The Photography of Dr. Jeffrey P. Harper

My friend John Stiles is a blues fanatic like me.  He proposed we meet at the Saxophone Pub on Victory monument in Bangkok.  Traffic is bad, and parking hard to find around there . . . so a taxi is a must.

 

The taxi was clean and well equipped with traffic safety garlands, hanging talismans, and a dashboard Buddha.  I felt safe.

 

I rode the taxi to the nearest Sky Train station and road it to Victory Monument Station.

 

The area around Victory Monument Circle was bustling:  it is the start of the long Songkran week-end.  Many people congregate her to catch mini-vans to all parts of Thailand.

 

It was a wonderful, and hot (34c) evening to be out on a Bangkok sidewalk.  With new Sigma 35mm f1.4 low light lens on my trusty Canon 5D mark II camera, I could indulge my passion for photographing street vendor carts . . . like this one.

 

. . . and this forlorn street peddler cart operator.

 

A new shipment of display feet arrived just in time . .  for a photo. Thai streets are covered in street vendor tables of infinite interest.

 

I arrived at the Saxophone Pub early.  The opening act was an incredible acoustic folk singer. Forgive me for not knowing his name.

 

It didn't take long for the place to 'lively up' when the house band, Ped's Band, started rockin' . . .

 

These guys are good.

 

This guy is a fantastic blues guitar player . . . once he gets warmed up. 

 

He had the whole place in a blues swoon.

 

Good driving bass . . .

 

. . . a fine drummer . . .

 

. . . and a not-bad-at-all rhythm/second lead guitar played some pretty powerful interpretations of SRV and Hendrix classics.  Nice.

 

Saxophone Pub is thick with authentic atmosphere that a Hollywood set director could never duplicate.

 

Everybody who is anybody in the blues world of Thailand has played, or hopes to play, Saxophone.

 

It is nice to sit at a counter directly in front of the band.  What a scene!

 

A second band, The Emergency Band, came on at midnight.  They were very good . . . R&B . . .

 

. . . and rocked the place too.

 

My ears ringing with sweet blues and R&B, I finally gave up and left at around 1:30am and headed out into a deserted Victory Monument Circle to find a taxi home. 

Basil and I have been having that old photographer's conversation: What lens to buy next?

 

I was feeling like I had the complete set of lenses I needed . . . for the kind of photographs I take and for how I display them . . . until, that is, the new Sigma 35mm f1.4 came out!  I do a lot of night street shooting in Bangkok and around Southeast Asia, and my trusty Sigma 50mm f1.4 EX DG HSM had become my favorite (reviewed elsewhere on this site), but I found that, on a full frame Canon 5D mark II, it was sometimes too narrow in confined alleyways and dark night markets.  So . . . . I traded in my excellent Sigma 50mm f1.4 for the just released Sigma 35mm f1.4 DG HSM lens . . .  and boy, am I happy!  Very nice.

 

There was nothing wrong with the 50mm Sigma . . . . it almost never left my 5D . . . it is a fantastic lens . . . but I already like the 35mm better for this kind of street shooting.  It's Bangkok, so there is ALWAYS something to shoot, like this egg truck.

 

Very sharp indeed.  A 35mm is about as wide as you can have on your camera without distortions appearing.

 

Detail in dark/shaded areas is amazing.

 

I like walls.  Walls show their histories on their faces.  A 35mm lens in an alley is perfect for capturing this kind of thing without the barrel distortion of something wider.

 

Wall history.

 

A Bangkok alley in great detail and clarity.

 

A Bangkok alley straight from the camera (RAW), converted to a JPEG, reduced in size and posted without any PhotoShop inputs.

 

The Sigma 35mm f1.4 is not a macro lens, but you can close focus with good results.

 

Orchids are always candidates for close shooting.

 

White lobby orchids, Shangri-La Hotel Bangkok.

 

A wonderful, large, old, carved, lacquered elephant greets you at the Shangri-La Hotel.

 

The red Shangri-La elephant served as a good object to experiment on for depth of  field studies.

 

Very nice low light performance.  I couldn't be happier.

 

This is why you have an f1.4 lens: hand held shooting in a dark parking lot.  The detail in this photo at full resolution is incredible.

A Journey In Four Parts. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Part One:  Fort Cochin.

After a complex overnight flight from Bangkok to Mumbai where we waited over eight hours for our connection to Cochin (go here for map and description of Fort Kochi), we were happy to arrive at the Rossetta Wood Castle Hotel.

 

The Rossetta Hotel was built in 1705. It was cheap and very comfortable.  It was located a stones throw from the sea and the old Dutch promenade.

 

The room was air-conditioned, simple, and had a wonderful old tropical musty smell which reminded me of Africa for some reason.

 

After a brief nap, I headed out to take a stroll along the old promenade.  It was a Sunday, so there were lots of people ambling along the path.  I was able to indulge my obsession with peddler's carts.

 

As the sun began to set, the temperature drop, the crowds showed up . . . and so did the ice cream vendors with their bright and shiny carts.

 

The snack vendors also gathered in threes and fours . . . happy to pose.  Snackage was everywhere to be had! The mercury vapor street lights cast a strange yellow pallor over everything . . . marvelously contrasted with the deep blues of the sunset sky.

 

My first sunset in India in 20 years was shaping up to be a good one.  Many people were gathering on a jetty to take it in.  It really was a beautiful evening.

 

I love these street peddlers and their ice cream carts at sunset.  There is something both exciting about them (a child's gauging their prospects of getting an ice cream) and forlorn . . .

 

The local people referred to these contraptions as "Chinese nets."

 

There were many of these Lazza Ice Cream carts.  Apparently the Lazza Salesman of the Year had been in town with a line of credit and a truck full of carts!  I never saw anybody actually purchase an ice cream from these guys.

 

Night snackage.

 

Nicely arrayed Indian night snackage.

 

Sticking your head under the roof of one of these night snackage mobile sales units was like peeking through a portal that opened up onto an alternate universe.  No kidding.

 

In some places several peddlars had circled their carts, like a barrier against the immensity of the night.

 

Cochin has had a large Jewish population since the 2nd century.  There are many lovely old Jewish merchants homes around Cochin.  Some, like this one, have been made into restaurants.  My friends Bud and Allan joined me for a sumptuous meal here.

