Il Pittore

This photograph is special to me, its crooked and yet its straight!

I am sure many of you have had your teachers or peers tell you that the photograph is great BUT .... a little crooked.

When I first started shooting I was very mindful of all the critique I received. Hell all I wanted to do was get better and make a living dangling a camera round my neck rather than suffocate wearing an expensive tie. (Ended up doing both together, ever tried shooting in a three piece suit!?!)

well getting back to the photograph that I have often been told I made a complete mess of (... yes there are always those who disagree).

Straight like everything else in this world is a matter of relativity ( now I am sounding like a scientist). We see how well the lines in the photograph run parallel to the for sides of the image we capture and then conclude if the shot is straight or not.

In this particular image while the traditional horizon and ground dosent provide us with the parallels we look for yet if you look down the vertical centre of the image you find a parallel that runs thru the tree down the umbrella pole and into the ground.

It sort of confuses me, straight I like to think .... may be not! But yes it gets me thinking and that I think should do. (Enough thinking for today)

Portrait of a vegetable vendor

While the big cities rely on big cars and big malls to get you what you need for the home, smaller cities and towns rely on the vendors coming home.

Now not so common but as a child I remember that every morning we'd hear them shout out as they crossed the front of the house.

What I found most interesting about the way these folks conducted their business was the relation they had nurtured with their customers.

I have often heard them tell mom or some one of our neighbours, 'no you have to buy this, its very good, and if you wont pay fine then take it for free ...'

Then the usual bargaining match that would follow.

Megha

'Megha' is the Hindi word for rain clouds and on a day like to day when the weather update on my phone tells me we might touch half a century in Delhi I thought I'd retaliate with a image to make us all feel good.

Was trying to capture the mood of the evening with the sun setting and the clouds blowing inland. The deep orange I had hoped to see was evasive and I was trying to be as patient as I could. And then, as if to make up for the missing magic in the sky this group of kids walked up behind me. A step here and there, readjusting the focal length and .....

I hope this brings all of us getting baked in Delhi a little visual respite.....

Anna (Shashup for elder sister)

This photograph was actually taken from the window of a car. I was scared that if I got out to approach the children the little fellow might get scared, and I was right. As soon as I had got this shot I stepped out to get one more but was stopped by the immediate wailing of the child. I am often told its not the camera but me! (something about the way i look?)

So why do I like this shot, other than the obvious low depth of field and color contrast ?

Its the innocence that seems to radiate from both the caring sister and and her brother who is happy to be taken around town without setting foot on the ground.

To have an elder sister is a gift that few of us are lucky to receive, for many other we fail to realize.

Portrait of a worker

Portrait of a Painter

Portrait of a basket weaver