Sometimes, when you’re on the move, you need to sit down and relax. I sat down at this sheesha place in The Old City of Jerusalem – the capital of Israel. my thought was to sit down and smoke nargileh (a Middle Eastern tobacco pipe in which the smoke is drawn through water) with fruit tobacco, but as it turned out, this was a sheesha place. I’ve always thought that sheesha and nargileh is synonyms for the same thing, but as it turns out nargileh is the fruit version, while sheesha is the strong, pure tobacco version. The taste of sheesha was disgusting: it tasted like tobacco – strong tobacco, almost like a cigar, but I found the whole scene interesting, so I took these shots. They’re all shot on ISO 6400 because of the poor lighting conditions.
Cardinal Guzman 
Epic!
Thanks Lizard!
I would enjoy a long leisurely stay ~~
If it was a nargileh place, I’d stay for hours. This tobacco is just too strong for my taste, but the coffee was great!
I suppose I should correct my statement — the atmosphere depicted in your photos — makes it appear to be a place to spend a leisurely afternoon. I like the smell of pipe tobacco as long as it is not overpowering.
Pipe tobacco is bearable, sometimes even pleasant, but cigarettes smell really bad in my opinion.
Agreed 😀
Great great shots. Well done!
Thank you Michael!
Lovely vintage feel to these pics: I love this type of gallery – still miss the like button though…
Thanks. I felt a bit inspired by the works of photographers such as John Thomson and Ara Güler when I edited these photos.
There’s some homework for me!
Here’s something to help you:
http://www.araguler.com.tr
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Thomson_(photographer)
Thanks!
Terrific takes, CG! With this ISO I would expect to see some noise, but I don’t see any. Wonderfully processed too 🙂
I see a lot of noise, but I’m a pixel-peeper 🙂 Sometimes noise can add to the atmosphere in a photo/scene, so it isn’t always bad.
I know, and I sometimes add it on purpose :D. Hubby is also pixel-peeper.
Your hubby is a good man!
😉
I’d love to visit but no smoking for me, no matter the tobacco. Excellent shots, Cardinal.
janet
Thank you Janet. In that case I can recommend the coffee.
looks like a good place to take a break and watch the world
Yes, it’s good and necessary to sit down and relax from time to time.
Beautiful shots, Cardinal – the grain really adds to the atmosphere.
Thanks Richard. I wish I had an external flash, then I would have used it on some of the photos.
GREAT!! Love every image in this galery, well done!
Tusen takk Dina 😀
I’m sorry it wasn’t what you were expecting but the photos are wonderful!
Thank you Lisa. I got some good shots, so it was still worth it.
Great photos.. wow.
Thanks.
Outstanding pics
😀
walking through Jerusalem must be a great experience!
Walking in Jerusalem is an interesting experience, even for a non-religious person like myself.
You’ve captured the atmosphere brilliantly. And you have taught me the difference between sheesha and nargileh. Thanks!
Thank you Daniel. I didn’t know the difference myself, but I learned that day.
stunning!
Like Paula said, the ISO works beautifully, brilliant post process and stunning atmosphere….
Dhanyavad Shabnam. I’m glad you like my post processing.
The subject, the atmosphere, the captures, the portraiture, sab kuch (your Hindi is super!) this series is fab!
Amazing shots!!! You are so good.
Thanks Laura, you’re good too 🙂
Thank you so much Cardinal….coming from you that means a lot.
Great atmosphere to these photos! 🙂
I’m glad you liked them Mr. Lakey.
Really nice series, Cardinal G
Thank you Lynne.
Who cares about ISO 6400? These are all great shots, and I wouldn’t have even noticed the grain if you hadn’t mentioned it. Rick Sammon, a photographer who’s work I admire has a saying that as far as I’m concerned are words to live by. “If a picture is so boring you notice the noise, you’ve got a boring picture.”
Let’s just say, I didn’t see any noise in these fine photographs 😉
Thank you very much Jeff. I like that quote by Rick Sammon.
Words to live by my friend. What’s really funny with all the hoopla over high ISO-low noise pixel peeping community is that noise, even at relatively high levels, doesn’t show up much in an actual print. At least that’s been my experience with normal size prints. Something really large and with a lot of dark areas might be different. Though even on a large print, the only people who will even notice it are other photographers.
I wrote this in your post on the photographers curse, but I’ll post it here as well:
For a while I was posting photos in a photographers forum. Everyone there are pixel peepers, so it kind of ruined my experience. They almost never bother to comment on photos and when they do, their main concerns are things like: there’s a small corner that’s slightly burnt out, the water in the river is burnt out, too much noise, etc, etc. Plus: the only photos that do get comments there (every single time), is bird photos. So, now I hardly post anything there.
I think forums are for people with a lot of free time on their hands who would rather pick apart other peoples photos instead of concentrating on improving their own.
Very good series.
Wow, so many images! All good.
Fabulous tones and atmosphere Cardinal plus that coffee looks so good!
Oh!! I just love these shots…and i think the high ISO makes it look better…the grains seem to add drama…
Thank you very much my friend in India.
Really beautiful shots. I like the feel of them in that they seem timeless. The lighting is awesome and I like the way the images shift from black and white to subtly colored. Beautiful work!
Thanks for a lovely comment KiwiBee. I didn’t think about it before, but you’re right: there’s something timeless going on here. These photos could have been taken a long time ago and many years from now, a photographer can probably go there and take similar photos.
Nice gallery, I agree that it is sometimes it is nice to just sit and experience a place, I think these photos convey that well.
Thanks. I love sitting down and relaxing, especially on a hot day after I’ve walked a lot.
Yeah, I just love moments like that.
Shots look great, despite the high ISO. You’ve really captured the unique atmosphere/ambience of the place
Thank you Stevie. Sometimes you just have to shoot on high ISO to be able to capture things. The choice between blurry or noisy was an easy choice in this setting.
This is so true. Sometimes we have to sit down and stop when we’re on the move to appreciate what’s around us…like stop and smell the roses, and in your case, stop and smell the sheesha. That sheesha place looks interesting, I never knew such a place existed. Now I do.
Cranking up the ISO high. Worked well, I see 🙂
Yes, it’s essential to take time to just enjoy life, wherever you are.
Fantastic, nothing quite like a nice sitting in a coffee bar/sheesha bar and enjoy the people & scene.
I couldn’t agree more!
Perhaps my favorite part of life…simple and so rich. Cheers!
Great set. I was recently in Doha, Qatar, where the Sheesha is (also) King. And Queen.
Nice. I hope to see some pictures from the trip in your blog.
very interesting