 

We walked around the old town and marvelled at Cochin's rich history.  Ah!  It seems the Lazza salesman had a unit that fits nicely in the back of a Tuk-tuk truck.

 

I woke up very early the next morning to take a stroll around and take some photos before the houseboat company came to pick us up.  The sky was overcast . . . not ideal for photography, but it didn't matter. Cochin's 14th-18th century high point of development was evident everywhere.

 

Cochin saw Middle eastern Jewish and Islamic settlement, followed by Portugese and Dutch colonial settlements, and eventually the British Raj.  The Dutch-built St. Francis Church, 1882, is one of the newer churches here.

 

The Dutch left behind some nice architecture . . . .

 

. . . and that's not all the Dutch left behind!  I LOVED this sign: How far is "O Km"?  Yes, well, I guess a cemetery would be "God's own country" if you believed in that kind of thing.  Actually, "God's Own Country" was a phrase coined by the Kerala Tourist Authority . . .  oh well.  I went to God's Own Country, er, I mean, the old Dutch cemetary, but it was locked.  It was founded in 1724.

 

A four-hundred year old wall has a history.

 

I was in street peddler's cart HEAVEN!  This one definitely ranks in my all time second decile!

 

Cochin is a side trip on the global tourist map.  It has been discovered.  As such, there have been a number of the old colonial mansions restored and converted into up-scale "boutique" hotels.

 

This boutique hotel was a bit over the top: shades of Bali . . . too much of a shade of Bali.  I preferred the simple honesty of the Rossetta.

 

Kerala is a "communist" state within India.  I use quotations because it is a very home-grown communism without any foreign affiliations.  The government here is concerned with "social uplift" as many here told me.

 

My morning walkabout led me through the wondrous damp streets of early morning Fort Cochin, India.

 

Fort Cochin has many old forts, vestiges of the various colonial interlopers.  My love of dilapidation, corrugation, and old walls was met here in spades!

 

Of course the biggest and nicest house in the city is the Bishops House.  One can imagine tea with the Viceroy and Bishop on the veranda not long after its 1557 founding.  Those pesky Christians have been at it for a long time.

 

There are blocks and blocks of old Dutch homes in Fort Cochin.

 

There are many churches in Kerala, but the Santa Cruz Cathedral was particularly magnificent.  I caught convent dwellers skipping off to school.

 

Rural folk stepping into the interior of the Santa Cruz Cathedral for the first time must have been mighty impressed.

 

Those early church architects sure knew how to use natural light.  Yummie.

 

"Forgive Them For They Know Not What They Do" -- a 16th Century European Christian world view.

 

The Ambassador was manufactured in India for oer 50 years virtually unchanged.  Lovely car.

 

It seemed like every corner I walked around that morning presented a fantastic wall in the process of allowing time and Nature make it into Art.

 

I was stopped in my tracks . .  in stunned silence at the sight of this building . . . telling its history in light and color.  I had to investigate . . . and to study it photographically.  Graffiti upon graffiti, moss upon moss, paint upon paint, water stains upon water stains.

 

The colors of time and nature violated by a grey cement window repair.

 

The same building: wall and window.

 

Window only. Not just a window.

 

How to frame this window?  What was this building used for?

 

I walked around the corner and discovered that I had been photographing the old wing of the Cochin Secondary School, abandoned in 1901 when this new structure was built.

 

It was getting near 9:00am, so I rushed back to the hotel, only stopping when a wall called to me.  ("Doctor, the walls are talking to me!")

 

Was this a stain, or a Rorschach of the city's history? 

 

I think of these old Cochin walls as half way between their erection, and being discovered as ancient finds by some future archeologist.

 

I snapped this last wall, which seemed to have gladly given itself over to worlds upon it, before arriving at the hotel just in time for a quick breakfast and then on to the next adventure on the houseboat. 

 

FORT COCHIN REVISITED

Actually, we stayed in Fort Cochin twice: once when we arrived, and once when we returned from the three-day houseboat cruise in the Appleby backwaters.  On our way back from the houseboat tour, our driver stopped off at some of the local tourist hot spots . . . . where we weren't the only tourists.  With 1,000,000,000 people living in India, and 300,000,000 of them living at or above a middle class life style, there are a lot of Indian tourists.  And good for them.  That is the 16th Century Synagogue in the background.

 

Fort Cochin has had a large Jewish presence since the 2nd Century (!).

 

The Paradesi Synagogue.  Imagine the wonderful minds that have crossed through this doorway for the past 500 years.  The Synagogue was closed due to mourning for a recently departed member of this close knit community.

 

The ancient Fort Kochi synagogue.  The street signs in the area declared, "Jewtown."

 

My infatuation with street peddler's carts was satisfied at another tourist stop (an old Prince's palace): The Digital Cart!  Notice the sign touting the availability of "Memory Cards, Digital Camera Cards, Batteries . . . ."! The times they are a'changin' INDEED!

 

After we returned to our hotel, I went walkabout and discovered this restored-for-tourists 1880s jail.

 

The former occupants of this jail cell may, or may not have appreciated the marvelous play of light and shadow.

 

I came across these shade-dwelling Tuk-Tuk driers who consented to a photograph . . .

 

. . . and since I was hot and tired, and Fort Cochin is kind of spread out, I engaged Mohammed for an afternoon's city tour.

 

It was great idea to have hired a personal Tuk-Tuk.  Mohammed would stop whenever I saw an old window . . .

 

. . . or a photogenic old street stall.

 

Even in its dilapidation, there is Old World Charm about Fort Cochin.

 

Mohammed decided I needed to see that there were all kinds of religions practiced in Fort Cochin, and they all got along "without trouble." He brought me first to a Jain temple.  Jainism teaches non-violence to all living things and non-attachment and non aversion to the world.

 

Pigeons are not fools!  They figured out the safest place in the city was in the yard of the non-violent Jain Temple.

 

The grounds of the Jain Temple were extremely peaceful . . . perhaps a little too peaceful for this sleeping Jian devotee.

 

Our next stop was to be one of the Hindu Temples, but first we had to stop at a fruit market area . . .

 

. . . where it happened Mohammed had a cousin in the actual fruit business.  What a coincidence.  I bought a bag of very delicious LOCAL oranges.

 

There were many, many small shops like this one . . . . where the owners seemed only to earn enough for a subsistence life style.  No greed, no hurrying about.

 

Along our route to the Hindu Temple, these local beauties asked me to take their photo.

 

I suspected this old woodcutter was snot receiving enough to pay for the calories he needed for the hard  work he did every day.

 

A well fed Fort Cochin construction worker.

 

One of the old Fort Cochin Hindu temples . . . fantastic.

 

These young temple dwellers saw that I had a camera and demanded a photograph.  I obliged. These children seemed very creepy to me . . . like they were a special kind of BEING one might  see in a science fiction movie: I suspected they were perhaps 400-500 years old by the way they acted and looked at me.

 

Some of the doors in the interior of this temple appeared very old.  I took a lot of Old Door photos . . . maybe I should do a book titled, The Old Doors of Fort Cochin, India.

 

This would make a nice cover photo for my book on Cochin Doors. My Tuk-Tuk, driver, Mohammed, got into my obsession with doors too . . . he liked the old doors too and took me to several amazing examples.

 

Yes, Mohammed had been hoping to meet a tourist like me to share his love of old doors.  What luck!

 

From the simple to the elaborate, I was them all . . . and was very happy about it too.

 

I would love one day to take a very large format camera to photograph these doors . . . and then print them life size . . . . to stand in front of these entryways, with its history so visible, is a real joy.

 

Mohammed was not shy about posing in front of these old doors either.  It was good to have a model handy.  Maybe he has done this before?

 

We went to an old Portuguese-era warehouse and ran into this door: No photography inside.  Good thing I do not read Hindi (actually I do) . . . .

 

A forbidden photograph:  inside the old Portuguese-era (16th century) warehouse courtyard, now used as a dried ginger gleaning and sorting facility . . .

 

I can see why they might not want photographs in here . . . it was down right Medieval.

 

A [surprised] Fort Cochin ginger gleaner.

 

I asked this aging ginger gleaner if I could photograph her and she struck this pose for me.

 

The results of all that ginger gleaning.

 

The ginger facility also housed an Everything Imaginable Made From Ginger To Be Sold To Tourists shop. Yes, it was right through that green door Mohammed is leaning next to.  What color!  We went in, but I did not buy anything . . . it was getting cloudy, and I wanted to see more of Old Fort Cochin.

 

I loved the ambience of this town!

 

Well, not all of Fort Cochin was pleasing.  I am often a little angered when I see Christian churches outside Europe, and I felt the same way in The Congo.  Why spread this nutball idea around the world like it was the privelaged discourse to end all discourse?

 

As Christianity, Islam, and Judaism are sects of the same religion, I guess I was kind of glad when Mohammed said I could not enter his own Mosque.

 

An amazing structure.  I was struck by how a lack of general building maintenance could produce such beauty.  It is important to be reminded of the impermanence of our human existence, and these decaying structures, like the non-linearity of Bangkok (my home), are excellent reminders that humankind is not on some kind of preordained teleological journey towards perfection.

 

The television posted bill is just priceless.  It looks like an enlargement of some old fashioned computer clip-art.  Nice.

 

If you have snooped around my blog you know that corrugation and dilapidation are among my favorite themes . . . . so I couldn't resist when I saw this masterpiece of Corrugated Art.

 

I am sometimes concerned that I only show the interesting or amazing sights of places I visit, overlooking the reality of the mundane day-to-day life of a place.  I hope I don't: my intent is to elevate the simple and overlooked into a state of the supramundane in an attempt to blast false, discursively constructed meta-narratives and false hierarchies away. A street in the Islamic quarter of Fort Cochin, Kerala, India.

 

My love of old windows and doors is only exceeded by sealed-up old windows and doors.  Why?  Maybe I would benefit from some Gestalt psychotherapy . . . . I went back to the hotel after this, figuring I would never get a better photo on the entire trip.

 

My racing buddies, Bud and Allan, and I spent our last evening in Fort Cochin strolling the seaside promenade.

 

The cooks at our hotel recommended we go an purchase some fresh fish that they would cook any way we liked.  Instead we asked if they could pick one out for us.  They did, and cooked one of the most delicious meals I have ever had!  After dinner we found the source of the delicious fish.

 

As it turned out, the night fish stalls serviced all the hotels and guest houses of Fort Cochin, all of whom asked their guests if they wanted to purchase fresh fish that they would then cook however you would want it.

 

 We had to wake early the next morning to catch a flight to New Delhi, so this was the last photo I took in Fort Cochin, Kerala, India.  What a  wonderful place to visit.

 

OK, this was the last photo in Cochin.  This inibriated, but friendly, fellow wished to befriend us by engaging in a conversation that none of us could understand, including him, I believe.

 _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Part Two: Kerala Backwater Houseboat Cruise (Three Days & Two Nights)

Let the lazy cruise begin!  As far as we could figure out, this was an exact sister ship to our own houseboat (photo taken from ours).

 

We boarded our houseboat in a narrow channel that had many other houseboats of varying configurations.

 

We were happy to set off at a leisurely pace out into the Kerala Backwaters.

 

This boat, and background, reminded me of my river boat trip up the Congo River 30 years ago.  It's the same idea the world over: a river bus.

 

Other than the other houseboats in the backwaters, there wasn't much human activity to be observed out here.  It felt very vast and remote out there.

 

Although miles from anywhere, and accessible only by boat, the missionaries had been out here converting souls. 

 

Our boatman pulled over a  couple of times, mostly to see if we wanted to purchase [very expensive] shrimp or fish.  We were very satisfied with the food they were serving and declined. This is our houseboat.  Yes, it had a satellite dish, but we never turned on the T.V.

 

This abandoned building must have been a government tariff office as it was located at the junction of two very large canals.

 

We all got off the houseboat here and had fun photographing each other posing in and outside of the old photogenic building.

 

Bud is a science teacher and pointed out the interesting green expansion streaks on the trunk of this rapidly growing palm.

 

Yep, even way the hell out in the backwaters I managed to find an dilapidated old shuttered window to shoot.  Lucky me!

 

The land around the canals were in various stages of land reclamation: this area was completely reclaimed from the brackish waters as rice fields.

 

As can be seen in the background, other land areas had had their salt water pumped out and were soaking in rainwater, which was also pumped out, in an effort to desalinate the soil.

 

Late October is suppose to be one of the best times for the backwater houseboat trips, but we had thunderstorms with heavy rain every afternoon.  The white egrets seemed to be getting ready for the deluge.

 

All kinds of people use the backwater bus as the only way to get around . . . including  some tourists, I see.

 

When the storm hit in the late afternoon, the many houseboats headed for the smaller canals to avoid any wave action.  You can count 20 houseboats in this photo!  We were never out of sight of at least three other boats.  It didn't matter.

 

Some of the other houseboats pulled over in the heaviest of the rain . . . . .

 

. . . but not our pilot!  He pushed on, as a reduced speed, throughout the storm.

 

I would imagine those involved with reclaiming this land were happy to see such a big downpour.

 

The storm finally broke leaving this amazing afternoon light.  I knew we were going to be in for a beautiful sunset.

 

From our upper floor crows nest we could see thunder storms all around.

 

Day gradually turned to night . . . .

 

. . . the sky turned from a leaden grey to the yellow warmth of golden light.

 

With the sun setting, our pilot pulled up behind another houseboat to tie up for the night.

 

The sunset was shaping up to be incredible.  I put some Indian flute music on the Jambox MusicBar and we all sat back and fell into a mellow stupor, lulled by the beauty of the music and sunset.

 

Stunning.

 

Every minute the sunset presented different colors and shades . . .

 

. . . I became completely indiscriminate in my photo taking . . . running around saying, "WOW!  Look at it now!" . . . and clicking a few more shots.

 

This was directly across the canal from where we had tied up for the night.

 

After about 50 of these shots I got the idea to create a sequence that would play as a sideshow on this site . . . .

 

Each of these would make a great poster.  The darker it got, the more lightning we could see in the distant clouds.  The night sky was not over.

 

After many, many attempts, I finally captured a little snippet of lightning flashing in the distance.  It was a magic night.

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I was woken early the next day by the sound of soft splashing outside the houseboat and went out to investigate.  Our crew was out trying to net some fish.

 

Did I mention that every meal was a gourmet meal?  They were not only delicious, but always beautifully presented, like this breakfast feast.

 

The construction detail of our houseboat was very intricate . . . and beautiful in the morning light.

 

At around 9:00am our crew cast off and we rejoined our journey on the backwaters of Kerala.

 

It was a beautiful cool morning, so there qere many more people out on the backwaters in all forms of watercraft.

 

This local fellow looked like he has seen his share of tourists in houseboats invading the serenity of his home.

 

I have no idea what these canalside residents thought of us as we passed . . .

 

. . . I hope they saw us as travellers who were there to appreciate the beauty of the natural and manmade world they inhabit.

 

A Kerala Huck Finn . . . with a full life ahead of him . . .

 

. . . and the knowledge that the government of Kerala is looking after his basic needs.

 

Life along the banks never quit being fascinating to me.

 

Having to catch a fish to survive would be very stressful for me.

 

It rained on and off during the day . . . but the fishermen kept on fishing.

 

Almost everyone we saw out in the backwaters were men . . . with these two exceptions.

 

Part of our marvelous, and tasty, lunch.

 

The scenes here were timeless . . . like something out of a bygone era . . .

 

Yes, 2012, not 1912 . . .

 

Some scenes seem to lend themselves to black and white/sepia.

 

Kerala backwater canal maintenance workmen, circa 2012.

 

A nice old launch.

 

What a wonderful world.

 

As evening drew near on the second day, the backwaters opened out into an immense shallows . . .

 

. . . . and many fishermen sprinkled themselves about tending their nets.

 

Our houseboat crew at work in the late afternoon.

 

I the rainy evening we steered into a small canal and tied up in a small village, like many other houseboats.

 

After the sun set a number of "party boats" cruised up and down the canal, reminding us of how close we must be to a large population center.

 

We spent a very serene night moored in the backwater canal of Kerala.

 

I woke early the next morning to stroll around the small canalside village.

 

There was a small Hindu temple in the village and it seemed people had dressed in their finery to attend some kind of special event there.

 

The colors in the clothing was devine.

 

After breakfast we motored back out into the open water where I saw this giant houseboat with five bedrooms . . .what a fun party that could be!

 

Breakfast.

 

In the last morning we went back up the canal to where we started our journey.  This is our crew and the manager of the houseboat company (on left).  We had a great three days puttering out and about the inland backwaters.

 _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Part Three: Delhi

We made it to Delhi after the sun had set and took along ride in an old Ambassador taxi to our hotel on this street.  Oh My, What Have We Done?!!!  You can see our hotel in the background, The Hotel le Roi.

 

This beautiful scene was just down the street from our hotel, the Hotel LeRoi, in Delhi.

 

I was fascinated by the street right out in front of our hotel.  The Delhi Night Street.

 

The street life, the street characters, bathed in the yellowish mercury vapor lights, created a dream world filled with all the stations and predicaments of life . .  like a living Ramanaya.

 

The Delhi street is dusty, noisy, and smelly . . . with the ubiquitous tuktuk responsible for most of it!

 

The cold lassi looked inviting . . . but . . .

 

. . . I decided on a couple of local Indian oranges from the fruit stand on the left instead.

 

I walked up and down this street a dozen times in the four days I was in Delhi and never tired of looking and seeing.

 

The mercury vapor street lights varied quite a it in their color tone; some were very bright and yellow, and some were more reddish, like in this scene of a samlor driver night eatery.

 

The Hotel le Roi was just down the street to a warehouse that employed porters late in the night to carry sacks of flour out to waiting trucks.  There were always many men sitting on the curb hoping to get some hourly income.

 

This Delhi night workman gestured to me to take his photo.

 

I wasn't sure if this was a ladder shop or if there was going to be some high construction nearby.

 

All dressed up . . .

 

This samlor driver sat in this pose for a very long time, lost in time.

 

When it got very late, many people pulled out their stashed bed rolls and went to sleep on the sidewalks . . . mainly under the brightest lights they could fin.

