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Tag Archives: Chennai
Documenting the Dhobis
British soldiers may know the terms “doing your dhobi” (laundry) and “dhobi dust” (detergent) – but they may not be aware of these terms’ origins. A photographer friend recently spent several hours negotiating, on behalf of a small group of … Continue reading
Posted in Life in India, Vintage cameras
Tagged caste, Chennai, dhobi, ghat, hereditary profession, India, khana, washermen, washerwomen
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Mylapore’s Annual Kolam Contest
When I first arrived in southern India, I blogged about the “kolams” made by millions of women in India every day. So it turns out this is also a competitive sport of sorts! Over the last four days, the Mylapore … Continue reading
Posted in Life in India, Photowalks
Tagged Chennai, contest, festival, India, kolam, mylapore, sugar cane
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Christmas Photowalk
This Christmas, several of us got things like lenses and other camera-related items in our stockings. So it was quite natural that we decided to take a “family photowalk” on Christmas Day, especially given that we are living in a … Continue reading
Posted in Life in India
Tagged Chennai, Christmas, photowalk, shopping district, T. Nagar
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Shooting with the Ansco Anscoflex
A couple of days ago, I posted about some “found film” that had come from a 1950s Ansco Anscoflex. I had originally bid on an unidentified roll of film on eBay, and when I found out that the seller was … Continue reading
Posted in Vintage cameras
Tagged ansco, Anscoflex, beach, Chennai, dog, India, vintage camera
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Photowalk in Georgetown (Chennai, India): the Flower Market
Third in a series of posts about a photowalk taken in northern Chennai, in a section of town called Georgetown. I’ve mentioned a few times on this blog that there are people – mainly older women – all over Chennai … Continue reading
Posted in Life in India, Photowalks
Tagged Chennai, flowers, Georgetown, India, market, photowalk, street photography
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Photowalk in Georgetown (Chennai, India): Poses
This is the second in a multi-part series about a recent photowalk in Georgetown, one of the most dense parts of Chennai, and virtually the only area to retain its colonial identifier. In a couple of days I hope to … Continue reading
Posted in Life in India, Photowalks
Tagged candid, Chennai, Georgetown, India, photowalk, posed photos, street photography
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Photowalk: Odd Jobs in Georgetown (Chennai, India!)
This will be the first in a multi-post series on a Sunday morning photowalk in Georgetown – a part of Chennai, India. This part of the city , just inland from Chennai’s port, includes some of the city’s most crowded … Continue reading
Posted in Life in India, Photowalks
Tagged banana leaf, Chennai, chikoo, coal, Georgetown, photowalk, professions, rickshaw
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Photowalk: Chintadripet
Chintadripet is a community contained within a bow of the Cooum (or Kouvam) River in the center of Chennai. Though I have no idea what it means, the community was once called Chinna Thari pettai due to its history as … Continue reading
Posted in Life in India, Photowalks
Tagged Chennai, Chintadripet, India, photowalk, street photography
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Sunday Photowalk through the ‘Hood
Monsoon season has come to Chennai, India. According to the weather reports, it’s only raining in Chennai. But it seems that all the rain which should have fallen elsewhere is also falling in Chennai. So when I woke up this morning … Continue reading
Posted in Life in India, Photowalks
Tagged animals, Chennai, goats, kids, photowalk, portraits
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Photowalk: Triplicane
After the long series of posts on Goa, we’ve been back home again for a few weeks, and I’ve been able to join another photowalk. This time, it was to the part of Chennai known as “Triplicane”, which is one … Continue reading
Posted in Life in India, Photowalks
Tagged bicycle, Chennai, people, Photography, photowalk, poverty, street photography, Triplicane
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Chennai Photowalk Part 3: Kapaleeshwarar Temple
…as far as this particular photowalk goes, I’ve saved the best for last. We initially went into the less-trafficked entrance entrance to this amazing temple, following the lead of the Indians in our group, and after a few photos, were … Continue reading
Posted in Life in India, Photowalks
Tagged Carnatic music, Chennai, Hinduism, Kapaleeshwarar, mylapore, night, religion, temple
