Category Archives: Life in India

Introducing Analog / Film Cameras to a New Generation

You don’t have to be as old as me to remember using analog/film cameras.  But there’s an entire generation entering university (depending on where you grew up) that has grown up with photography as a purely digital phenomenon – often … Continue reading

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Testing the Minolta SR-T-101

Awhile back, I posted about the Petri 7S,  one of two cameras my mother-in-law had passed along to me.  This post is on the other camera, a Minolta SR-T-101.  This Minolta is an SLR that first appeared on the market … Continue reading

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Final Chennai Photowalk

I’ve been out of India for over three weeks now, but wanted to finish sharing our experiences of our last few weeks in India before closing out that wonderful chapter in our lives, as documented in the TAZM Pictures blog. We … Continue reading

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The Chennai Photowalk

One of the best things about Chennai, for us, was the “photowalks.”  A photowalk is basically just walking around with a camera and seeing what you can photograph.  Often these walks are in groups.  I discovered photowalks in Chennai, though … Continue reading

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Birdwatching from the Hotel Pool

One of the highlights from our recent trip to Jaipur was the beautiful hotel pool.  On our last day there, fed up with the heat, waiting for an evening flight, we arranged for a late checkout and decided to spend … Continue reading

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Jaipur, India: Street Photography Goldmine

I have done a few posts already about our trip to Jaipur, India.  It was only a 4-day trip, but as I have been looking through our photos, it’s surprising the number and quality of interesting shots we were able … Continue reading

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MORE Monkeying Around in Jaipur

Our recent trip to Jaipur, in Rajasthan, India’s largest state, was short but we brought back a lot of photos.  I posted awhile back about our encounter with monkeys our first day there; it turns out this would not be … Continue reading

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Monkeying Around in Jaipur

With only a month or so before we leave India, we finally made it to Rajasthan, the country’s largest state, located on the northwestern border with Pakistan, and home to the inhospitable Thar Desert.  Literally translated as the “land of … Continue reading

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The Ashram: Following in the Beatles’ Footsteps

One of the places we were eager to see on our recent trip to Rishikesh, in northern India, was the so-called “Beatles Ashram.”  The former ashram of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, on the left bank of the Ganges overlooking Rishikesh, … Continue reading

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Strolling (and Rafting) through Rishikesh

Not too long ago, we had a chance to visit Rishikesh, in northern India and the Himalayan foothills, known as a top yoga and adventure travel destination.  You may have also heard about Rishikesh as the site of the ashram … Continue reading

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Petri 7S Test

Half a year ago, my mother-in-law asked me if I could use an old Petri 7S and a Minolta SRT101 they had laying around and after some quick research online I responded “most definitely!”  The Minolta will be the subject … Continue reading

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When 2000 Giant Ganesha Idols are Immersed in the Sea

My Indian friends who grew up nearby tell me it wasn’t always like this.  They say when they were growing up, during the festival Ganesh Chaturthi, they would have a small clay statue of Lord Ganesha, one of Hinduism’s most … Continue reading

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Hiking in a Himalayan Hailstorm

We went on a trek this morning – quite short and easy by trekkers’ standards, but pretty long for old(er) folks staying at a resort in the Himalayas where there’s a golf cart and driver if you don’t feel up … Continue reading

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Tirukalukundram

Eighteen kilometers west of the Tamil Nadu tourist town of Mahabalipuram is a town of about 24,000 called Tirukaludundram which is known for its hilltop temple, the Vedagiriswarar temple.  The temple consists of an upper part up on a hill, which can … Continue reading

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Pongal in Chennai / Camera Test

Often I blog about old cameras I’m testing out, often I blog about things we see and experience in India.  This post has a little of both! The Ansco Agfa Karomat 36 (known by variants of that name) is an … Continue reading

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Chennai’s Republic Day Parade

Today was a pretty special day in India – even President Obama agreed, as he spent the better part of the day with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, having been invited as Chief Guest for the annual Republic Day Parade. President … Continue reading

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Chennai by Night: Bhogi

I have some interesting photos and videos to share since I last posted in mid-December – but first, some information on the current happenings in Chennai! It’s Thai Pongal, the four-day harvest festival and one of the most important holidays … Continue reading

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Varanasi: The View from Mother Ganga

Varanasi, India is, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.  Also known as Benares, Banaras or Kashi, the city’s identity is inseparable from the River Ganges, along whose left bank the city of just over 1 million residents … Continue reading

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Varanasi: Walking the Ghats

In previous posts I’ve talked about the “ghats” of Varanasi.  People keep asking me, “What exactly IS a ghat, anyway?” Basically it’s a series of steps leading down to the river.  We spent hours walking along the ghats. And not … Continue reading

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Varanasi: In and Around Town

There is an endless number of interesting faces, places and scenes to photograph in Varanasi. Last week I shared some photos of the ghats along the river – where most of the tourists hang out; but in this city of … Continue reading

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Death along the Ganges

As Americans – like most “Westerners” – we are for the most part, relatively isolated from death.  Not that we don’t have people close to us dying – we just don’t deal with the specifics.  I reflected on this just a … Continue reading

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Varanasi by Night

We finally had the opportunity to visit Varanasi, India – also known as Benares or Kashi – one of the seven holy cities of Hinduism and Jainism, and also important in the development of Buddhism.  Varanasi, a city of 3 … Continue reading

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Return to the Dhobi Khana

Don’t like doing laundry?  These people earn a living doing laundry the old-fashioned way.  At various “dhobi khanas” in India, washing clothes – but more often things like sheets, towels, and occasionally uniforms – is still done by hand at … Continue reading

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Gypsies in India

We regularly join “photowalks” here in Chennai, and were surprised to hear we were going to visit a “gypsy colony.”  A bit of googling informed me that the “Roma” people speak a language closely related to Hindi, and are thought … Continue reading

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It’s Jackfruit Season in India!

-Wait, what’s a jackfruit??? You may know, but we didn’t, before we moved to India.  And if I had ever encountered one on a tree, I certainly wouldn’t know what to do with it!  Take a look at these pictures.  … Continue reading

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