 

Bud and I woke up early, had a pretty good breakfast buffet at the Hotel le Roi, and headed out to see if we could find famous The Red Fort . . . on foot.  Armed with a pretty good hotel provided map, we set off for a long walk in the Old Delhi streets.  Oh, the things we would see!

 

My, my, my . . . . what streets they were!  With so many millions living in Delhi, the need for delivery transportation is great.  To see ox carts in the middle of a city is something fantastic.

 

Some loads you are unlucky as a cycle drayman . . . you need a little help from a freind . . . .

 

. . . and some loads you get lucky and have to only haul pillow stuffing.

 

But mostly the loads were heavy.  This looks like a hard life . . . one where you would aks a lot of questions about the nature of existence . . . .

 

I don't know why a tri-shaw mattress delivery person on the side streets of Old Delhi strikes me as humorous.  Pure Novelty?

 

. . . . which is the work of these good fellows, the Sadhus.

 

I asked with a gesture to my camera if I could make a portrait of these Sadhus and they all nodded their acquiescence.

 

These Sadhu portraits were taken in a temple not far from our hotel.

 

What's on his mind, I do not know . . . he may have transcended it.

 

There is the question of volition: "What to do?"  I have a pair of shoes just like his.

 

Magnificent affect . . . or, perhaps, affective magnificence.

 

There were holy men sitting around everywhere in this temple . . . I wondered how, and why, they decide on wearing what they are wearing.

 

These two holy men were studying.

 

This holy man appeared very self-satisfied, that is, if he had a self.

 

I liked this guy . . . and thought of sitting down for a conversion about, you know, everything.

 

We left the temple and headed up and over a train viaduct where we found this man using the bridge railings to dry white string.  It seems every single space had been exploited for some human activity.

 

I could not tell if this guy was a holy man or not.  He sat in the shade with a pan out in front of him filled with snacks.  He was a snackage merchandiser . . . maybe recently a Sadhu . . . who knows.   There is a question of volition.

 

Bud and I walked many huours n the small  back streets of Old Delhi looking for the Red Fort.  After a while it did not really matter if we ever found it . . .

 

. . . there were so many interesting things to see and contemplate.

 

Every single square meter has been figured out long ago in Delhi.  The small space between the doorway and the mobile phone shop has been filled with a small altar . . . complete with two women attendants.

 

The shoe repairman's buddy stopped in for a chat.  I had a warm feeling about the Indians living life out in the civic space.

 

This vegetable hawker was sorting potatoes while clutching his iPhone against his shoulder . . . Deli folk were far from disconnected.

 

I stopped to take a photo of the wonderful blue door . . . just as a dray cart full of cement passed in front.

 

The doors in this part of Delhi were superb: old, unkempt, and with their histories still intact.

 

The narrow alleyways were full of these touching architectural scenes.

 

Holy men would occasionally pass us by in the small streets.

 

Along one narrow street, no wider than two meters, a man had converted his home into a temple to Sai Baba, RIP.

 

The Sai Baba temple keeper asked that I take his photograph.

 

The Sai Baba temple effigy.

 

The alleys of Old Delhi are winding and lined with doors and passageways.  Doors seem to me to tell a mysterious story about the interiors behind them, like a human face.

 

This door, these stairs, where do they lead?

 

A small shop in the depths of Old Delhi . . . where a child grows up beneath colorful balls.

 

A vender of everything deep fried to a golden brown.

 

Another Old Delhi alley shop sold these, uh . . . . . you tell me!

 

An endless number of doors.  Somewhere I have a book titled The Doors of Florence, Italy.  A book of Old Delhi doors would be equally fascinating, and just as beautiful.

 

Old Delhi windows are not too shabby either . . . I mean they are shabby . . . and wonderful.

 

A history of volition writ in wood.

 

The look of the place:  a Delhi intersection.

 

The look of the place.

 

Bud and I walked up this street.

 

Old Delhi felt to me like a city that had been abandoned for centuries and then reinhabited, rather that a place that is undergoing current decay.

 

Perhaps a remnant of a lost civilization, dug up, cleaned off, and new paint applied?

 

I began to notice that in behind all the carts and merchant's tables was an ancient city, full of fabulous architectural detail.

 

This Grand Entry, hidden in plain view, drew my attention.  I stopped in for a chat . . .

 

. . . and met the great-grandson of this remarkable building's builder, whose visage was left in stone at the entry. 

 

Delhi maters.

 

Mother and son shopping.

 

With so many religions and sects in Delhi, we figured that there had  to be some kid of holy day almost every day . . . we hoped that would explain these painted goats . . .

 

. . . and these boys riding backwards on a spotted camel.  We ran into these knuckleheads a couple of times in the Red Fort neighborhood . . . hooting it up!

 

The shops immediately around the Red Fort were primarily auto and truck parts related.  This red-bearded vendor specialized in springs . . . and springs . . .

 

. . . and springs.

 

Whiling the hot afternoon hours away in the Red Fort guardhouse.

 

One side of The Red Fort was lined with used auto parts shops.

 

A well-dressed tasseled string vendor perched on a Vespa seat talking on his mobile phone.

 

This fellow was either preaching something the folks around there had heard already, or he was a ranter.  Nobody paid him any attention  . . . except me.

 

We eventually found the Red Fort . . .

 

. . . but The Red Fort was closed to non-Muslims for two hours.  We contemplated coming back.

 

The Red Fort is a magnificent structure.  It was a shame we could not get inside.

 

Women were also not let in The Red Fort and instead sat on the steps.

 

The view from the Red Fort looking into the chaos of Old Delhi.

 

After grumbling about the closed Red Fort, we decided to walk a 360 around the structure and come back . . . so we headed back out into The Delhi Street.

 

There was an Muslim market along one side of The Red Fort and Bud and I walked in for a look.

 

Meeting your textile needs since 1953.

 

Islamic people are very generous.  We saw the local merchants give this street schizophrenic food.

 

City goats have a different diet than country goats.

 

Aerating the hot lasse.

 

A brassware merchant, no doubt taking the early shift for his father.

 

Of course I found some fantastic windows . . . .

 

. . . . and aged doors.

 

I thought this was a photogenic alley . . . then took a second look and realized the warehouse on the right had wonderful architectural decor in the form of panels . . . that would make great "wall portraits"!

 

Each of the loading doors on the Old Delhi warehouse were different . . .

