Shaiva Fakir, a photo from Tamil Nadu, South

Photographer's Note

This photograph is from Mahabalipuram. It is an ancient temple complex just beside to the beach, a kind of Indian Tulum.

Apart from the excellent monument carving in the stones and temple walls, Mahabalipuram is well know because its sculptures of Indian Deities, as it seems the village keeps the stone working traditions, and you can see many sculptors working daily as you wander by the streets.

It has become a quite tourist spot, and some indians are leading there to attract the tourist to show their incredible abilities, like this young fakir.

The white marks in his face ussually represent a sign of renunciation for the sadhus, made with ash, in this case there are too many, just for the tourist, usually they put in the front and in the arms.

Hope you like!

Elduque, oochappan, pau, Jribeirosantos has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

fserajian (2299) 2006-06-09 14:57

Hi David,

Nice composition, good colours. I wonder what he is thinking about!

Well done.

Fara

moxon (78) 2006-06-11 1:02

The bokeh in the background looks a bit unatural like it was done with pp but otherwise this is a very striking shot. I like how you have positioned him against the yellow and the blue and his face and eyes are nicely highlighted by the sunlight. A little bit less centered might work better though.

Elduque (624) 2006-06-11 3:57

Hola David
Tienes una impresionante colecci鏮 de fotos de la India. Y 廥ta 萖tima realmente da que pensar que tengan que hacer esto para ganarse la vida !!
Fant嫳ticos los colores, la luz y sombra en la cara, y el fondo desenfocado amarillo y azul.
Yo viajo por trabajo de vez en cuando a Chennai y hace dos a隳s estuve ah�, en Mahabalipuram, pero me qued� s鏊o con las fotos de las "piedras". Esta es mucho mejor.
Un saludo
Antonio

Mikos (4326) 2006-06-11 4:37

Hola Light, es una de las fotos que mas me ha impresionado, un saludo ;-)

thaprem (2566) 2006-06-11 7:02

David,
I agree there are a lot of fake displays in Mamallapuram..But this one seems very dramatical!...
Your BG looks little washed?...
Nice one.
Prem.

oochappan (4880) 2006-06-11 13:45

Hi David
it reminds me of a young boy, maybe 12, running there around in Mamalla pure as a tourist attraction in stead of going to school. Good to remind that this is pure a tourist attraction and nowadays lots of Western have a tongue piercing maybe inspired here.
The shot itself is technically perfect for the flamboyant colors you see here a lot in Tamil Nadu and your low angle and used DOF for the suggested background. The light /shadow on his face is also perfectly handled. The framing centered makes it a bit more static like a statue.
Thanks for this one out of Mamalla and the powerfull finishing, impressive.
greetings from Henk

pau (792) 2006-06-12 8:15

Hola David!

Totes les teves fotos de la India son fascinants! Aquesta, sense comentaris...els fakirs sempre han sigut una gent que no et deixen indiferent i tamb� com una mica misteriosa ,desde la optica occidental, clar!
Salutacions!
Pau

Jribeirosantos (1924) 2006-06-13 11:05

wooowww :)
Super shot :)
Excellent colors!
I liketheway the light concentrates at his beautiful expressive eyes!

COngratulations!

Joana

racheltafoya (509) 2009-05-10 12:58

Greetings David,

This is quite a portrait. I'm captivated by the light in his eyes and the intense colors in the image.

It's a shame that the culture here is becoming watered down in order to attract tourists. Nonetheless tourism can be a force that encourages the local people to carry on their traditions, and I like to think that is good for all of us.

Your choice to blur the background divides the image in half. The green and blue do not detract from the central subject, but rather look almost like painted shapes that bring the subject even more to the forefront. It's a pleasing effect in my opinion.

Very well done!

Best Regards,

Rachel