RENDS MOI MA BANANE
I didn’t see much graffiti in India, but there were some great murals on the streets. Many were colorful illustrations of Hindu gods, and a few, such as the one above, were political statements.
Every Woman is a Goddess – Fearless
Street Art – Varanasi, India
Street Art – Varanasi, India
Street Art – Varanasi, India
Street Art – Jodhpur, India
When smiles go wrong…
It’s always important for models to practice their smiles. Otherwise, when under pressure during a shoot, things can suddenly go very wrong.
Model & Funny Girl – Leia Heider
MUA – Summer Johnson-Makeup Artist
Pentax 645D
HD PENTAX-D FA645 MACRO 90mmF2.8ED AW S
Driving and Riding in India
Organized chaos is the best term I could come up with for what happens on Indian roads. Millions of vehicles, people and animals, all using the streets at the same time. There is a hierarchy of importance loosely based on size, with the exception of cows. People move out of the way of bicycles, bicycles move out of the way of scooters. This continues upwards through auto-rickshaw, compact car, full-size car, SUV, light-truck and bus, to dump truck. Cows are the anomaly, as even dump trucks stop if these sacred animals are crossing the street. Very few vehicles have side mirrors, so you are expected (and in some areas obliged) to beep your horn while overtaking. As everyone is in a rush, the beeping is incessant.
Driving and Riding in India
Accidents are very common, but not as often as I you’d expect (possibly due to the slow speed of traffic). You certainly learn to never make any assumptions. When driving on a 6-lane highway with a central divider, don’t assume that the vehicle in the inside lane is the fastest, don’t assume it’s going in the same direction as you. Don’t even assume it’s a car at all. Why did the chicken cross the road? It was following the elephant, cow, camel, monkey, pig, dog, cat and horse.
I didn’t see any major crashes while in India, but there were plenty of totaled vehicles strewn beside the roads. I was told crash helmets were mandatory in the major cities, but in most places, the motorcyclists rode as if there were no tomorrow. For some, this would be all too true.
Driving and Riding in India
Baba Jee the Boatman at Dawn
Having got some great shots at dusk the night before, I still wanted to take the boat with Baba Jee the following morning. The light at dawn is both a different color and from a different direction to the warm evening rays. You’d miss many great opportunities if you only shot at one time of day. The rowing boat allowed me to get the photos of pilgrims bathing in the river, and another nice portrait of Baba Jee the boatman.
Leia Heider Portfolio – White T-shirt
Spent yesterday photographing a new portfolio for model Leia Heider. I always start these shoots with a simple natural look. It’s something agencies and potential clients want to see, and should be updated regularly.
Throw on a jacket and you have a classic look, that wouldn’t be out of place in an advertisement for The Gap. The image is toned slightly to give it a different feel to the white T-shirt image.
Leia Heider Portfolio – Denim Jacket
Model – Leia Heider
MUA – Summer Johnson-Makeup Artist
Pentax 645D
HD PENTAX-D FA645 MACRO 90mmF2.8ED AW S
Model Leia Heider – Headshot
Dawn over the Ganges River
Dawn breaks over the Ganges. Along the riverbank in Varanasi, hundreds come to bathe in the holy waters.
Bathing in the Ganges at Dawn
Bathing in the Ganges at Dawn
Bathing in the Ganges at Dawn
Bathing in the Ganges at Dawn
Lowepro S&F belt and harness system
I usually use a Lowepro DryZone 200
Even better is to then put on a loose fitting shirt which covers all the straps. You now have easy access to the equipment, but are not drawing attention to all your expensive gear. Both bags have zippers so your gear isn’t going to bounce out. The shoulder straps make carrying the 645D far more comfortable than using a single strap. They also prevent your gear from crashing to the floor if the waist buckle pops open, or from disappearing if someone tries to grab the belt, pop the clasp, and run.
Lowepro S&F belt and harness system
I first tried this setup in Istanbul a couple of years ago and found it worked really well. I’ve used it several times since, including shooting Fuji Rock Festival last year. Here’s a shot of me taken by fellow traveller Kim Logue.
Chris Willson photographing the boatman on the Ganges – image by Kim Logue
Following the advice of my friend Shawn I got a couple of pairs of 5.11 tactical pants. The various pockets held sunglasses, hand sanitizer, map, wallet, loose change for small purchases, tissues, ipod and a ballpoint pen. Under my t-shirt I had a neck pouch that contained passport, credit card, and one set of SD cards.
I returned to Okinawa having had nothing stolen. Someone, somewhere tried to clone my credit card and withdraw cash from an ATM, but it was stopped by VISA security. Of course nothing guarantees safety, however, being a little less conspicuous with your gear is probably not a bad idea.
Things are going to look a little different on the blog over the next few days. I wanted to post slightly larger images online, so I’ve had to make some adjustments to the layout of the page. Of course, there are going to be some little niggles with the new design, but please be patient, and hopefully everything will be bigger and better in the not too distant future.
Desiree – Hair by Aiasha Orick-Fleurant
A few shots from a shoot last year to highlight the work of hair stylist Aiasha Orick-Fleurant.
Desiree – Hair by Aiasha Orick-Fleurant
Aiasha is available for weddings, balls and photo shoots. She will be on Okinawa until June 2015. You can contact her via email at hairverbage@yahoo.com or her visit her website A. LaQuin.
Desiree – Hair by Aiasha Orick-Fleurant
Model – Desiree Snyder
Makeup – Summer Johnson
Hair Stylist – Aiasha Orick-Fleurantin
Baba Jee the River Ganges Boatman
The image above is almost the exact shot I ‘d envisaged when I started planning my trip to Varanasi. Luckily everything fell into place when I found Baba Jee a photogenic boatman, warm golden light at dusk, and the three dimensional quality you get when shooting with a wide angle lens up close.
Pentax 645D Pentax FA 645 35mm f/3.5 AL IF
Baba Jee the River Ganges Boatman
Of course I didn’t just take one photo, but dozens. I switched between the 90mm and 35mm lenses, used both landscape and portrait orientations, and also shot with and into the light.
Baba Jee the River Ganges Boatman
These images were taken at the end of my second day in India, but I knew straight away I’d probably just captured the best shots of the trip.
Baba Jee the River Ganges Boatman
TRAVEL 67 : Chris Willson Photography 