 

. . . different sizes, patterns, and styles . . .

 

. . . and all of them were interesting and beautiful.

 

A perfect old door and dray cart portrait.

 

A nice place to set up your shoe shine business.  All of these photos were taken within 30 meters of each other. 

 

Bud and I decided not to go back to The Red Fort but instead dove back in to the narrow alley/streets of Old Delhi.

 

These alleys are no more than one meter wide, but filled with mystery anad wonder.  Where do these doors lead?

 

I as soooo tempted to go in and take a look around . . . .

 

Wonderful surfaces. beautiful lines, perfect light . . . .

 

If you are ever in Old Delhi do not miss these small back alleys . . . the architectural features are stunning.

 

We took this shortcut back to the hotel . . . and did NOT get lost.

 

Our shortcut lead us here, just in time for me to shoot one of my favorite subjects; The Drayman and his cart.

 

Just before we reached the fabulous Le Roi Hotel, I spotted this baby on the street, her mother nearby selling flowers.  What a place to be born into . . . along with the other billion Indians across the sub-continent. Human Life.

 

I stopped in here and bught one of thsee hanging lamps.  Nice.

 

A street henna artist plying his trade.

 

I debated about buying some of these spices to bring back to Bangkok, but decided not to, even though the merchant said he had once lived in Thailand.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Part Four:  The Indian Grand Prix F1 Race

 

We arrived at the Buddh International Curcuit after a one hour adventure on a train and in a taxi.  We had to go to a really strange industrial park about ten kilometers from the track to redeem our electronic ticket vouchers.  There were many Europeans there as well.  All good fun and head shaking.

 

The usual prohibitions in our modern world, but with friendly reminder . . . they have no storage for any of the prohibited item.  How helpful.

 

Although we had been in the remoter parts of India, and deep in the small streets of Old Delhi, we were reminded that this event was at the center of a huge global market.

 

Of course, with so much of the world's attention on the race, and all the glamour that surrounds, it brought out the race girls!

 

We took our seats in the very plush, and well maintained, Turn 10/11 "Big Bend" -- a pretty good place to watch Qualifying on Saturday.

 

A Formula One race is actually several races . . . we got there just in time to see a Formula Renault race, incidentally, won by the lone American in the field.  Will there be an American F1 driver in the future?

 

These preliminary races are actually the "development league" for future F1 drivers . . . so these young guys have a lot to prove.  They are trying to "win a seat" in a bigger tam in a faster formula that, they hope, will bring them to F1 one day.  The racing was tight and the drivers aggressive.

 

After the preliminary classrace ended the Safety Car, a roaring big V8 Mercedes, made a few laps to see if it was safe for the F1 carrs to begin Q1. We were in for a treat!

 

Sebastian Vettel Q1.

 

The very popular Force India during Q2.

 

We had very good seats -- at the big swooping bend (turns 11 & 12).  Here is Kimi in the kitty litter during Q3.

 

We had a good view of the cars coming and going for quite a distance.  Here Alonso is chasing Schumi during qualifying on Saturday (Kimi's spin debris is seen on the track in the foreground).

 

Vettel coming up the hill to the big bend.

 

Vettel turns in to turn 10.

 

Vettel was by far the smoothest driver through these turns.  He was the only driver able to keep his foot in the throttle through turn 12.

 

The big bend of turns 11 and 12 was very tricky for many drivers.  Team Marussia on the run-out.

 

Mark Webber entering turn 10 at speed.

 

This is, no doubt, the last I will see of the great Michael Schumacher.

 

Massa negotiating turn 11.

 

Lewis Hamilton coming . . . .

 

. . . and going on a qualifying run.

 

Massa was looking very strong in India.

 

Schumi's racer was set up so low, the front wing was dragging and throwing sparks.

 

I only brought my Canon 5D Mark II camera on Saturday for Qualifying, and it was a good thing:  the air quality was so bad at the track you could barely see the race cars more than a half kilometer away. I did have a little movie camera that takes stills, so I got this photo at the track of the last Indian sundown.  We would take a bus 20 kilometers to a train station, and then 30 minutes in a very crowed rail car with happy, and talkative race fans.  We ate a delicious dinner, showered, and took a taxi to the airport, and said good-bye to a great week in India.

I was sitting inside watching golf on the television when it dawned on me, "Why am I sitting inside watching golf on the television?" I have been noticing a wasp's hole near where I park every day and have been saying to myself, "Self, you should mount that excellent Sigma 70mm macro lens on your camera and see if you can't capture that dangerous rascal one of these days."  I have been saying that for weeks . . . so . . . no time like the present.

 

Taking a photo of wasps is not a very smart thing to do, really.  You are so scared of getting stung that most of your shots are blurred because of the shaking camera.  In addition, wasps are shy creatures:  I waited way too long in scorching heat and melting humidity and all I got was this this little guy peeping out of his wasp hole at me for 15 minutes.  Oh well . . . . there's plenty more in the garden to look at this beautiful morning.

 

There had been a heavy rain last night (like EVERY night for the past two weeks), and there was still a lot of moisture on everything . . .

 

It's fun walking around in the garden with a macro lens!  My Sigma DG 70mm f2.8 Macro lens is about as good as it gets for this kind of close-up work.

 

A very tiny world magnified inside this single drop!

 

The light was clear and very low . . . and passed through these red fronds.  The dew drops were on the back side of these!  Amazing!

 

Deep in the undergrowth . . . little gems.

 

There was so much to see this morning!  I lost my breath when I saw this.

 

Deep down at the bottom of the garden little magnifying lenses point out additional detail.  Wonderful.

 

A single dew drop crowns this magnificent red bud-with-a-flowing-bud.

 

It didn't take long for the sun to dry off the dew from these red flowers.  It was 90+ degrees and humidity 90%+ as well.

 

The rains blew a lot of leaves off the trees . . . at first I thought it looked messy . . . but then I looked closer!

 

I love the sparkle of this pink leaf.

 

A sensuous palm frond, vaguely human.

 

With all the rain we have been having over the past several months, everything is growing like crazy.

 

Not only is everything growing like crazy, it is growing everywhere!  The variety of plant life growing on this garden path stone is incredible.

 

An old dead tree stump had new lichens growing on it.  WOW! What planet did this come from?

