Cars of 2007, Senegal, I, for Mousson by Elcet
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Description
I will now upload photos for about one month, then return to 2D and 3D drawings. This is the first of a series done in Senegal in March 2007. This shot was taken at the Langue de Barbarie (Barbarian’s Tongue), in front of the town of Saint-Louis du Sénégal. The Langue de Barbarie is a harbour of fishermen where their families are living in extremely poor conditions (I hope to show you their boats later). But now let us talk about their cars! WHY in 2007 keep manufacturing these crude vehicles? Because horse-powered cars have a lot of advantages on petrol ones. They are technically much simpler: no power-steering, no suspension (two old tires can do the same job as four new ones), no need to cool the engine, no dust that has to be filtered, only very simple brakes, no driving licence, no expansive petrol to use (remember that Senegal has to buy petrol to foreign countries), just some straw suffices for lengthy miles. They can use very damaged paths, where only off-road trucks can go. The "engine" is good for two years or some 12,000 miles, I shall show you what happens then. After that, of course, you have to replace it. But it is so simple that even a youngster can do it. These vehicles can be produced in simple village workshops, no need to pay them in dollars to China or Korea, and the taxes are minimal.
Let us come now to techdata for the photographers that could be interested. This pict was done with a Nikon D70 and the Nikkor 3.5-4.5/18-70 Pro ED lens at 40mm, aperture-priority automatic, 1/125s at f/8. The original pict lacked both contrast and sharpness because of a lot of dust floating in the air. So I began to enhance it with an Adjustment Layer Levels. I retouched with the menu Image > Adjustments > Dark and light tones of Photoshop CS3, then I had a decent modeling. I went to Image > Mode > Lab colors and I selected the L channel. I applied to the sole L channel a moderate Filter > Sharpen. Then I came back to the RGB mode. You can enjoy a much better image now than the original one!
I dedicate this pict to my friend Rosely (Mousson), who has an enchanting gallery of Asian images and such a marvelous heart for poor and exploited people and victims of wars. Don’t miss my next car!
Comments (20)
Zorg1955
Excellent texte pour une image de rue superbe Edouard !
Platin
Unbelievable,no cars, the time stands still in Senegal!!!
kitzie21
I was in Dakar and Rufisque about a month ago and was very surprised by the number of horse-drawn carriages they use. It's very unexpected but when you think about it, it is kind of a perfect, eco-friendly option. Not to mention it gives their cities a certain languid, 19th century grace. Did you happen to take any picture of their buses? They are pretty priceless too. This is a beautiful photo, as vibrant and colorful as Senegal itself. Well done.
artaddict2
Amazing shot, it has everything as a quality photo, and yet have only horse and carts for travel. thanks for sharing this with us.
Severine
J'ai eu besoin d'un traducteur pour lire le texte lol Je trouve cela très interessant, de plus la photo est très réussie !
pixelmeister
trishabadblood
wow..no cars ...excellent capture...
RBlue
Hey, you can mate your cars this way, too! They get 20 miles a bale of hay and have no need for air bags. Only pollution factor? Road apples.
2Loose2Trek
I've read horror stories about horse exhaust in the streets of New York before the age of the electric streetcar. But this doesn't look too bad. BTW, after two years of use, I'm almost afraid to see what happens to these horses. But I'm always happy to see lands with NO cars. I gave my car to a charity several years ago and have never looked back. The evil they've wrought can never completely be told. BTW I primarily ride a bicycle. I love horses, but they require a lot of upkeep, e.g., food, water, shelter, bedding, etc.. I should think that bicycles would be a good substitute for horses, particularly in a country such as this. Excellent shot Edouard!!!
helanker
OH Yes, if they should have cars, they should have better roads, or it doesnt pay having cars at all and so on. Yes the time seems to stand still in that place. Maybe they dont have quite as much air pollution. Very nice shot. Thanks for sharing this.
Valerie-Ducom
Une photo qui me rappelle le Zaïre avec cette couleur et la poussière qui vole. Une scène incroyable, sans voiture, encore de nos jours. Par contre, il faut pas aller bien loin pour voir des situations similaires, par exemple, le Portugual du Sud où certaines maisons n'ont pas encore eau et électricité courantes et de rouler sur des chemins de pierres! Excellent mon grand ! Bon weekend :)
dphoadley
Excellent! DPH
Richardphotos
I love it. I have seen other pictures of the same country here on Renderosity and I look forward to yours
Domi48
J'aime beaucoup: est-ce qu'on est sur Terre? (sans ironie méprisante) Merci de ton dernier commentaire sur mon paysage, constructif et des précédents également. Je vais essayer ta suggestion.
Mousson
Fantastique! La creativité et capacité d´adaptation de l´être humain sont formidables et existent sous toutes les latitudes! Il faut que je commence à faire l´Afrique Noire un de ces jours! Pardon pour le retard dans le commentaire, mais j´ai fait une chutte et je me suis presque cassée, surtout le bras droit, indispensable à l´ordinateur :-)) Ce n´est que maintenant que j´arrive à taper à nouveau :-))))
adonise
Wonderful capture!
Ptitchouette
Illustration parfaite de la condition inchangée de l'Afrique. Pauvreté et ingéniosité restent les maîtres mots de leur subsistance quotidienne. Belle explication du traitement d'éclaircissement du cliché, la poussière étant omniprésente en saison sèche. Le regard se perd dans l'enfilade de la rue.
KarmaSong
Ces gens n'ont pas de voitures, et peu ou pas de confort, mais je crois deviner sans connaître l'Afrique du tout,mais par comparaison avec un autre des plus pauvres pays de la planète, le Népal, qu'ils n'ont pas encore troquer leurs sourires et solidarité contre notre petit confort, qui nous a fait perdre la spontanéité, la compassion et développer l'ignorance, l'indifférence et autres mesquineries...en vogue également sur ce site :-) Une belle photo qui augure d'une longue série j'espère, bravo à toi , Edouard pour nous faire partager tes photos.
GiMi53
J'ai failli rater cetteexcellentissime série de photos... Magnifique reportage, Edouard !
MrsLubner
People and animals are both well muscled and lean. The streets are even hard working ones.