Photographer's Diary #2

You are in Mumbai and if you haven't tasted the Pav, you actually missed to taste the real Mumbai food. Be it Pav Bhaji, Vada Pav, Misal Pav, Keema Pav etc. Pav has quite an amazing history here which actually braught to Indian shore by Portuguese.
As Lizzie Collingham points out in her authoritative Curry – A Biography, the Portuguese landed in parts of India (Cochin, Goa etc.) where the locals ate rice. But they missed their crusty bread, and in any case, they needed bread for Holy Communion. They could find wheat flour in Goa but yeast was hard to come by. So they started using a few drops of toddy to ferment the dough and created the various Goan breads we know today: the round gutli, the flat pav, etc.
It is from Goa that bread first travelled to Bombay and became a staple among locals. By the time British arrived with their nasty white bread, the Portuguese-Goan pav had already been well-established. And so British bread became an upmarket sort of dish, useful for making toast or sandwiches. But the food of the streets used pav, which could be sliced open to stuff an omelette into it or served alongside a spicy keema or a korma. And Bombay’s Goan community continued to use it as an alternative to rice.

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Photographer's Diary #1

Portraits of Kumbh.

Nicolas is from France and on his maiden trip to India. He is here for around 2 and half months. After arriving in Delhi, what he did, booked a train to Allahabad to capture the religious gathering called Kumbh. He is mesmerized by everything what he saw and experienced. And India is absolutely incredible in every way as per him. He had a lot to talk about India when I coined the question that how he found India? He could go and go in detail describing India when I cut him in between and asked what he hate about India? He looked confused for the first time in our short discussion, then said pollution, people etc. I asked about people and he opened up that irrespective of what India is doing on the world front, its still raw in it's essence and so the people. When it comes to the traveler who came to India from all across the world, Indian people are like why don't you get a picture with me? It's good though but sometimes irritating as it feels like alien amidst of our own kind, he said. "I have been to Iran and Japan but people are very helpful there and they let you do what you are doing unlike India. You get your own space and solitude traveling other countries. India is great in every way, but getting chased everytime for a photograph to shoot with people you seldom know is something that makes you sick." 

When asked about Kumbh, he says that it's incredible, amazing. Seeing people from all over the country to take the holy dip itself is an experience that is unimaginable for a person like me. Kumbh is a saga and place which is sacred in every way. 

Before I winded up the discussion, I asked for a photograph and he happily obliged and took his sunglass from his backpack before posing for the camera. A naga sadhu was looking at us sitting on the banks of the Ganges and smiled. A seagull took a dip and flew away in the distance.

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Anjuna Flea Market!!

Thinking about the tourist places in India? And Goa would be in your list for sure, you just cannot tick it off from your list. There are very few places in India where you will feel like living in a different country. It’s not India, not USA, not UK and not any country et all. Goa boasts a population which behave more like a cosmopolitan crowd, you will find people who knew more than one languages and not only Indian but different languages of the world.

Well, there are many places in Goa that we will talk about. Today, we will be talking about Anjuna Flea Market.

Anjuna is not only famous for its pristine beach but also for its flea market stretched on both sides of the road heading to Anjuna beach. You can find everything I this market from Indian spices to artifacts, from western clothes to traditional Indian clothes. But one thing, you make sure before purchasing that you know the art of bargaining. Else, you will end up paying more than the actual price. And, this is valid for every flea market of the world.

Well. More than the market, it is a place where you can see the amalgamation of different culture. You meet people from different part of the world here exploring the market. Some are here for photographing the people, some for shopping the economical clothes for their stay in India, some looking for something unique products that they can showcase in their living room. Some are just there to chill and some are there for their first ever trip after their marriage.

So, Anjuna is amazing with its crowd and people around. You find vendors mostly from the konkan region or Karnataka who sell their artifacts and products here. I have the opportunity to photograph the people indulged in this market before my camera went off at the beach. Well, my bad luck. But still I took some amazing photographs of the place. Do, let me know what you think and let me know if you want to know more about Anjuna and what to look after there.

To see more photos on Anjuna, Click here.

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Mumbai!!

Don’t you think the name Mumbai itself gives you an Idea about the city, the moment someone takes its name? Not true for every city but Mumbai, yes it does happen and there’s no doubt in it. Mumbai is a city of chaos, but at the same time, it’s the city of dreams. Mumbai is a city of slums, but it too boasts the world’s costliest street for real estate. In a nutshell, Mumbai has everything, you cannot define it just by the vertical limits that it shows, the manner less crowd and so on; it has its own kind, different from all the other cities of the world. 

Mumbai has been named as one of the rudest cities of the world, I am not confronting that it is not but this is also the city where you can see the kindness of the people in a traffic jam, you have talked about the stories of the water log and the kindest people of Mumbai. In short, Mumbai provides you a bit of everything within its boundaries. Now, it’s up to you what you grabbed and what you left.

I have spent about an hour in one of the busiest local station of Mumbai and nearby. And it was a different experience altogether. Life has been changed dramatically in the cities since the last decade. And one can see its impact on the people. Streets have become narrower and the old markets or bazaars have become more crowded as they provide economical products. Life has its own turn and so Mumbai, but branding it as rude is something that I will not agree. There are so many cities in the world which are rude and at least Mumbai is not at the bottom.

So, Mumbai provides a vision, which is much deeper than anyone to understand. Those, who got it are well settled now and doing better than rest of the people who came to this “City of Dreams”.