 

Another strange lichen.  I wish I had some extension tubes for my macro set-up . . . guess I'll go to the camera shop this afternoon!

 

This is about the maximum magnification I can get without an extension tube on my macro lens.  This is at 100%, no crop.

 

Our star fruit (Carambola) tree is starting to drop fruit.  Pretty tasty, but a strange texture . . . .

 

Snail Love . . . . mating at the bottom of the garden!

 

Oh!  So that's where the Chinese stone garden lantern went!

 

I noticed this flowing  thorn bush before I went into the house . . . and noticed that I hadn't noticed how beautiful the stalks were!

ONE DAY IN MY LIFE:

I was up and on the way to Ayutthaya at 4:00am the other morning to meet some photography buddies for a shoot of the ancient Thai capitol.  Ayutthaya is about an 80 minute drive north on the good super highway from my home in the northern suburbs of Bangkok.

 

We all met up at an old traditional Thai teak house just across from the Ayutthaya Historical Park.  It was still quite dark when we arrived, but the main temple structures were bathed in orange light.

 

Everyone had a tripod, but me.  I'm pretty good with my hand held trusty Canon 5D Mark II and Sigma 50mm f1.4 lens. What a beautiful sight.

 

Slowly, slowly . . . . the morning light arrived in blues.

 

The sun gradually  rose and cast it's light upon the ruins of the ancient city.

 

Though it was still quite dark, there was so much of interest to see and photograph.

 

The five of us fanned out in different directions, with our curiosities diverging.

 

As one of three Buddhists in the group, I went looking for the Buddha images.  This one was magnificent.

 

Very old Buddha image.  Ayutthaya was a major  city between 1350 and 1765 (when it was sacked by the Burmese).  It is estimated that Ayutthaya was a city of 1,000,000 people by 1700.  These ruins are from the royal Buddhist temple.

 

We managed to be in pretty much the right place when the "magic light" showed up.

 

Beautiful morning light to shoot these awesome monuments.

 

These gigantic chedis may have held Buddha relics or the remains of beloved monks or abbots.

 

Interestingly, these chedis and Wat structures had not been rebuilt or restored by archaeologists, but have been continuously free-standing since the 14th century in the state you see here.

 

 

Although we started off in different directions, we all converged at about the same time at the famous Buddha head engulfed by a tree.  This image is so connected to Thailand that it could easily become the national symbol.  It is one of the most photographed objects in the world, no doubt . . . but that does not lessen the visual and spiritual impact of seeing it in the real.

 

It was getting lighter and the warm morning sun was beginning to find it's way under the large trees.  I took around twenty shots of the Buddha head at many different f-stops, shutter speeds, and ISO settings trying to find the best solution to capturing the mood of this place.  These two photos stood out from among the many I took.

 

Not fifty meters from the Buddha head in the tree is this wonderful monument and Buddha image.

 

The Ayutthaya-period Thais had a distinctive architectural style.

 

Sacred Lord Buddha.

 

We all moved on to the incredible main, central structure: Wat Ratcha Burana.

 

Phra Prang Prathan.

 

The temple architecture is unique to Ayutthaya.

 

There are so many chedis in and around Phra Prang Prathan that any window frame you walk by yields a great photo.

 

This area was the center of a city of one million inhabitants in 1700.

 

Phra Prang Prathan.

 

The sides of Phra Prang Prathan chedi are still covered with the original bas relief Buddha panels.

 

The carvings and other decorative details of Phra Prang Prathan are still in excellent, unrestored shape.

 

Part of the vast temple and royal grounds of Ayutthaya.

 

On the climb up of the chedi, there were great views of the temple complex.

 

Once up the many chedi steps and inside, we all contorted ourselves to capture every small and interesting detail of this ancient structure.  The textures were remarkable. (Here: "BASIL THE CONTORTIONIST")

 

While in the upper inner chamber of the Phra Prang Prathan chedi we were confronted by a perturbed park ranger who asked us to leave immediately.  It seems the park does not open until 8:00am.  Oops!  NOT!  We walked back out through the old royal buildings that were now streaked in light and shadow.

 

Timelessness.

 

Looking back in the Wat compound and reflecting on what a great morning it was.

 

The ancient ruins of Ayutthaya are not just some destination for tourists, a lost civilization.  They are still revered and pilgrims still come her to worship.  They are a living monument to a living spiritual practice.

 

A picture post card.

 

The wear on the ancient Wat walls carry the patina of time.

 

Here and there traces of ancient inscriptions can be made out, along with shards of Chinese ceramics embedded in the ancient walls.

 

There is a beautiful monument at each gate, corner, and change of direction along the old walls.  Strong morning light illuminated all the detail.  Nice.

 

A decorative wall monument, Ayutthaya Historical Park.  We left the Historical Park central area and went in search of the giant reclining Buddha.

 

The entire area, for many kilometers, is all chedis and old royal Thai structures.

 

After a while of walking around in a constant state of wonder at these huge and beautiful chedis, I was left in a photographers quandary: what to shoot?  There is too much of interest here . . . and what will I do with 100 photos of chedis, albeit wonderful chedis?

 

I shot the incredible ensembles and arrangements of chedis . . .

 

I shot the details of the chedis . . . . .

 

I tried not to shoot the same chedi too many times . . . . the light was so perfect for this kind of large architectural structure.  Magnificent!

 

I love this magnificent colossal Thai style.

 

Magnificent!

 

More chedis . . .

 

There are so many royal and Buddhist sites in and around Ayutthaya.  We stopped here to marvel at the three enormous white chedis.

 

We encountered very few tourists on this Wednesday in mid-June, but the few we did encounter, like this busload of Japanese tourists, were very well behaved and quiet.

 

Basil and I had fun taking photos of each other in interesting locations.

 

We left the chedi enclosure and walked to a nearby Wat to see what marvels it held.

 

The Wat was, of course, filled with marvelous images.  Here a "tree of donation receipts" and an old Buddha with a perectly lit wall.  Yummy!

 

The effect of the whole wal with the natural window lighting.  (NO, the darkened corners are not an artifact of the lens . . . it looked that way!)

