Moments of Exposure

I was wondering if we would run into snake charmers during our visit.  I had heard that these folks and people with performance monkeys were either banned or discouraged now-a-days in India.  However, as we were leaving the Mehrangarh Fort, we ran into this group of individuals and their snake.  Keith and I were so happy and spontaneously started shooting with glee.

As we were doing this, the guys behind us, who were selling trinkets and paintings and postcards, came up to us and started watching us.  A couple of them asked me how much my camera costs…I was a tiny bit uncomfortable….why? Because I thought of two things: 1) it is so expensive, and they have so little…I was embarassed. and 2) I had a thought that knowing how expensive it was would make us prime targets for pick-pocketing and theft.

By the way, not once did we lose anything throughout the trip or did we feel unsafe. Anyway, we took our shots, paid them their “fees” and left very happy!

Rajasthan is so very colorful. There are women and girls in the most colorful of clothing. The markets and bazaars are a visual cornucopia of colors.  The streets are full of people and their wares – bangles, food, saris, spices, and much more.  Life happens in a 1000 dimensional way in Rajasthan.  One of the fun things to note is the number of colorful turbans men wear.  Here are some examples of such Turban-Wallahs.

Recently, I am on a kick regarding archetypes and emotions being conveyed via archetypes in an image. Here is another such image. I would be interested in knowing what you read into the image.  Hope you like it!

The spirit of the people comes through and through everywhere you look. This one made me laugh out loud.

A few months ago, after a people photography workshop (Location People by Bryan Allan), a thought came to me so powerfully that I imagined a time warp zone where I was speeding at warp speed towards my destination…then it opened up in slow motion to a bright fully realized moement of this intention. I had goose bumps and I kept thinking of nothing else but that in my free time.  What was this powerful desire I had? I wanted to go to India, see beautiful places and people…and come back with enough information that would allow me to start my own Photo-tourism business to India.

This thought made me happy because it would combine many elements that bring joy to me…travel, meeting people, visiting India and seeing all the beautiful sight and scenes it provides, and most importantly capturing these moments though my camera.  In addition, I wanted to share this feeling with many others and help take them to this exotic country and help them go through a similar sense of wonder and excitement about a far off country.

Well, my experience on my recent trip with my photographer friend Keith and his wife Sharon was an amazing start of this journey. It was all that I dreamed it would be. The logistics, the cities and the sights were great. We had a ton of fun and came back full of excitement about getting my next trip planned…where I would like to take a small group (4-5 people) back to the same cities and show them all of the photographic sights I had seen.

Intentions do become reality! I feel really grateful. I could not wait to come back and share this with you all. Thank you for your time in looking at my first few images.

I work with Kim. After the last heavy snow, we went out to find a spot to photograph during lunch. It was really windy and Brrrr cold.  We only lasted five to ten minutes.  We decided we would come back with better shoes and a heavier coat.  Hope you like it.

Today was a warmish day, but the snow was falling quietly.  Our son was heading out for a really Big Gig (of his band Fresh Cut Collective in Milwaukee).  I asked him to step out and pose for me for a couple of minutes.  I liked this image which I processed in a couple of different ways.

Which do you like?  Any other comments?

Thank you for visiting.

I loved shooting these kids.  They are so full of fun, ice cream and excitement.  I could have spent hours on them….but just spent 5 minutes.  Aaaah.

Still trying the Snap Art 2 effect on images. I went slightly bolder on this image.  I like it better on this image, but will try a couple more soon.

I guess I am still a bit of a traditionalist…liking the non-filtered looks.

Comments and suggestion are most welcome.

Usha

This is my very first attempt at using Alien Skin’s Snap Art 2.  I downloaded a trial version today and have 30 days to try it and decide if I like this program and this effect.  So, I will try and use this diligently for a few days and see how I feel.

In the mean time, PLEASE let me know if you have any comments, suggestions, and ideas of how else to practice using this program  It will help me work out things and see if I like it.

Thanks for your comments in advance.

This image is of a very sweet person I met in Savannah, GA.  Her name is India.