Life On Photos

Looking at the photos I'm going to post today made me realize I'm going to have a lot of explaining to do as you won't understand what you see, or miss the meaning. It's not a bad thing and I'm glad I can share the necessary information with you and help you understand the culture, or history better. These photos are from the International Hungarian Photo Salon of 2022.

Being Hungarian At Bözöd

There's no way you can understand what you see or what the title means, but no worries as here comes the explanation.

This is an aerial photo of the lake, which coves an entire village. In plain English, there's a whole village under the water.

The Bözödújfalusi Reservoir (or Bözödi Lake for short, Romanian: Lacul Bezid) is an artificial lake in Romania, Transylvania, Maros County, on the Küsmöd River, a left tributary of the Kis-Küküllő. Bözödújfalu stood in the place of the lake, which was flooded, and today only a few buildings in a dilapidated condition remain from the village. According to the official position, the lake was created for flood protection purposes, but according to many, it was a harbinger of the planned destruction of villages in Romania. Dam construction began in 1975, stopped in 1977, but resumed in 1984, and the lake's water level reached its current height by 1992. source

While looking at the photo, for a second I was thinking it would be interesting to go diving and make and underwater film about the village, but the next moment I knew that would be a very bad idea. I don't think I could handle seeing the village underwater, emotionally. Personally I had no connection to anyone living and relocated from there, but you don't have to have any connection with the people from there, to feel the pain. Imagine being removed from your home and forced to live elsewhere because those were the orders from above. Leave everything behind, your ancestors' property, everything. Cemeteries were relocated too.

After the village was flooded, only the tower of the church was visible, till one day, when it collapsed. As far as I know the tower was rebuilt after. Not long ago, in July, when we visited the straw hat museum in Kőrispatak (Crișeni), we passed by the lake, but it's heartbreaking.

Blue Rhythm

It took me a couple of minutes to realize what I am seeing and must say it's a brilliant one. On a second thought, I'm not going to say anything about this. Let's see if you can figure out what this is. I'm throwing you all under the bus :D

The Good Direction

Another brilliant one in my opinion. I don't know if the shot was spontaneous or the photographer asked the gentleman to model for the photo, but either way, it's a very good one. How he framed the photo, capturing the floral design on the wooden fence and the dark blue sky is a plus to all.

Hungarian Bread from Hungarian Wheat

This photo was awarded with the silver medal and I fully agree with it. I keep repeating myself, but this is brilliant as well. That piece of bread represents life. It is the work of their two hands, from the beginning to the end. From sowing the grain, harvesting the crop, making flour out of it and then later baking bread. I love homemade bread with with a crispy crust, would gladly accept that bread.

As about the photograph, look at the tone of it, the harmony of the colors, between the wooden barn, bread and the old lady's face and clothes.

Sheet Music

When I first saw this photo, without looking at the title, my first thought was @mipiano 😂. Some of you, who know her, might know why. She's a piano master and those fences look like sheet music. Then I looked at the title of the photo and what do you think it was? 😁
This photo took third place, bronze medal by the way. It's a brilliant one. (Yeah, I know ...)

Plain In Winter

Most likely the photo was taken in Hungary, a country that is plain, its mountains can't be called mountains compared to the Carpathians or the Alps. Wind is blowing constantly. So what you see on the photo is a very common scene, however, it's not easy to capture it as those birds are not going to act on your command. This photo also got a silver at another category.

Until the Last Moment

Another excellent photo with deep meaning, that was awarded with a bronze medal. I'm a bit confused about this one as the photo participated in the What does it mean to be Hungarian category, but instead, it reminds me of the Holocaust, when Jews were forced to leave their homes with very little. Moments of life, I'd say.

In The Sunshine

Son Of An Imprisoned Country

This photo was awarded gold medal in the 200th Anniversary of the Birth of Sándor Petőfi category. Sándor Petőfi was a Hungarian poet and liberal revolutionary, who died at the young age of 26, fighting for the freedom of his country, Hungary. This is not his portrait and can't figure out what techniques were used to create the image.

My Mother's Chicken

How on Earth can you capture such a photo? The photographer must have been on the ground, to shoot from that angle, but the photo is brilliant. This photo got a bronze in the 200th Anniversary of the Birth of Sándor Petőfi category.

Now you may wonder what this photo has to do with the poet. Sándor Petőfi has a famous poem called My Mother's Chicken, which is taught in school. I tried to find an English translation of the poem, which I did, but the translation is terrible, the poem in English doesn't make any sense, so I'd better not post the link to it.

While writing this post, I was thinking how we all are trying to figure out what a painter meant, by looking at the painting or artwork and the title. But what about in case of photography? These photos all have a title. How would you name your photos? This is an inverse situation now and I'm glad I don't have to name my photos as I would be in trouble, most likely 😁

Let me know which one is your favorite, if you have one at all.

If you're a newbie, you may want to check out these guides: