Uploads from Anoop Negi, tagged 2007

Racing in Red - Straight From Kerala

nobody@flickr.com (Anoop Negi) — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 04:38:52 -0700

Anoop Negi posted a photo:

Ferraris of the Waterways of Kerala.

Champakara Boat Race on 17th August 2007. This is held as a part of Onam Festival in Kerala.

Onam is the biggest festival in Kerala. Onam Festival marks the homecoming of a legendary King Mahabali. The Carnival of Onam lasts for ten days and brings out the best of Kerala culture and tradition. Snake Boat Races, Puliklai and exotic Kaikottikali dance are some of the most remarkable features of Onam - the harvest festival in Kerala.

Dates
Taken on August 17, 2007 at 5.18pm IST (edit)
Posted to Flickr June 5, 2012 at 5.08PM IST (edit)
Exif data
Camera Nikon D70
Exposure 0.001 sec (1/750)
Aperture f/4.0
Focal Length 29 mm
Exposure Bias 0 EV
Flash Off, Did not fire
DSC_1315 copy Cu Sel co sharp first run via ACR june 2011 straight le

Best Kerala Photograph Live at Attachamayam at Onam time in Color - The Power of Three !

nobody@flickr.com (Anoop Negi) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 17:52:43 -0800

Anoop Negi posted a photo:

View Large Size on Black, It gives you all the details

As I said before, it is a tough task to shoot people, faces, gods and events at crowded festivals of India. There is no luxury called "time to think" and frame and compose your captures. You shoot things as they happen in the worst of light and tight crowded settings and in absolutely no control of any thing except your shutter release.

Most of my work is like that and oft times I wonder if the same people could be photographed in an arranged setting then the clarity, the setting and the composition would be under control and would go the way you wanted it to be.

That thought apart, the challenge of shooting something so complex and difficult is what makes photography interesting.

2 cents later;-)

Prof M P Chandrasekharan reckons that the middle dancer, the one in focus is Ottan Thullal. It has nothing to do with Onam, and the dance is about 300 years old, created and choreographed by the poet Kunchan Nambiar. See reference here

You can see an intruding arm of a person in the frame to your rhs which I have not removed from the frame as that some how was making the photograph lose its fine balance and it is so illustrative of the fact that it is impossible to get a clean frame.

DSC_0790 via ACR sel cu le sh 250pxl 41 pc nik sh with bg darker face cyan lighter copy sash color reduced etc

Best Kerala Photography Live at Attachamayam at Onam time !

nobody@flickr.com (Anoop Negi) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:19:53 -0800

Anoop Negi posted a photo:

View Large Size on Black, It gives you all the details

It is a tough task to shoot people, faces, gods and events at crowded festivals of India. There is no luxury called "time to think" and frame and compose your captures. You shoot things as they happen in the worst of light and tight crowded settings and in absolutely no control of any thing except your shutter release.

Most of my work is like that and oft times I wonder if the same people could be photographed in an arranged setting then the clarity, the setting and the composition would be under control and would go the way you wanted it to be.

That thought apart, the challenge of shooting something so complex and difficult is what makes photography interesting.

2 cents later;-)

Prof M P Chandrasekharan reckons that the middle dancer, the one in focus is Ottan Thullal. It has nothing to do with Onam, and the dance is about 300 years old, created and choreographed by the poet Kunchan Nambiar. See reference here

Camera: Nikon D70
Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 52 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire
DSC_0790 via ACR sel cu le sh 250pxl 41 pc nik sh cropped bnw

Onam in Kerala, Green Faces in Thought

nobody@flickr.com (Anoop Negi) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:41:50 -0800

Anoop Negi posted a photo:

My cultural knowledge fails me with this particular photograph. Are the dancers depicting a part of the traditional Kerala dance form or is it something else. The Mallus brethren or sistern ;-) please come to the rescue and tell us what is it that is going on here.

The deep thoughtful visage is something that totally defines the Malayalee. Serious, poignant and always thinking of something heavy is what is my 3 years of experience with the Malayalee people.

