A man and his donkey, a photo from Ghardaia, Inland

Photographer's Note

Back to Algeria in September 1975. This is from the probably most important of all the desert cities in the country, Ghardaïa. It's a relatively large city and the "capital" of the M'Zab Valley, roughly 600 km south of Algiers, which in its entirety has been declared a UNESCO world heritage site.

I can't say anything in particular about this photo. I spent quite a lot of time in the central market square of Ghardaïa and the surrounding streets, taking as many photos as my expensive and limited stock of Kodachrome films allowed. I am quite sure this man wasn't really posing, but obviously he was watching me with a certain interest.

A majority of the population in the M'Zab Valley, called Mozabites, are followers of the possibly oldest islamic school, founded soon after the death of the prophet Muhammad, when neither the Sunni nor Shia denominations had yet been established.

The city of Ghardaïa is surrounded by a number of small towns, most of them within walking distance (under the scorching sun) and all with their own character. They have in common a unique style of architecture, which is one of the criteria for the world heritage classification.

Through the years I have been active on TE I have off and on posted a number of photos from the M'Zab Valley, including views of the architecture, but also portraits, like this nice girl (one of my personal favourites) and this angry girl.

Here is a larger version of today's photo. As I already hinted, it was scanned from a Kodachrome slide.

pajaran, papagolf21, ikeharel, Fis2, Royaldevon, macjake, pierrefonds, sacimar, jhm, ktanska, kasianowak, PaulVDV, PiotrF, johnjmoe, alvaraalto, Periko, CLODO, ChrisJ, worldcitizen, mcmtanyel, cornejo has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

pajaran (115751) 2019-07-29 0:15

Pozdrav.
Lep pogled i trenutak,interesantan i dobar tekst ...
Dobar rad skeniranjem slajda, lepo pokazano, dobar kontrast, lepe boje, dobro uhvacen trenutak.
Lepa fotografija i secanje.
Zelim vam sve najbolje.
Paja.

Greeting.
A nice look and a moment, interesting and good text ...
Good work by scanning slides, beautifully shown, good contrast, nice colors, well-caught moment.
Nice photo and memory.
I wish you all the best.

ifege (47931) 2019-07-29 0:19

Hi Gert
Another great one from your archives. The old donkey owner looks almost past it and I think that the donkey is pretty old as well.
cheers
Ian

papagolf21 (152607) 2019-07-29 1:16

Bonjour, cher Gert,
Je reste admiratif devant cette composition qui n'a rien perdu de son charme ni du réalisme du moment.
Les personnages sont criants de vérité.
Quant à la qualité photographique : c'est stupéfiant !
Très bonne journée.
Amitiés.
Philippe

Fis2 (170613) 2019-07-29 1:21

Witaj Gert!
Another beautiful scene from daily life.
Excellent picture from Your archive.
I love it.
Well done.
Good morning.
Krzysztof

Silvio1953 (221435) 2019-07-29 2:35

Ciao Gert, my today neighbour, nice scente with cute donkey, lovely composition with animated market, excellent clarity, splendid light, fine details and wonderful colors, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

Royaldevon (85856) 2019-07-29 3:12

Hello Gert,

Looking at photographs, like this, from your early experiences, makes me very aware of just how important photography is, at recording the very simplest of details, as well as the main focal point. Together, they give us a whole impression of so much more than just the person.
I agree with you about this man; he is not posing but taking a real interest in you and your camera. Adults are usually more discrete about being photographed, not so children, but this guy is making a strong mental record of you!
The inclusion of the donkey as a prop just makes this photograph so much more eye-catching!

(Just as an aside, I found the footwear very interesting!)

Have a lovely day,
Bev :-)

macjake (98392) 2019-07-29 3:58

Hi Gert
this is 2 months before I was born, I guess that donkey is long dead now - I wonder how long donkeys live for (25-30 years, i just looked it up). unless i'm mistaken, there's nothing really telling us this was photographed decades ago, i get the feeling you could have taken this today. the man up front and to the left is wearing interesting shoes compared to the other men wearing sandels. another pleasing visual here. cheers
Craig

pierrefonds (114325) 2019-07-29 5:08

Hi Gert,

You have captured well a daily life scene. The point of view is showing the details of the donkey. The lighthas a good effect on the colors. Have a nice day.

