack windows. A really good, daily life scene.

My warm regards,
Bev :-)

PaulVDV (62810) 2013-10-15 17:57

Hello Gert,
The evening light provides the buildings and even the soil with fiery red colours. The 'red oasis' is surely worthy of its name.
Wonderful presentation of this mud desert architecture.
This is a beautiful testimony from a country that was never really easy to visit. I remember that it was quite expensive for many years because of the artificially kept high exchange rate and then later other and bigger problems arised.
Best regards, Paul

danos (110407) 2013-10-16 9:21

Hello Gert,
fascinating the view of this arid place of the country with the brilliant and warm light to enhance the vivid colours making the scene unique.I like the presentation of this section of the Algerian red oasis with the shadows and the beauty of the photo to are superb.
I opened the image in the beta version and enjoyed the details and the charmy of it. Excellent presentation.

Regards,Danos

Romano46 (18472) 2013-10-16 11:05

Ciao Gert
i colori di questa famosa oasi sono famosi, tanto più se ad illuminare l'argilla rossastra delle costruzioni è un sole dalla luce molto calda.
Stupisce nella cvomposizione il contrasto tra le costruzioni fatte con una tecnica assai rozza, se non primitiva, e la presenza del traliccio della corrente elettrica segno di una civiltà ormai arrivata nel luogo con tutte le sue conseguenze positive e negative.
Un bel documento di come era l'interno dell'Algeria una volta, anche, se oggi non credo sia molto diverso.
Ciao e buona serata
Romano

subhendu_bagchi (26091) 2013-10-17 2:10

namaste Gert,
a very good composition indeed. Great colour contrast. The two men with white dress are looking superb with the backdrop of redish-brown texture of the wall. Excellent picture quality considering a scanned image. Great work. Tfs.
S

kasianowak (17672) 2013-10-17 4:09

Hi Gert
Amazing colours here and a great play of light and shadow. The quality of slide film used in the evening light is incredible even after all those years and compared to all the technology we have to our disposal these days.
Best wishes
Kasia

NorthernLight (2383) 2013-10-17 11:22

Hej Gert,

en underbar bild med otroliga färger. Som en urklipp av en fantasy film. En låg stående sol förstärker surrealistiska intrycket.

En fantastisk bild som ur ett dröm!

Ha en bra kväll

Peter

IBAlex (0) 2013-10-17 17:12

Great picture! This is a test.

adidas5nb (5743) 2013-10-19 19:43

one more old classic from you.great light and pov.and to get a pic and perspective from 1975 is great.
regards
dwaipayan

Cricri (176) 2013-10-20 0:36

Hi Gert
Intéressante architecture aux couleur si intense rendue par la forte lumière, un contraste avec la "porte " et les vêtements des deux personnes, les ombres et le sol aride, très belle et intéressante image
Beau dimanche
cricri

eldancer1 (36343) 2013-10-20 9:04

Awesome of this unique architecture! I guess red is common color for desert scene just as they are in the American Southwest. Nice to have the people for scale. Great lighting and sharp details. Well done, tfs.

daddo (28748) 2013-10-21 15:59

Hi Gert. Thank goodness it wasn't a giant bat stake. Incredible colours here, wonderful light. The composition is well thought out- the almost central triangular shape cast by the shadows is echoed by the architectural form on the left and its shadow and even to a lesser degree by the robed man on the right. I wonder what the place looks like now. Regards. Klaudio.

bayno (18348) 2013-10-21 22:41

Hello Gert,
if you wrote that post was the result is a scan no one would have noticed, charming place and very warm light, in the large version we can appreciate the beautiful details, lovely colors...human presence give us proportion and dynamism...good one,
best regards,
Valter

Vasa (515) 2013-10-24 15:34

I am following with big interest the subject of earth construction. This photo from Algeria is a nice example, Gert. Many thanks friend. The shot also approuve your long and rich experience in photo. Here you are the General four stars.

Branko

adores (46979) 2013-10-24 16:45

Hi Gert!
Another good old one! I like the composition with just two persons on the street, their shadows and specially the architecture of these little red houses. Simple and very nice architecture. The colours, details and textures are excellent!
You have done a great job with the scanner!

Angshu (56760) 2013-10-29 0:11

Hello Gert
These mud structures are truly fascinating! What I liked a lot was the light...which created a pastel hue on this image. The white robed men contrast well with the structure as does the clear blue sky. Except for the electric pole, this picture could be from any time prior...Good work!
Best Regards
Angshu

CLODO (45116) 2013-11-01 11:18

Hi Gert

The low sun which stretches the men's shadows increase also the orange hues of the walls, contrasting well with the blue sky. A daily street life in North Africa.
Cheers
CLODO

rigoletto (34279) 2013-11-02 6:33

beautiful ochre colors, from where the ochre tones are probably the most beautiful. shadows on the walls add more curiosity and interest. the architecture is almost similar to harran (where they threw stones at you? lol)

Miguel82 (47110) 2013-11-04 7:29

Dear Gert, your photo has a high quality even better than nowadays pictures, very authentic desert scene of the past, I like these ochres walls, high definition
All the best, good afternoon

jmdias (114424) 2013-11-25 0:23

gert

fantastic the contrast between the colors of the buildings and the sky. the presence of the white personages is very nice too. I wanted to see more about the architectonic elements at left, they look very nice. an old image with a marvelous quality.

hugs

jorge

fritzi007 (14698) 2014-12-21 15:24

Hallo Gert,
incredible colors (including the dovecote) very good comment, congratulations!

many greetings
Wolfgang

Matyas (0) 2015-06-30 0:47

Hello Gert! Amazing brightness, wonderfull colours. Superb exposure and capture. Good contrast and sharpness. Marvelous work. Regards!

unclehotshot (4004) 2015-10-30 9:28

Hej Gert.
Dette er formodentlig ikke den blå time... kunne det mon være den røde? Det er et lækkert billede med nogle pragtfulde arkitektoniske detaljer - og linjen mellem de røde bygninger og den blå himmel er meget markant. De 2 hvide gents (med deres skygger) og telefonmasten er dejlige detaljer. Jeg får helt lyst til at se stedet i virkeligheden.
Hav en god weekend, kære Gert.
bedste hilsner Frank

mcmtanyel (67819) 2017-02-11 21:23

Hello Gert,
I am fascinated by the rich colors and textures in this fame, this is a nice ad for Kodachrome 64, I remember they were well known for their rich color.
Regards,
MT

COSTANTINO (115699) 2020-09-12 22:55

Hello dear friend and have a nice day
and a happy Sunday
looking at your photos I am feeling
that you are very lucky to have so
many beautiful and important photos
into your archives
this red color draws my attention
indeed,thanks for your useful notes
regards
cOSTANTINO