 

The Wat held a Buddha Colossus . . . but just.  It also held many very old relic Buddha heads from ancient Wats that no longer exist . . . that were incredibly lit by the reflections of the colossal Buddha and a very red carpet (see below).  FANTASTIC!

 

The giant Buddha image sat upon a magnifiscent base.

 

Ancient Buddha head relic bathed in reflected light from a red carpet in the sunshine.  Incredible!

 

Ancient Buddha head relic bathed in reflected light from a red carpet in the sunshine.  Incredible!

 

Ancient Buddha head relic bathed in reflected light from a red carpet in the sunshine.  Incredible!

 

Ancient Buddha head relic bathed in reflected light from a red carpet in the sunshine.  Incredible!

 

Ancient Buddha head relic bathed in reflected light from and open window on one side and a red carpet in the sunshine on the other.  Incredible!

 

Ancient Buddha head relic bathed in reflected light from and open window on one side and a red carpet in the sunshine on the other.  Incredible!

 

Ancient Buddha head relic bathed in reflected light from a red carpet in the sunshine.  Buddhist pilgrims to sacred Wats place/stick gold leaf squares on revered Buddha icons as a devotional act, these catch and reflect the light.  Incredible!

 

Red carpet reflections on a gold leaf'ed Buddha.  fantastic!

 

Buddha image framed by pink donation strips . . . . beauty.

 

There was much to see and photograph in Bo Phit Buddha Wat, like these colorful breeze-blown festoonments.

 

 

Young novice Buddhist monks and their teacher arrived for meditation and  prayer.

 

Buddhist monk in meditation.

 

After meditating, the monks walked around the large Buddha image three times clockwise.

 

The old teaching monk engaged his young novices in spiritual talk from he Buddhist sutras.

 

Very few tourists meant a not very well developed tourist industry.  There were very few curious shops, and no touts at all pestering us.  Thank you Thailand.

 

Strangely, recent construction was rapidly disintegrating in the harsh tropical climate, but only a few yards away were works and constructions from many hundreds of year ago still standing.

 

We left the amazing Wat and walked back a different path through the chedi complex to my truck.

 

Basil and I decided to have a competition to see who could take a photograph worthy of a Hallmark Schmaltz Award.  This is my candidate.

 

We spotted this Buddha in a window frame and knew the view from the other side would be remarkable.

 

The scenes inside the ancient Thai Royal quarters was astonishing.

 

Beautiful framing.

 

We left the main Historical Park and headed out into the town.  Aided by my GPS, we fund the giant reclining Buddha.

 

I performed a devotional ceremony at the golden Buddha altar.  It was a fantastic day.  The reclining Buddha is one of my favorite Buddha poses.  He is relaxing, at peace.  I went in for a closer look at the yellow draping cloth.

 

The found the strong light and strong transparent yellow color against the ancient weathered surfaces fascinating.

 

Amazing textures, patterns, color, and light.

 

The carved garments of the giant Buddha overlaid with the yellow garments of todays' followers.

 

Patterns upon textures, upon age itself.

 

Beautiful abstract images found.

 

I was reluctant to leave the reclining Buddha, but it was  time for lunch . . . and maybe a massage before moving on to the King's Summer Palace.

 

We drove into Ayutthaya proper looking for fried chicken . . . and found it, and alot more.

 

Street food vendor's arraying art.

 

The Thais hae steadily substituted materialistic consumerism for their Buddhism, and this photo perfectly captures the current state of affairs in Thailand.  Buddhism hangs on in many important ways, but it is in decline.

 

We managed to endure 90 minutes of head, neck, and leg massage.  We suffer, don't we?

 

We left our massage lightheaded, as usual, set the GPS for the King's Summer Palace, and hit the road.  We arrived at the Summer Palace at 3:50pm and were greeted by a sign saying "Closed at 16.00" and a guard waving his finger back and forth, "No No."  So we decided to go home.  I set the GPS again to take us home the long way, next to the river.  Along the way we spotted a red colossal monk on the horizon and turned down the small farm road to see if we could fid it.  We passed a forlorn looking Wat with crematorium and pulled in to take a look. 

 

The Wat had a creepy feeling about it, but some very beautiful Buddha images outside.

 

We walked around the outside until we found a door next to yet another ancient Buddha.

 

We went inside and this is what we found:  a great effort had been made to save the collapsed original Wat with elaborate steel girders supporting the original walls.  Around all of this, a new shelter had been erected to keep the old Buddhas out of the weather.  There was a very strange feeling inside, like we shouldn't be in there.

 

A fine old Buddha.

 

After first complaining that the light was "bad," we realized there were some fantastically lit old Buddha images after all.  We rushed about taking photos, in a hurry to get out.

 

Wonderful light indeed!  Unfortunately a cat sauntered up to Basil and bit him on the leg.

 

Our bright orange shirts were reflecting the "bad" back lighting, so we carefully positioned ourselves to get the best lighting.

 

We rushed around taking photos when we realized there were red ants falling on us from above.  We left the Wat in a hurry with a feeling that there was "bad gamma" associated with the place . . . and the dogs looked like they would bite.

 

We drove a few more kilometers on a dirt road and finally found our Mega Monk in a Mega Wat along the Chao Praya River . . . a Mega Wat in the same sense of a Mega Church in the USA: wildly over built, with facilities and parking for thousands of people.  This Wat was a huge investment for someone!

 

We walked around the Megsa Wat taking only a few photos as the light began to fade into dusk.

 

I found this lovely Bikku in the pose of receiving understanding from the Buddha Siddhartha.  I walked to the river to see if there would be a sunset to redeem this otherwise disappointing side trip.

 

I found a pier along the river and was confronted with many barge trains being pulled down the river by there rumbling tugs.

 

A river barge train in the fading light.

 

I left the river and went looking for Basil with the idea of just going home . . .when I looked up and thought, "this could be an interesting sunset" . . . .

 

. . . . it's getting better all the time . . . .

 

. . . . and an interesting sunset it turned out to be!

 

A sunset like this, experienced at a Buddhist Wat, is very spiritual.

 

The sunset kept getting better and better . . . .

 

. . . . I was stuck in a perpetual OH WOW! moment for the longest time . . . .

 

We took our last photos and got in the car, sustained by the spirit of that sunset, and drove back into the madhouse Bangkok traffic . . . and home.  It was a wonder-full day.