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Chennai Photowalk Part 2: Streets at Night
It seems strange to think that, after 2 months living in this city, we haven’t really been out at night. I’ve been out very early and there are a surprising number of people up and about – this is the … Continue reading
Posted in Life in India, Photowalks
Tagged Chennai, Golu, India, mylapore, night, photowalk, street vendors
3 Comments
Chennai Photowalk: In Search of Golu
Golu, also known as Kolu or Bommai Golu – the “festival of dolls” – has come to Chennai. Golu is celebrated during the festival of Navratri in southern India. I find the background of the festival confusing, not knowing many … Continue reading
Posted in Life in India, Photowalks
Tagged Bommai Golu, Chennai, festival of dolls, Golu, mylapore, photowalk
1 Comment
The International Coastal Cleanup: Chennai, India
Today we joined thousands of Chennaiites in taking part in the 2013 International Coastal Cleanup. Regular readers in this blog will recognize that Chennai struggles to maintain clean beaches and waterways, like many large urban areas on the coast. It … Continue reading
Ganesha Chaturthi, Chennai Style (Part 2: Video)
Yesterday I explained a bit about the festival currently ongoing in Chennai (and across India) – Ganesha Chaturthi – and posted some photos. It’s hard to really capture the atmosphere of the event with photos only – a video in … Continue reading
Posted in Life in India
Tagged Chennai, festival, Ganesh, Ganesha Chaturthi, India, video
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Ganesha Chaturthi, Chennai Style
Today was day 7 of Ganesha Chaturthi, the Hindu festival celebrating the (re-)birth of Lord Ganesha, the son of Shiva and Parvati. To celebrate this festival, many Indian families display a statue of Ganesha in their homes, and after making … Continue reading
Is There Really Such a Thing as Too Many Cameras?
I was very excited to get a package this week containing twelve new old junk vintage cameras, bringing the size of my collection to around fifty. Here are the new arrivals: And (changing subjects briefly, but I’ll come back to … Continue reading
Posted in Random Thoughts, Observations and Weird Stuff
Tagged bonnet macaque, Chennai
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Chennai Fish Market
Living on the coast has its benefits – fresh fish! Unfortunately, when it all gets gathered in one place, the smell of fish becomes so strong that I quickly lose interest in actually eating any. But it’s good to know … Continue reading
St. Thomas Basilica or San Thome Church
I had the opportunity to take part in an event sponsored by local Ahmadiyya Muslims encouraging peace between religions, and I was impressed by the diversity of religions represented by the guests at the event. One of these guests represented … Continue reading
Posted in Life in India
Tagged basilica, Chennai, martyred, San Thome, St. Thomas, tomb
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More Scenes from the Hood
Sharing some more general impressions from my neighborhood. I go walking around for 15 minutes and every time I come back and feel like I’m about to start reciting “And to Think that I saw it on Mulberry Street.” Today’s … Continue reading
Riding in a Rickshaw
This post is from the point of view of the auto rickshaw – or as I like to call it, “the scourge of the developing world’s road network.” OK so maybe that’s a bit over the top; but as exhibit … Continue reading
R.A. Puram, Chennai in Photos 3
This is the second part of a post describing a 90 minute “photowalk” around my new neighborhood in Chennai, India. Everything you see is within a 500 meter radius. So continuing yesterday’s story, the main destination I’d had in mind … Continue reading
R.A. Puram, Chennai in Photos 2
This morning I decided to take my camera for another jaunt around the neighborhood in what seems to be called a “photowalk”. So I discovered today. It wound up being kind of a crazy 90 minutes or so – I … Continue reading
Posted in Life in India
Tagged Chennai, India, Photography, R.A. Puram, shops, street, temples
2 Comments
Driving in Chennai: Timelapse
In time-lapse photography, it’s common to keep the camera pretty still and let the subject do the moving – or if at all, to move the camera very slowly. But it can also be fun to do a moving camera … Continue reading
Posted in Life in India, Video Editing
Tagged Chennai, driving, India, timelapse, traffic
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R.A. Puram, Chennai in Photos
There’s something both scary and exciting when you get off a plane in a strange foreign country, knowing you’re going to spend the next two years of your life here, whether you like it or not. The first thing that … Continue reading
Posted in Life in India
Tagged Chennai, impressions, R.A. Puram, street life, street photography
6 Comments