Pierre

sacimar (38173) 2019-07-29 6:19

Hello Gert,

another interesting image, I like the scene with the man and the donkey, people walking by in the back is also a good element in the picture, well seen,

Best regards,

Sergio

rychem (72187) 2019-07-29 8:07

I guess you were attracted not only by the donkey but also by the colorful cover, a very nice scene, almost all people go somewhere hurriedly, and only the donkey owner has a lot of time to talk :)
regards Ryszard

jhm (211736) 2019-07-29 9:27

Hello Gert,

Almost fifty year ago, the people on the picture are not more on this world!
Also not the donkey, the hoofs of the donkey are perfect carefully.
This is real a nice picture with an other culture.
Pleasant composition and splendid presentation.
Very well done, TFS.

Regards from Flemish Belgium,
John

jmdias (115030) 2019-07-29 9:49

gert

nice details of the typical market of that region. the donkey looks very sad and tired. they are very usual in this region, in portugal and spain they are extinct and in the poor regions of brazil too, swapped by motorcycles.nice details.

take care

jorge

Nicou (193806) 2019-07-29 10:44

Hello

quelle scène et image des archives quel selle rouge et décorée sur cet âne fantastique et cette personne qui s'appuie sur lui et les autres personnes fantastique
bravo et amitié
Nicou

ktanska (44714) 2019-07-29 11:06

Hej Gert,
A superb view from days gone by. Although things don't probably change quickly there I'm sure the life looks somewhat different nowadays. It is a crowded market place but people clearly are not in a hurry.
Kari

Miguel82 (47110) 2019-07-29 12:10

Gert, this is a value archive showing a market scene captured in a remoted town located in the heart of the Sahara desert. I like the traditional clothing and turbans weared by the Mozabites people to protect them against the blazing sun. The donkey looks in good health, it is a working animal. Its saddle is very colorful and draws attention.

kasianowak (17676) 2019-07-29 12:24

Hi Gert
Are you trying to make me start dreaming of going to Algeria? This is the second very attractive photo from that country you've posted recently... :-)
Here both the man and the donkey are equally important subjects. The donkey, because of its colourful attire (so to speak; I know it's a kind of saddle) and because it gives the man something to lean on (both in real and metaphorical terms I guess). The man, because of the way he's looking at you. I love this kind of mutual interaction of a traveller and a local - both openly fascinated with each other.
Best wishes
Kasia

PaulVDV (62846) 2019-07-29 12:47

Hello Gert,
You have a countryman who was quite recently in Algeria and posted a few pictures ... but meanwhile he has disappeared again.
A country you don't hear much about and I wonder if you can go there. The M'Zab is one of those very special areas in the world. That witness also your previous photos.
Here we see an attractive market scene on which the donkey bags provide the pleasant colours.
The extremely poor footwear of a number of men is striking.
Best regards, Paul

emka (158004) 2019-07-29 13:31

Hello Gert, You have wonderful pictures from Algeria. The donkey has a lovely dress. But what I like here most are the shoes. The lower part of this image is fantastic. Beautiful portrait of the donkey owner.