Onam in Kerala is the most important festival. This a season of happiness. It would me much like what Diwali is like for the people of North India.
People buy their new clothes, new gadgets, new everything around Onam time.

In short, it is celebration time like no other. There are celebratory feasts called Onam Sadya which are served everywhere. House courtyards are decorated with traditional flower arrangements of geometric symbolism called 'Pookalam' is laid in front of every house to welcome the arrival of the beloved king.

There is a surfeit of agrarian festivities comprising of boat races and bull races and carnivals that are held all over Kerala.

The origins of this great festival of Kerala are steeped in history and centres around a powerful king who became too powerful and loved by his subjects. The jealous Gods of the Hindu pantheon saw to an end to this popularity by a cunning design and confined the king into the bowels of the earth. After some relenting, the Gods allowed the King to visit his subjects once a year and it is that which is celebrated in Onam.

Athachamayam is a carnival of sorts that is held in Thripunithra a small town about 10-12 kms away from Cochin.

Camera: Nikon D70
Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 70 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire
DSC_0804 via ACR from jpeg 2 exp sel cu gr br le TFM VER 2

Onam in Kerala. Gods with Green Faces !

nobody@flickr.com (Anoop Negi) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:35:27 -0800

Anoop Negi posted a photo:

My cultural knowledge fails me with this. Are they dancers depicting a part of the traditional Kerala dance form or is it something else. The Mallus brethren or sistern ;-) please come to the rescue and tell us what is it that is going on here.

Onam in Kerala is the most important festival. This a season of happiness. It would me much like what Diwali is like for the people of North India.
People buy their new clothes, new gadgets, new everything around Onam time.

In short, it is celebration time like no other. There are celebratory feasts called Onam Sadya which are served everywhere. House courtyards are decorated with traditional flower arrangements of geometric symbolism called 'Pookalam' is laid in front of every house to welcome the arrival of the beloved king.

There is a surfeit of agrarian festivities comprising of boat races and bull races and carnivals that are held all over Kerala.

The origins of this great festival of Kerala are steeped in history and centres around a powerful king who became too powerful and loved by his subjects. The jealous Gods of the Hindu pantheon saw to an end to this popularity by a cunning design and confined the king into the bowels of the earth. After some relenting, the Gods allowed the King to visit his subjects once a year and it is that which is celebrated in Onam.

Athachamayam is a carnival of sorts that is held in Thripunithra a small town about 10-12 kms away from Cochin.

Camera: Nikon D70
Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 70 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire
DSC_0804 via ACR from jpeg 2 exp sel cu gr br le TFM VER 1

Theyyam Kerala India

nobody@flickr.com (Anoop Negi) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:05:02 -0800

Anoop Negi posted a photo:

Fortuitously two dancers stand back to back for a rare capture of the two differing dresses used by different performers.

I am still continuing with the pending work on Theyyam photographs and it looks as if it is not going to finish any time soon. I really need to get my act spruced up ;-)

Any suggestions ? Perhaps I need to hire 3 PS experts for one month to complete the back log of Theyyam photos.

View Theyyam Large Size on Black, It gives you all the details

Camera: Nikon D70
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/1000)
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 70 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire
DSC_0892 via ACr 2 exp size up copy full res

The Shimmering Shashaying Walk of the Bare Foot Goddess in Gorgeous Greens, reds, blues and gold burns the hot tarred streets of Kerala in India !

nobody@flickr.com (Anoop Negi) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 01:08:34 -0700

Anoop Negi posted a photo:

This is a representation of a Goddess dressed in opulent greens, reds, blues and golds on the streets of the tiny town of Thrippunithura which is about 6 kms from the place where I stayed during my time in Cochin..

During Onam festivities peculiar to Kerala, this is like a carnival with profoundly social and religious motifs and the procession winds its way through the narrow roads and streets of the town with people enjoying the parade from the streets and the balconies of their houses.

August/September is the normal time and it is something not to be missed. The more often talked about carnival of Goa is like a small unorganised affair in comparison to the event that takes place in Kerala duing the Onam period.

Camera: Nikon D70
Exposure: 0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture: f/8.0
Focal Length: 38 mm
Exposure: +0.75
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: No Flash
DSC_0862 copy ver 2 full res tfm bg less contrast less bright

Camel Walking at Pushkar

nobody@flickr.com (Anoop Negi) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 22:40:03 -0700

Anoop Negi posted a photo:

In the dust and the haze of Pushkar Camel Fair, the soft sand underfoot is littered with modern plastic garbage and countless footsteps of centuries of animals and human beings that throng this small township for salvation and trade.

A camel trader with an indulgent paternal visage and an ebulliant smile , takes his camel down a flank of the hill in the late morning time. The light then is still ok. With the onset of the real day, in the harsh light, it gets hard to photograph anything at all.

View The camel and the man in Pushkar in Large Size on Black,

Camera: Nikon D70
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/1500)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 18 mm
Exposure: +1.45
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: No Flash
DSC_0071 from nef sel cu gr bl sat sh sel
Edit - Replaced with copy with less blur at1415 hrs 20092009

Tiger Tiger, Fading Bright !

nobody@flickr.com (Anoop Negi) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 22:55:03 -0700

Anoop Negi posted a photo:

The tigers in India are facing the toughest odds and are on the brink of being wiped out. There is a big industry based on tiger claws and bones etc that drives up the demand for the killing of this beautiful beast.

Men will buy a enlargement (is enhancement the right choice of word ?) of libido anytime anywhere but Chinese men will pay top dollars for tiger remains to increase theirs.

If you wonder why all the grand conservation efforts to save the tiger are failing, go no further then the politics of funding tiger conservation. It has been known for years that it is allegedly a big sham with mega bucks and mega publicity but almost nil results.

If you have the time it would be interesting to read some interesting thoughts and the current day reality on the tigers in an exchange between Thatzme and Aditya Singh from Rajasthan.

One can only hope that one sees a tiger in the wild in one's life time as the future generation may not have that privilege anytime soon. So if you are young and in India, head out and go see the elusive tiger before it is too late.

India has only 1150 - 1600 tigers that are available in the wild as per the Minister of Environment Jairam Ramesh.

Will Viagra be the Saviour of the Indian Tiger ?

This is an enactment of the situation at a Kerala street show during Onam in Thrippunithra near Cochin on the Atthachamayam day.

Camera: Nikon D70
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/1500)
Aperture: f/3.8
Focal Length: 24 mm
Exposure: +2.80
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire
DSC_0843 from nef no crop

Peacock Man ! Onam in Kerala

nobody@flickr.com (Anoop Negi) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 21:14:54 -0700

Anoop Negi posted a photo:

Onam in Kerala is the most important festival. This a season of happiness. It would me much like what Diwali is like for the people of North India.
People buy their new clothes, new gadgets, new everything around Onam time...

For more on Onam and its historical origin

A performer enacts a saga representing a peacock. Sadly, I am not aware of the iconography of this figure dressed in peacock regalia.

Edit. - I am told,( see 1st comment) , that this is Lord Subramanayam, son of Shiva, who is popularly worshipped in South India as Murugan.

View Large Size on Black, It gives you all the details

Camera: Nikon D70
Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 25 mm
Exposure: -0.35
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
DSC_0764 from ACR sel le br sh tfm with full wings

Lord Vishnu, The Preserver, in Blue and Gold !

nobody@flickr.com (Anoop Negi) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 13:37:35 -0700

Anoop Negi posted a photo:

Vishnu, adorned in resplendent gold and yellow with a blue skin is another god of the Hindu pantheon and along with Brahma and Shiva form the nodal complex of the whole religion and philosophy of Hinduism

The concept of God in Hindu philosophy comprises of three entities.BRAHMA, the Creator, VISHNU, the Preserver and SHIVA, the Destroyer. Together, they form the holy godhead of the religion.

