Mandir

Taken some where in the state of Uttara Khand as it is now called this is one of many photographs of temples in the his 'heavenly state' that has the sacred of sacred religious pilgrimages in India.

Brooklyn Bridge NY

Yellow Cabs

Looking down from the Empire State Building!

New York 1

When I first visited NY I was cautioned to be careful, I was told that since I was more of a country person (some called me a villager!) it was a place I would not like much at all. Some told me that the busy New-Yorker was rude and never helpful so I needed to be prepared?

About a year ago when my best friend Abhik left for the states to live in Jersey, I told him he'd love NY just as I did. It wasn't just about the authentic Indian cuisine, or the joy of standing inside B&H watching the conveyor belts moving everywhere, or spending a day on the Brooklyn bridge, there was something MORE! The city has character like no other, and yes the people are helpful. Not just the Indian cab drivers, who I think believe that Manhattan is Chandani Chowk, but every one.

As a photographer the life in city is overwhelming, at times I would forget to shoot as I watched the streets teeming with people of all colours and from all walks of life.

Photography Unlimited!

The Beach

Some years ago my good friends Marius and Victor joined me on one of my absentminded walks in the Mexican town of Cabo San Lucas on the west coast that took us a secluded beach. We spent the afternoon shooting the walls of water that violently broke on the shore as we made sure the cameras never got wet.
After 3 hrs of fun we were told to leave the spot, the previous week had sen two your men sucked into the ocean. Every time I had failed to beat the waves and held my camera high never did i fear for my life, all i thought about was the camera and the shot I wanted to get. It might have been different if some one had told me the story before we began shooting.... hmmm I don't think so!

Movement

Initially when I started shooting like many others my aim was to produce those crisp clear images that would have ever one go WOW! In those days it was sin to have anything blur in the Image, one aimed at freezing everything.

Then with time once one had perfected the freezing it was time to thaw... I began experimenting with motion in a new way. Rather than have a crisp image the aim was to have a certain amount of blur in the shot to highlight the movement.

A theater environment often forces you to choose a low shutter speed to get the right exposure and this usually gives you blurry images, but if you get the balance right you can get a shot that has that crispness to it and yet highlights movement.

Lajja (लज्जा)

About a month ago I was shooting in the villages of UP where the little children were always eager to have me point my lens in their direction. Young girls however usually are very shy of being photographed and don't always look straight at the camera as many of you might have discovered, they tend to be shy. At times this tends to be rather frustrating because when you see something and begin raising your camera all at once the face will turn or hide, but when you can find some one who will give you more than a second to take the shot you are often rewarded with something that makes up for all the runaways. Lajja is the Hindi word for feeling shy.

A leaf

In my opinion the most important control that you have when photographing is the Depth Of Field. Using the right lenses, distance from the camera and aperture one can vary depth of the visual, by choosing to blur (or not) the background in your photographs and thereby change the imagery.

Udaypur

It always happens doesn’t it? Some call it Murphy's Law some say its Ironic! I can hear Alanis Morissette sing in the background as I write this post.

The day will pass as you search every nook and corner for the shot that will make walking around in the heat worth it and it will evade you the harder your look for it. And just when you have no time left and its time to go there it’ll stare you in the face and wave you good by as you drive away.

It was a long day in Udaipur, Varun and I had come in on the morning train and wanted to get back on the evening train so that we would not miss work the following day. The shoot was over but I was now looking out for something for myself. Just as we left the hotel to make way for the station we were arrested by the flow locals on their way to the fair grounds to celebrate some festival. We abandoned the cab and began walking then got a Three wheeler, the driver was confident of wading against the current for some reason we trusted him. While he blew his horn incessantly and inched forward, Varun began checking the tickets to see how much time we had and if we were going to have to spend the night in Udaipur.

I on the other hand had business to take care of. The bright colours all around me and my unique position calmed my nerves as I pulled the camera out of the bag and began working on what I was sure would be a good shot. We reached the station in time, well just in time but I was happy I did not let the situation get the better of me.

Ironic ... just keep your camera handy!

Lucknow

For quite a while now Lucknow has been synonymous with Tunde-ke-Kebabs for many of my friends. Every trip means I have to carry boxes back for a long list of friends and family.
I for one make sure that I make the pilgrimage every time I am in town, and yes the shami kebabs are the best you can ever get your hands on anywhere.
The original shop in Chowk has lost out to the more strategically located one in Aminabad the heart of the shopping center of Lucknow.

From morning till evening the place buzzes with activity both inside the restaurant and on the street it stands on. This photograph was an aimed at bringing together the hussle-bussle of Aminabad with the mouthwatering kabebs that are internationally famous.
Surprisingly in the 10 years that I have been shooting this was the first time I took a took the camera to dinner.

Just for the record “TUNDE” is some one with one hand, the old man who started the shop in Chowk was one.

Lucknow

So what does it take get an image like this and why is it o special to me? Some times it all happens in a split second, like with Mandi (check the entry on the 3rd of July) others it takes a lot of sweating it out. In this case it took a lot, I mean it a lot of sweating it out. The mid summer heat with no rain and the high levels of humidity made for one very sweaty cocktail. Between the 27 photographs that I took in the afternoon I spent a fare share of my time keeping the pearls of sweat from trickling into my eyes.
In addition to sweating it out its also about exploring the subject and finding something new. I have in the past photographed barbers in India and they do make for very interesting imagery but this was something new to me. The fact that I was able to intertwine the various elements of the photograph was an achievement.

What made this even more valuable to me was the joy of being able to catch the moment. After about 10 attempts from different angles I was able to get my composition right.

I could of-course have asked the guy to put his arms as in the photograph and taken the shot, but where’s the fun in that?

Fly over

Sunrise beach St. Martin in the Caribbean.

Growing up in a remote village in Bhutan a car that we saw once or twice a month was a source of great excitement, then i moved to the city and it became airplanes. Standing on the beach a few meters from the airstrip was something.

We must have seen two dozen planes land over our heads and I relived the childhood excitement again... and again.