Tripoli Libya
Tripoli, Libya 1960
A boy buys bread on the streets of Tripoli. The vendor picks the bread up with a skewer while holding a newspaper in his left hand. He will wrap the young man’s purchase in the newspaper. The fellow on the left seems to be doing the family’s shopping as well. He has set his baskets down and is ready to choose his bread.
It is the custom for the men to do the shopping in Islamic countries. The street belongs to the men. The home is the women’s domain.
This scene is still played out all over North Africa…including the men shoppers, the newspaper wrapping and the push cart. Except for the old cars in the background, this could be any present-day rural city. Although most men in North Africa now wear western clothing, you still see the djellaba and the serwal-chemise. The embroidered vest, which seems to be a remnant from the Ottoman Empire, is seldom seen.
I turned this into a black and white for the realism. My scan of the old slide lacked enough contrast. It was easier to remedy this fault in black and white. And it represents reality.
Vintage Tripoli
In this version, I’ve saturated and brightened the colors making the photo look like a drawing. I like this look. It reminds me of the illustrations from children’s books of the 1930’s. I used Lucis software among other techniques.
There is no end of variations when you use the electronic darkroom. I sit here with my coffee, sometimes I have music playing, and I am lost in my photo-dreams. Such fun. When ever I meet a bored person, I say to myself, “He (she) needs Photoshop!”