Tag Archives: India

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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Found Film: My Very First Camera

What was your first camera?  Mine wasn’t the one pictured above, but it was close:  A Kodak Instamatic X-15 like the one pictured below. This camera was manufactured between 1970 and 1976.  I got mine toward the end of that … Continue reading

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Vintage Camera Test: Brownie Reflex Synchro Model

The Brownie Reflex Synchro Model was made between 1941 and 1952 in the US, and until 1960 in the UK, and closely followed the (non-synchro) Brownie Reflex. It was called a “Reflex” because, like most SLR (single lens reflex) cameras … 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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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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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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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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Backyard Aquaponics Project

A few years ago, my daughter wanted a fishtank for Christmas, which was cool for everyone because we all got to enjoy it in the living room.  We kept live plants with the fish, and I noticed at the time … 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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Camera Test: Ansco Readyflash

The Ansco Readyflash – so named because it’s “ready for flash” (but I don’t have one) via two connectors on the camera – is about as simple a box camera as you could probably come up with.  It’s made of … 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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Day at the Beach

Marina Beach, Chennai, India

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Indian Portraits from the 1950s and 1960s

Between Chennai and Pondicherry is an area with an especially high proliferation of “junk stores.  I suppose the owners would prefer we’d call them antique shops – but there actually aren’t that many actual antiques, just lots of oddities and … Continue reading

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Impressions of Koyambedu

Koyambedu Wholesale Market Complex is one of Asia’s largest perishable goods market complexes.  Spread over an area of 295 acres, the complex consists of more than 1,000 wholesale shops and 2,000 retail shops.  The market has two blocks for vegetable shops and one … Continue reading

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Photographing Chennai’s Kids

A number of different photographer groups in Chennai regularly organize photowalks – walks through various neighborhoods in Chennai. The potential photographic subjects will vary – sometimes it’s market vendors, or stately old buildings, still life, fishing villages. In certain situations, … Continue reading

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Checking in with Rocky

I recently had the opportunity to meet Rocky Braat, the subject of an amazing documentary called “Blood Brother,” winner of both the Audience and Grand Jury Prize at Sundance 2013.  The film tells the story of a disillusioned young American … Continue reading

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Chennai: Textures

I’ve posted before about Chennai’s endless walls and the fact that many of them get postered, painted, repainted and repostered.  This creates interesting textures; so much so, that one of my predecessors did an entire photographic exhibition on just that … Continue reading

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Chennai: Grit and Grain

In Namibia, photography was all about long lenses, tripods, “the golden hour”, and finding the right guide. Since moving to Chennai, a large city in India, the lenses have gotten much shorter, shooting is sometimes instinctive; and sweeping landscapes have … Continue reading

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Badrian Street and the Flower Market

Badrian Street or “Budirian Street” as it is painted on the street sign, is the site of Chennai’s old wholesale flower market. While technically, the vendors in what is commonly known as “poo-k-kadai,” sell “wholesale”, their typical clients are ladies who … Continue reading

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Goa is for the Birds – Literally

Just north of Panaji, Goa’s “small but spritely” capital, where the Mapusa and Mandovi Rivers meet, is what appears to be an island – Chorao Island – which has 11,000 inhabitants, and whose western end is a 1.8 square kilometer … Continue reading

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