Years ago I visited Paris and as it happens, I took photos of everything, so I can be able to show the places I've been to at home, to those who didn't have the chance to accompany me. The person I was with told me, I'm like the Chinese (no offense intended here), as they are the ones photographing everything.
It can seem annoying to those who are not into photography or posting on different platform, but they are basically robbing themselves of quite a lot, without even realizing it. Memories can fade away quickly, especially, when you see so much in such a short time. Even with the best intentions, your brain can't store everything and definitely not as you see things, but looking at the photos can refresh your memories pretty quickly.
Today I came across these photos I took in October 2023, at an exhibition hosted in a medieval tower. These venues make the whole experience more exciting and I wish more and more medieval buildings would be used for such purposes. It's not so easy to find a place for the art to be exhibited, but there's always a way.
This was a photo exhibition and I'm not entirely sure, but it's possible the theme was tradition. The photo on display shows how tradition is kept alive, even if it's only on special days. Small villages, small communities are the ones that holding the fort in this regard and it would be a pleasure to participate in such an event once. Looking at those beautiful folk costumes worth it alone.
For some, it could be a disturbing image, but if you have a closer look, it can be quite a nice experience. The church and the graveyard can have a deeper significance in small villages as that's where history is preserved. Add some fog and a lovely orange light and you get a really mysterious photo.
This photo, as amazing and interesting it is, it remains a puzzle for me. I can't decide if it's a photo manipulation (some kind of photoshop work) or it's real. It seems less real as who in their right mind would leave such a small window for such a big animal. From photographic point of view it's an amazing shot though, even if it would be manipulated.
This photo has a significant meaning and if you're not from Transylvania or Hungary, then you'll need some explanation to be able to understand what you see here.
This is an old Easter tradition called locsolás, which means sparkling or watering, but I prefer the first one, even though the latter is what these guys were doing.
Watering (in the case of girls as "watering" is a locsolkodás Central European Easter tradition. According to this custom, from dawn on Easter Monday, the boys water the familiar girls with water, more recently primarily with fragrant cologne or other, more funny ways.
They called it water-shooting Monday, because even fifty years ago, in its widespread form, they sprinkled buckets of water, or threw the girls in the drinking trough, who were in their most beautiful clothes for the noble occasion. Nowadays, this method of watering is primarily cultivated in rural and small-town environments, mainly (but not exclusively) traditional groups.
Nowadays, the more delicate form has spread, when, after the recitation of a watering poem, a fragrant perfume – in the case of teenage or young adult girls – in the case of a floral, soda siphon or the garden slag – the sprinkler boys deserve the painted red, decorated, e.g. embroidered eggs.
As the quote says, nowadays they do it anymore, or there's the modern version, using perfume, but there was a time (brutal times I'd say), when many women died due to this stupid tradition. Easter usually is celebrated in March or April, two cold months and back in those days
meningitis and pneumonia were not treatable diseases.
The photo is amazing, it shows tradition in every sense of the word, but looking at ti from ladies' perspective, it's brutal.
100% tradition, if I can say that. Three young ladies, dressed in traditional folk costumes, looking in, through a hand carved, traditional wooden gate. It must be an honor to wear those valuable dresses. I can't even begin to imagine how much time goes into creating them. It's a fantastic photo in my opinion.
It's good to be different, even at the cost of standing out. It takes courage, but worth it, for sure. I love this photo, how it is framed, respecting the rule of third.
What do you say to an exhibition room like this? Where once soldiers were watching the enemy through those small holes that now serve as windows and were shooting them in order to defend their people. I've been to a few such places and even though each bastion or tower is different, the feeling you experience is the same.
Last, but not least, a photo of modern days, to bring you back to the present. (I hope you won't notice the thing that should not be there.)
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