Close Encounter of the Third Kind.

Why is it a good picture?

Timing. One second earlier or later and you wouldn't have had the juxtaposition of the first woman's embarassed gesture of the hand in the same frame as the woman in the bikini.

Why does it work?


Partly timeliness. Muslim vs. non-Muslim relations have been much in the news as of late. When the hysteria over Islam in American finally dies down, the picture may actually appear to be a bit more banal. But right now it captures the zeitgeist.

Or how could it be improved?

I don't think it can. It works perfectly for what it is. The fact that the last woman's sweatpants are wet below the knee (indicating that she's been swimming in those clothes) is a wonderful little detail.

Hi Saad,
Sometimes, the image does not have to be technically perfect to be a great picture, and this is one of them. In fact who cares if this had blown highlights or not composed perfectly? The message is about diversity, culture, and each acknowledging the presence of the other. The emotions were captured perfectly! As someone said in their post, what were the fully clad women thinking or for that matter, what was the woman in the bikini thinking? This image provides a great commentary on today's culture clash or coexistence if you will!
wonderful image!
murali

I understand the idea of the meeting of two cultures, but it is not a strong, dramatic representation of it.

I definitely see what Andrew means but that almost seems like part of its strength. The photo capture a moment where two cultures are refusing to have any contact with each other. I honestly don't know how women in Islamic dress and secular dess normally interact in whatever country this is (and I assume Turkey). If you showed a photo of a guy in a Yankee shirt buying a lens from a Hasidic Jew at B&H Photo nobody would give it a second thought. But there wouldn't be the same gesture of embarassment or sense that it's forbidden for a religious Muslim woman to look at a secular woman in a bikini.

"In fact who cares if this had blown highlights or not composed perfectly? The message is about . . ."

In general this statement strikes me as odd. We're talking about photographs, not written messages. A photograph is something visual. So what we see and how we see it counts. A "message" can be written as a paragraph. Someone could write about diversity and then what it looks like would be unimportant. But when someone takes a photograph, what it looks like is very important. A photograph is, in most cases, much more than a message. It's something to look at.

To me an enjoyable photo study. And essay in itself. Both the young lady with the bikini and her lower back tattoo and the three who probably want to look,or are curious to look and know they are constrained from looking by their religion and custom. And yes we get to do both, the beauty of photos. Voyeur viewers. Like the alert photographer who catches the tableau. Only thing instinctively I feel, using empathy, for both maiden and ladies, is those bare tootsies on the rocks. No way to get around the hotfoot . All bipeds share it. Ouch. A good eye at work. Thanks, Saad. A good image I would be happy to have in my portfolio.

Well, as the others have pointed out, it is a bit of a cliche idea. To second the "Hassidic Jew at B&H" idea, if this was a picture of a group of nuns at a Las Vegas casino, it might be mildly picture-worthy in a Whoopi Goldberg, Rowan Atkinson, Adam Sandler, Woody Allen, Benny Hill slapstick way, but would hardly merit any further consideration. I'm wondering if this idea is not merely "newsworthy" because we have been conditioned by the Western media to "expect the worst" from these confrontations of "modernity" and "backward" Islamic culture.
IMO, the image itself, shorn of its cultural context is hardly noteworthy unless to publicize the abject stupidity of the lady on the left wearing a bikini in a snowy mountain. However, as Alberta points out, this is no photo, but a photo-collage, and a poor one at that (no shadow for the bikini girl). Viewed as a photo collage, it comes across as a contrived attempt at poking fun as the "backwardness" of a particular group of people, which is rather in poor taste.

Well, as the others have pointed out, it is a bit of a cliche idea. To second the "Hassidic Jew at B&H" idea, if this was a picture of a group of nuns at a Las Vegas casino, it might be mildly picture-worthy in a Sasha Baron Cohen, Whoopi Goldberg, Rowan Atkinson, Adam Sandler, Woody Allen, Benny Hill slapstick way, but would hardly merit any further consideration. I'm wondering if this idea is not merely "newsworthy" because we have been conditioned by the Western media to "expect the worst" from these confrontations of "modernity" and "backward" Islamic culture.
IMO, the image itself, shorn of its cultural context is hardly noteworthy unless to publicize the abject stupidity of the lady on the left wearing a bikini in a snowy mountain. However, as Alberta points out, this is no photo, but a photo-collage, and a poor one at that (no shadow for the bikini girl). Viewed as a photo collage, it comes across as a contrived attempt at poking fun as the "backwardness" of a particular group of people, which is rather in poor taste.

Sometimes I wonder if we get so used to the "ideal" light that we don't even see the beauty in this sort of lighting. I don't know that there would be any other lighting here that would reveal this image as well. Like snow, the exposure is difficult, as Saad mentions and we all know from experience, and it was generally handled very well.

As to the cultural divide, I really don't know much about proper etiquette for these clothed women when confronted by a semi naked woman but one would have to surmise that possibly it is not proper to look? I suggest this not only because I don't know anything about the culture but I don't see any other reason for their looking away, unless they just cracked a joke and want to keep it private. They do seem to be more amused than embarrassed from my viewpoint. Maybe what I think is the irony here is that we would expect such a "joke" behavior had there been three westernized women in bikini's passing a woman fully clothed and covered walking to the shore--western boorishness maybe. But possibly the western woman was not even part of any of their response here and they are as absorbed in what they are doing as the woman in the bikini appears to be.

The composition actually works well here and I do believe the image is a bit more loaded because of the contrast between the two younger woman. As someone mentioned, the two old women seem to provide a buffer between the two but they also complete the bridge that has us visually bouncing between the two youths. Ironically, both of these younger woman have chosen garb of the same color and each actually is wearing a scarf on their heads, as differently as their clothes are. The three clothed woman all have indications that they have waded in the water to their knees and thus one must conclude that the bikini'd woman is on her way to it. The younger covered woman seems to be averting her eyes more than her seniors seem to be doing and this does add emphasis to her. The woman in the bikini, unlike the others, seems to be more in her own world, figuratively as well as physically.

Overall, I think it is a well done image as to technique and composition and like the movement. I think the tension that might have been is a bit watered down by the laughter, but I like the irony of that for its own sake. A nice image.
(this isn't a collage, the shadow is hidden by the uphill nature of the terrain--almost hidden but not quite totally)

First, let me say that the composition, light isn't bad. It's good but not anything special imo...Sure, it is tech well done. Good job! Having said that, it's just doesn't strike me as interesting...

Go to any beach in a liberal or moderate Islamic country such as Malaysia, Indonesia, or, say, Turkey and you will see the photo isn't rare at all. Most muslims women are all dressed up on the beach. Yes, they go into the water fully dress if they go in at all. They don't look at people in the face/eyes, especially caucasians women in a bikini. Heck, they always look down, even toward me...and I'm Asian in t-shirt and pants. The elder leads and younger ones follow and most of them are on their mobile/cell phone chattin' it away.

Anyways, I find the American and Muslim culture both strikingly similar. They are wasteful, excessive, Masculine to the core, and drive like maniacs in their huge SUV (with music way too loud)...the sad fact (big, big irony)is that they just don't know it yet. As for the photo, it shows how they (Muslims/Caucasian) just ignore each other, if anything. For me. it just a random (but well done) shot, another day on the beach. I could understand how the typical American will eat it up or find it worthy and "immediately recognizable." I personally find the title "Close Encounter of the Third Kind" belittling, alienating, if anything...

What a photo! The elves chose a photo that offers so much to talk about both technically and culturally. I really can't wait to get to my

laptop so I can write a long-winded boring response. Photos like this really get me excited about photography and culture!

Very beautiful image...two young woman look gentle and beautiful in each their own way... to me they are the same . It looks that girl in the pants and shirt just become more aware of her own body....
Excellent image! :)

Pff. Lucky average decadent tourist shot. Thank you photonet but no thanks

One aspect of this photo which apparently has been lost amidst all this derivative deconstruction, is the fact that it

depicts one of the world's great and storied and magical places. Pamukkale is NOT a beach, but it is a UNESCO

World Heritage site with a great deal of history (many centuries) in addition to it's obvious cultural diversity (which is

actually pretty typical of Turkey, the country that spans two continents and both political hemispheres). 

Isn't the simple fact of this spectacular location reason enough to award this image POW honors? To me it is. Granted

that there are more beautiful views of Pamukkale available to photographers, and this particular juxtaposition of East

meets West isn't cutting-edge unique - but how about that calcium carbonate backdrop. That didn't catch anyone's

eye? This photo moves me to want to visit Turkey, and that alone makes it a successful image. Why shouldn't it be

POW?

My immediate reaction to this image was the lighting...rather bright with no real drama...next I notice how involved each person was to themselves..sad, but I understand.
This image has cause me to think about "cultures" and why we are as we are. If a photo speaks a thousand words then it has done just that.
Overall I like this image especially coming from the USA and not a common site...thought provoking indeed.

Odd odd photo. Not sure if bikini babe is pasted in or not and first Muslim woman is "Dude looks like a lady". The standard line would be "What doesn't belong"? For me neither look to be in place here.

It's a fine photo if not remarkable photographically. Strong composition and nice exposure, sharpness, and freezing of motion. Nice lines in the background and nice coincidence of forms with the edges of the frame. The setting is neat and adds a lot to it. Not being able to see the bikini wearers face weakens it quite a bit IMO. It is interesting and it tells a cultural story but frankly there are millions of photographs that do that, many to stronger effect in the end. It comes off as a tourist snapshot basically, a well done one, and there's nothing wrong with that. It's understandable. It's surreptitious, from afar, etc. - it's about the best you could do to catch this moment that does illustrate something about cultural differences. Not an image that would stay with me long though.

@Patrick as far as I know we aren't allowed to talk about whether it deserves to be POTW, only to critique the photo.

This picture is not about integration. There are no traces about it in this picture because the two kind of people have not established any relationship... To me this is a beautiful shot that tells about changes in modern society. Light and composition are good enough in this reportage picture ;)

Turkish women are laughing and trying to avoid the second glance - this IS the story in this great photo.

I find it by the way worth reflecting on that the bare angle of the first very dressed lady stands out more naked than the bikini girls and all her bare skin. Nakedness is something very relative in various cultures that all are to be respected. The refusal of even eye contact between the two says - more than million words.

really, I thought the first dressed lady was talking on the cellphone and loughing on her own!
Marco

I see plenty of detail in the brightest parts of the photo, and more than sufficient detail in the darkest parts of the photo, so the exposure is fine. This shot isn't supposed to be beautiful art with sculpted-by-light naked bodies and some profound lethargic uninspired facial expression from some boring over the top trashy model. The composition IN MY OPINION, is exactly what I would expect from a photo in this context, and where it should be. The only way this particular photo could really be better is if it were a fraction of a second later to capture more "motion" in the strides of the two women on the far ends.

I don't see the lighting as flat as people claim. Maybe I'm the only one that sees the reflected light on all the figures. That reflected light I think is what keeps the darks from getting too dark. The problem with the critiques that this image is getting, or rather criticisms, is that some people don't realize that if you, as the photographer did what they are suggesting, you would NOT have gotten THIS image. Someone said the girl in the bikini has no shadow on her and someone else said that she was added by photoshop..... REALLY? You must be using iPhones to view the picture or something.

This is the first photo that I've liked as POW in a very long time.

Very nice POW and captured.Many things are remarkable in this shot,the same as;Composition,the shadows,differences between group of people and how they refuse to watch her!
Good job.
Regards(Bobby).

I like the juxtaposition of cultures that this photo highlights.

Finally a photo interesting to be discussed. It is a picture that presents not only the difference between cultures, but how one views the other. If we look at the expression of women, they are upside down, perhaps ashamed. One of them is laughing. The woman with bikini goes the distance, possibly without bothering with the other. In addition, she is back. Do not know if I repeat here what others have said, but I can not see here something like "respect for diversity." Instead, in the picture we see the clear difference and distance between the two cultures.

After looking at this more I don't know that it even shows what we are assuming it shows. I think the first woman is talking on her cel phone. You can see it in her face. She's also smiling and laughing a bit, just like you would if you were having an enjoyable conversation on your cel phone, and just like you would not do if you were turned off by the inappropriate attire of someone. Her fingers are also cradled and not outstretched the way they would be if you were creating blinders with your hand. She's also staring blankly down and ahead the way people do when they are talking on the phone. The other two women do seem to be averting their eyes, but are we to think though that this is the first woman who has ever walked around here in clothes like this? Do these women avert their eyes at every person who doesn't conform to their standards of modesty?