10/29/08: I'm so pleased that this squeaked into the ribbons (started slow and gained over the week)! She was a wonderful subject to shoot. Thanks to everyone for the feedback and suggestions. I will be posting a fully post-processed version (beyond basic editing) on my Flickr site along with many other images from India. Thanks!
Original Post: I got the opportunity to visit Bangalore, India for one week for work. It was/is my first trip to India so I didn't know what to expect, but I figured there may be some good photos for the poverty/affluence challenges. My 1 week trip spans two challenge weeks, so I'm hoping for good themes again next week.
My coworker Prashant took me out in the evening after work to visit a tailor and have a suit made. After visiting the tailor we walked through a commercial area with many shops. There was so much energy and activity with many bright colored lights and interesting sights and people to see. It is/was street photographer heaven!
I cranked up my ISO to 1600 and used my 50 mm f/1.8 lens to get as much light in as possible. That was plenty of light for most shots given all of the lights from the shops.
We came upon this woman begging on the street. She was sitting in the sidewalk exactly as she appears here. I approached her and pointed to my camera and she was happy to have her picture taken. We gave her some money and I snapped 3 shots. I would have glady given her more money for the amazing photo but we decided it best to move on with the first donation.
I love the way the night lights sidelight her face, the eye contact, the completey unaltered / unrequested pose, the headlights over her shoulder backlighting her hair, and her beautiful colorful outfit even though she is much in need.
I have to say I have high hopes for scoring on this as the subject doesn't get much better than this. It is pure and simple the real thing. Hopefully my mediocre photography skills didn't get in the way of this wonderful shot of a woman needing some help.
Post processing was minimal.
Shot in JPG
Sharpen
Noise Reduction
Sharpen Again
Black Border
Save for web
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Place: 3 out of 98 Avg (all users): 6.5524 Avg (commenters): 7.2000 Avg (participants): 6.2813 Avg (non-participants): 6.6011 Views since voting: 5036 Views during voting: 377 Votes: 210 Comments: 28 Favorites: 2 (view)
Nice shot and congrats for the ribbon, but if I may be so bold and honest I'm disappointed.
For one I feel almost all tourists come back with images with a very similar theme from India - poverty.
While I agree that there is plenty of it which is right in front of your eye there are few who dig deeper to find true 'Indian' culture and the color which you mention in your description.
Here's to seeing less of impoverished India and more of the vibrant India.
First off, thanks so much for your thoughtful feedback. I appreciate that you took time to look at my image, read the story behind it and provide a response. I learn most from comments like yours.
As I look over my pictures from my trip to India, many of the images are things I found to be 'different' than my normal surroundings in the U.S.-- I think that's natural that those things caught my eye. However, most of my images are potraits of people, not highlighting their poverty but showing their eyes and expressions and getting a glimpse into their lives, which happen to be very different from mine. It just so happens that I was in India during the Poverty challenge and I came upon this woman on the street. I see as many or more homeless people asking for money in my own home town. So, my intent was not to highlight poverty in India (although it certainly exists there) but to show a woman who has been through a lot in life.
I have posted and will be posting more images from India to my Flickr site called "Faces of India" that shows many people in India, in no way highlighting their economic status as this one does. My intent is to show faces, expressions and the lives of people that I interacted with in an amazing country. I don't do justice to the depth and breadth of the diversity of culture, but at least I captured a slice of humanity in their faces.
Again, thanks so much for your comments. I'd love to chat more offline if you're interested.
Nice shot and congrats for the ribbon, but if I may be so bold and honest I'm disappointed.
For one I feel almost all tourists come back with images with a very similar theme from India - poverty.
While I agree that there is plenty of it which is right in front of your eye there are few who dig deeper to find true 'Indian' culture and the color which you mention in your description.
Here's to seeing less of impoverished India and more of the vibrant India.
2 ribbons in a short while, and both for excellent shots. I like that you are winning ribbons for very different photographs... shows a lot of diversity. Congrats on the recent results, and hope to see more front page stuff from you.
Oh Chris! This is amazing! And I seriously beg to differ with you about the "mediocre photographer" thing. This was taken and presented to masterfully! I'm so glad you left it in color. It's just beautiful! Congratulations!
Yes, a wonderful shot. I amnot that keen on the car lights, although they do give a good backlight to the hair, as you say. I find them most distracting though.
Nioce colors and expression in this one. The lines of age show on her face. You can see a sense of dignaty in her. I like the way she makes eye contact with the photographer. I like the blurred backround. You can tell she is on the street which is good.
If it wasn't basic editing, I would suggest blurring the background or using vignette to get rid of the bright street lights in the upper right. As it is, terrific capture of the expression on her face and her poverty.
Streets of Bangalore
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