 Mumbai is different, don't judge it what it looks. And for that matter any city of the world cannot be judged by taking some people into a discussion or survey. And its just identical.

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Street Photography Tips

It is natural if you have an urge for photography; you try to document the swirling life around you. It is often said that a traveler came up with amazing photographs as he travels different parts of the world, living and experiencing the cultures around him. But don’t misinterpret that with the street photography, it is more about hoe observing you are and what you see that no one can. For being a street photographer, you don’t really need to travel far, there so much happening around you. On the streets near you, the narrow streets provide you with amazing subjects that you can think of.

We will talk about different tips to document streets in this BlogSpot for beginners. I have learnt it hard way, and that is why I don’t want anyone else to go through all the pains I have been through.

#Decide your Gears

Street photography doesn’t need that expensive gears and don’t fool around chasing for expensive gears, you can start from the starter kit that you got with your camera. An 18-55mm lens can be a good option to documenting street. Additionally, you can buy a 50mm starter lens for Canon or Nikon which comes in less than $100 to $120 (approximately INR 8 to 9000).

You see that I have mentioned wide angle lenses above as Telephoto zoom lenses ay help you capture the action without getting noticed, but I am sure you don’t want to be a person standing at a corner of the street and aiming a giant lens on strangers moving around. You need to get lost in the crowd and get close to your subject.

#which is the best Camera setting for documenting street

This question always comes in mind that which camera setting would work and which will not. Street photography is all about candid situations and that has to be captured before they are gone. So, you need to have a setting that is fast and perfect for the situation.

The quickest and easiest way to set up your camera for street photography is by switching the camera to AV (aperture-priority mode) and selecting your f-stop (aperture) and ISO manually. The camera will then decide the shutter speed (exposure). On a bright sunny day a good place to start is around f/16 with an ISO between 200 to 400. If your camera displays a shutter speed higher than 1/200th a second you are ready to roll.

You can still adjust your camera in Manual mode but that needs to change for each and every single photograph that you will take and in this way, you might lose the action.

#Get close to your subject

As we are using a wide angle lens, it enables to get close to our subject. And being a part of the crowd you can focus your lens to the subject and get it captured. Wide angle lenses are also best for the portrait photography. And the best portraits of the world have been taken on streets and not in studios with all the technical lights and meters.

You might be fearful in the beginning but with time and practice, you can get close to people around and can take pictures without taking permissions and sometime with permissions.

Note: Always have smile on your face while capturing a person on the street. J

#Go anywhere you can

Roam around the whole street; it could be a coffee shop, a bridge, a street vendor and anything. Take your camera everywhere and fire the shutter. The more you will delve yourself into the crowd, the more stories you will found to tell.

#Search for a story

Photography is not about a dramatic picture but telling a story with the picture. Try to capture the way that it tells a story. Find some interesting spot and sit there, observe the crowd and then form a story and frame and fire the shutter. Believe me, you will find amazing stories to tell.

There’s more will come on this topic. Stay tuned. But keep in mind that street photography demands practice and patience. The more you roam the streets, more your eye will develop to see the things beyond what they look and your confidence grow.

#Gears #camera #Observe

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Let's travel to Palghar....

Palghar is just 180 kms away from Mumbai and provide a vivid experience away from the cities. Let's travel this May to Palghar and experience the lifestyle of Warli people. We will stay in a campsite in Velwanda, almost 65 kms away from Palghar towards Jawhar.

It's a well curated trip where you will experience the Famous Warli Art, Live with Villagers, trek to the mountains, bird watching, indulge yourself in village activities like fetching water, cultivation, hut making process etc.

For more information fill the form below and reach out to us.

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Travelling is an art

“Travelling is an art.”

Isn’t it? Think again…..and try to recollect what you have got from travelling and what you feel about it?

Get it?

Absolutely, there are moments to cherish for lifetime. The frame that you have developed from travelling is so vast that you can’t even draw it on a blank canvas if asked to. It’s so vivid and diverse that it cannot be described in words and pictures, but you can create an art of it by breaking it in different parts, scattering it in little moments of happiness, experience, peace and solace.

Now, everyone is travelling, but are they really travelling?

While backpacking the villages of Mumbai. These hawkers met on a sunny day afternoon. Clicking them was a new experience while mincing with them, knowing them was more than different.

That’s a question that everyone asks from himself once or may be more than once. My question is what you mean by travelling? Visiting the places that a guide says to you?

Or,

Places that can be easily found on internet?

If you are travelling like this, this is not really travelling. Travelling makes you local, go and mince with the people of a place. Participate in whatever they do, talk, dance, love, smile and smile like never before.

This pic has been taken by my friend "Vijay Dev.". Was on a photo walk in south Mumbai. Met these group of amazing children. Look at the one with a hood, he was so mesmerized with the camera that wanted to take it from me. Experiences are something that make you real. I don't know what I am but leading towards the right road. That I know. 

Come back, now jot down the moments that you have experienced from this travel, think harder and you will find that this was the experience of the life time. You travelled, visited the places that were on internet but at the same time you brought the little bit of that place with you, and now you are smiling, cause you can imagine those times. The feeling that were different from what you have experienced before.

Now, think again…….and let me know…….

Isn’t “Travelling is an art?”

“Vagadiaries” helps you to live the moments while you travel. We might be occupied with the tight schedules of the travel, but we never ever leave a chance to bring back a little bit of the culture with us.

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