VISHNU is said to preserve the universe and all its entities including human beings and other forms of life on earth. He takes as many as 10 avatars ( Rama, Krishna, Parshurama, Vamana, Narasimhan, Buddha, Kalki etc etc ) basically to save the world from annihilation. These avatars are worshipped separately.

This was shot during the Onam celebrations in Kerala at one of the most famous culture parades at Thrippunithura, which is about 10 kms away from Cochin.

Happy Belated Onam all ye Malayali people of this world.

DSC_0859 thru ACR sel Cu eye + sat sh Nik

Theyyam at Onam Attahchamyam in Kerala !

nobody@flickr.com (Anoop Negi) — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 20:26:21 -0700

Anoop Negi posted a photo:

A performer enacts the throes of anger in Kerala with his hard eyed steely gaze. Maybe he is angry at the mere human photographer or he is in a frenzy of destroying or creating the universe, I know not. Maybe it is nothing at all ;-? but a primate God !

Credits to the makers of various brushes (ink dissolve, grass blade and some others) utilized here in shades of bloody red and yellow and green.

You must see it in large size -

View Large Size on Black, It gives you all the details

Camera: Nikon D70
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/750)
Aperture: f/3.8
Focal Length: 27 mm
Exposure: -0.55
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire
DSC_0912 wip 2 exp copy with ink dissolve brush etc ver 2

Shiva Shakti and Vishnu !

nobody@flickr.com (Anoop Negi) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 19:36:20 -0700

Anoop Negi posted a photo:

Shiva is a God of the Hindu pantheon with a very wide spread following. You never worship Shiva in his original image but as a symbolic adjunct. In fact distinctions in India are easy to make on the basis of whether a person is a Shiva worshiper or a non Shiva worshipper. Shiva is the oldest knows God and embodies many forms and here it is the dual nature of the form that of half female and half male that is depicted in the iconography.

As an interesting aside, for all the worldwide followers of Yoga and Tantra, it is Shiva who is the Lord of Yoga besides being the Cosmic creator and Destroyer. For a rather well informed write up on Shiva read here

The figure in the forefront is Shiva with the left half the female and the right half in blue and holding the trident as the male. You have the river Ganges trapped in his locks and the usual adornment of a cobra serpent around his neck.

Shiva is closely followed by Vishnu, adorned in resplendent gold and yellow with blue skin is another god of the Hindu pantheon

View Shiva and Vishnu in Large Size on Black, It gives you all the details

DSC_0854 copy final version sh 250 pxl

Edit. Title changed from Shiva Shiva Vishnu to the present on getting correct terminology from Swati ( Simply Trying]

Michael Jackson Dies Too Young !

nobody@flickr.com (Anoop Negi) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:55:02 -0700

Anoop Negi posted a photo:

This is a tribute to Michael Jackson, a great pop performer and singer who attained iconic status and started off the whole world onto a new state of dance moves and gave the world some fine pieces of pop music.

The King of Pop is Dead.

Long Live Music ! Let the Drums Roll !

The frenetic drum beating which is to be witnessed at every festivity in Kerala. This was at the Tripunithra Attachamyam Carnival near Cochin held every year around Onam time.

DSC_0768 jpg roted thru ACR sel cu GRad blur cu

A Face in the Crowd !

nobody@flickr.com (Anoop Negi) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 22:20:06 -0700

Anoop Negi posted a photo:

A dancer at the Attachamayam in Tripunithra in Kerala.

View
Large Size on Black, It gives you all the details

For the original shot and a slightly blurred background, please see further down in the comments -( as per the request of Vishnu Menon )

Processed for a Daliesque presentation but without melting flowing contours. Thanks to Gabriol for the idea.

DSC_0815 jpg routed via ACR sel cu sat sh 30pxl

Portrait of an Unknown Hindu Goddess

nobody@flickr.com (Anoop Negi) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 12:03:18 -0700

Anoop Negi posted a photo:

Another icon of the Hindu pantheon of Goddesses as portrayed at the Tripunithra Attachmayam.

