Faces of India


Just about physically recovered from the trips to India and Morocco , October was just a crazy month for being all over the place but very rewarding photographically . India was great for photographing people , kids especially loved being photographed. on my first day in India , the flight arrived at 4 am so rather than getting some sleep and then being jet lagged i grabbed some breakfast and took a tutt tutt down town . I had been advised to go to Russell market as its particularly earthy and gritty . And thats saying something by Indian standards . The garland seller particularly doesn’t look happy . The kids outside some very shanty looking huts loved having their pics taken and the older women even eventually let their reserve slip of and were all volunteering to have their pictures taken . The harsh sun has obviously taken its toll on the skin and these women had amazingly textured skin that looks pretty dramatic in the images . i was shooting with a combination of my standard travel lenses i.e. 17-40 L f 4.0 , 70-200 f4 ( the cheapest of the canon 70-200 with no IS but its super sharp and light when compared to the other lenses covering the same range and focuses very fast ) and the 50 1.4 which is a non L series lens but still incredibly sharp . body wise ,I’ve been using  the 5D iii for about 5 months now and its low noise at Hi ISO is great.

India is a country of huge contrasts , poverty , progress, mercedes benz showrooms alongside rickshaws and a writhing sea of humanity riding bumper to bumper 4 abreast along roads barely designed to take 2 lines of traffic. Its amazing the roads aren’t strewn with bodies and carnage , the way people drive  is crazy , like a game of chicken , whoever shows fear or flinches loses .

Still , a great place to photograph , vibrant colours everywhere and sights you would never see anywhere else.