Kind regards Malgo

PiotrF (54514) 2019-07-29 14:12

Hello Gert,
Interesting daily life scene from Algeria .
The photos from your archive are great.
Good work, fine presentation.
Regards
Piotr

lousat (139164) 2019-07-29 15:49

Hi Gert,it's always interesting to see and read something from your country very rare to see on TE despite its very close position to Europe but that seems always dangerous for tourists. A very nice daily life view,i'm impressed by the very good quality of sharpness and colors too despite the pic made in 1975,well done! Have a nice day and thanks,Luciano

Tue (92272) 2019-07-29 20:17

Hej Gert,
Et udmærket billede med dagligdagen i denne by i Algeriet. Det er påfaldende at vi kun kan se mænd i billedet og for så vidt jeg kan se ingen kvinde. Æslet er godt kommet med i midten af billedet med sin farverige tæpe over sig.
Lars

alvaraalto (42804) 2019-07-29 21:46

Hello Gert,
I think in 1975 a Western man with a camera was a special and rare occurrence.
The different expression on the face of the girls and the man with the donkey show how different people reacted to your camera.
The link to the architecture is also of great class.
Fascinating presentation.
Have a nice day. Groet Rob

mesutilgim (0) 2019-07-30 3:40

Hello dear Gert,
Another topclass capture/TE entry from your archive.
Photographycally and informative perfect TE job. Again a perfect evidence for the fact of analogue photography. For me personally the eyecatching element is the colorfull saddle of the donkey.
TFS and best regards
MESUT ILGIM

fabianoleite (13575) 2019-07-30 5:28

Nice routine picture, with a lot of cultural content, including costume and activities. Well done, thanks for sharing!

Periko (9107) 2019-07-30 10:17

hi Gert
Not the best depth of field, in my opinion, to show this man, but the scene is interesting being so old.
A great view to the past.

tfs

Ilonka1974 (10289) 2019-07-30 11:20

Hi Gert,
Exotic scene to me, excellent documentary photo, very well managed in the light, great details.
Best regards
Janusz

CLODO (45116) 2019-08-01 0:09

Hi Gert

Nothing special as usual, but it's (it was!) the every day real life, everybody sees but do not notice.
Cheers
CLODO

ikeharel (113219) 2019-08-01 0:49

Hello Gert,
What a nice capture of a moment when the donkey owner taken a moment of rest and was watching you...
magnificent market scene from long ago, superbly scanned picture.
My best regards,
Ike

*** My latest post is a glued poster, not a painting. Added this remark to the note. Thanks.

ChrisJ (171794) 2019-08-01 3:42

Hello Gert,

A superb daily life scene of the donkey all decked out in the latest saddle in these parts! Good colour, sharpness and tight framing with no wasted space. Tfs!

gervaso (28177) 2019-08-01 17:59

Hello, Gert!

Another beautiful daily life photo from your archive! The colorful clothes of the donkey stand out beautifully here, and there are a lot of interesting details to see, such as the man looking curiously at you! Very nice job!

COSTANTINO (116349) 2019-08-02 8:01

Hello dear friend and have a nice time
and a happy weekend
according to your useful notes this photo brought
all of us back to Algeria I like this presenatation
which is full of movement and impression
it seems like a scenery from a movie film
take the right timing
your photos archive has a great treasure
of artstic photos showingdetaisla of
the past tradition
welldodne
regards
costantino

carlo62 (81265) 2019-08-03 7:10

Ciao Gert
ho visto le tue precedenti foto, tutte molto belle, sicuramente avevi già fatto delle scelte nelle precedenti pubblicazioni, ma anche questa foto è bella e interessante, un mercato che si rispetti deve essere pieno di persone....
Saluti

mrmike1935 (4871) 2019-08-07 7:15 [Comment]

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worldcitizen (16046) 2019-08-16 13:07

Hello Gert,
Now I can see that there are actually a lot of colors in this spot. :-) There's quite a bit of activity to enjoy, too, but the man in the middle seems to be enjoying his view of you. ;-) Thanks for the visit to 1970's Algeria.

mcmtanyel (68369) 2019-08-20 23:02

Hello Gert,
A lovely marketplace photo, love that colorful saddle. 👍🏻👍🏻
Regards,
MT

cornejo (61504) 2019-09-20 10:56

Hi Gert, very nice photo of this interesting scene of everyday life, very well captured in this interesting image with good sharpness, light, color and quality. A great job perfectly done, my congratulations my friend. Thank you for sharing this interesting work.

Good night and happy weekend.
All the best from southern Spain.
Angel.