The Gods in their historic times may not have worn the habiliments of such bright dyes and jewellery crafted so exquisitely but this is calendar art kitsch style of depiction that came in with the advent of the printing press which for ever let the early printers decide what the Gods and goddesses would look like based on their limited knowledge of the written texts which may or may not have gone at any length to describe the dresses and the jewellery etc. Such decisions now let generations of the millions of Hindus have a familiar face and style of attire for their chosen Gods.

This is a black and white version of the shot

View Large Size on Black

DSC_0861 sel sl sc cu sh 250pxl bnw standard

Portrait of an Unknown Hindu Goddess

nobody@flickr.com (Anoop Negi) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 12:08:38 -0700

Anoop Negi posted a photo:

Another icon of the Hindu pantheon of Goddesses as portrayed at the Tripunithra Attachmayam.

The Gods in their historic times may not have worn the habiliments of such bright dyes and jewellery crafted so exquisitely but this is calendar art kitsch style of depiction that came in with the advent of the printing press which for ever let the early printers decide what the Gods and goddesses would look like based on their limited knowledge of the written texts which may or may not have gone at any length to describe the dresses and the jewellery etc. Such decisions now let generations of the millions of Hindus have a familiar face and style of attire for their chosen Gods.

View Large Size on Black

DSC_0861 sel sl sc cu sh 250pxl with le face copy burn dodge sat lips

Portrait of an Unknown Hindu Goddess

nobody@flickr.com (Anoop Negi) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 12:06:16 -0700

Anoop Negi posted a photo:

Another icon of the Hindu pantheon of Goddesses as portrayed at the Tripunithra Attachmayam.

The Gods in their historic times may not have worn the habiliments of such bright dyes and jewellery crafted so exquisitely but this is calendar art kitsch style of depiction that came in with the advent of the printing press which for ever let the early printers decide what the Gods and goddesses would look like based on their limited knowledge of the written texts which may or may not have gone at any length to describe the dresses and the jewellery etc. Such decisions now let generations of the millions of Hindus have a familiar face and style of attire for their chosen Gods.

This is a paint brush styled version of the colored photograph

View Large Size on Black

DSC_0861 sel sl sc cu sh 250pxl working with brushes for color variations copy tfm

Garuda the Vehicle of Vishnu, The Iconography of the Hindu Religion

nobody@flickr.com (Anoop Negi) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:22:14 -0700

Anoop Negi posted a photo:

Garuda is a God of the Hindu pantheon and is an embodiment of strength and devotion.
Garuda is popularly known as the vahana or the vehicle of Lord Vishnu. In this form he can be found in every South Indian temple dedicated to Vishnu and even in the temples of South-East Asia, both Hindu as well as Buddhist.

Garuda and Hanuman are the strongest of the strong powers in the universe. . Both these great beings, Garuda and Hanuman, have dedicated their lives to service instead of using their powers to rule over the cosmos.

The write up is in part from this link and you can read more of the iconography here

The embodiment of the God is personified by a performer at the Attachamyam or the carnival in Tripunithra near Cochin held every year near the time of Onam.

DSC_0875 copy se l cu le bg toned to dark sh 250 pxl tfm copy with paper tex blend girls dark

Garuda the Vehicle of Vishnu Ver 2, The Iconography of the Hindu Religion

nobody@flickr.com (Anoop Negi) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:15:33 -0700

Anoop Negi posted a photo:

Garuda is a God of the Hindu pantheon and is an embodiment of strength and devotion.
Garuda is popularly known as the vahana or the vehicle of Lord Vishnu. In this form he can be found in every South Indian temple dedicated to Vishnu and even in the temples of South-East Asia.

Garuda and Hanuman are the strongest of the strong powers in the universe. . Both these great beings, Garuda and Hanuman, have dedicated their lives to service instead of using their powers to rule over the cosmos.

The write up is in part from this link and you can read more of the iconography here

The embodiment of the God is personified by a male performer from Kerala at the Attachamyam or the carnival in Tripunithra near Cochin held every year near the time of Onam.

DSC_0875 copy se l cu le bg toned to dark sh 250 pxl tfm copy with paper tex blend blurred