A young child plays with a discarded shoe and a stick near a busy road in south Mumbai.
On the morning of our second day in Mumbai we were still getting accustomed to the city's assault on the senses. We had decided to spend the cooler hours of the morning exploring the area around our apartment on foot and were slowly getting accustomed to the noise, the smells (both fragrant and rancid) and bright colours.
At one point I heard the sound of children playing, bare feet running and giggling chatter. Turning around, I spotted this little girl who was running around with a stick and an old shoe. I'm not entirely sure what she was doing with it, but she certainly was having a great time :)
The next time you feel as though you don't have enough 'toys' and that the world isn't working for you, it may be worth remembering that there are people out there who have far less and yet still are happy.
Mumbai, India, 2011
Canon EOS 5D Mark II with Canon EF 24-105mm f4/L
Tags: india poverty child poor f:long mumbai toy play feet barefoot camera:canon_5d2
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A friend shows off the henna on her hands at a mehndi in Mumbai.
Henna has been used since ancient times as a temprorary dye for body art and hair colouring. From ancient Egypt through Arabia to South Asia, over the years it has found it's way into many local cultures such as at this wedding mehndi I attended.
Henna is a flowering plant whose leaves are dried and powdered before being used as a dye. In order for the colouring to bind to the skin, the powder is placed together with an acidic substance which breaks down its constituent compounds. When placed on skin, these now incomplete compounds reform by binding to the proteins in the skin.
In practice the powder is mixed with lemon juice and made into a paste. This paste is left for some time for the acidic juice to break down the active compounds. Once this has taken place, the paste is applied in various intricate artistic patterns on skin. The paste is left for some time on the skin and once it has dried up into a brittle crust it can be brushed away leaving a stain on the skin beneath.
This photo was taken before the henna had fully dried. Once the paste is brushed off the imprint left on the skin is usually dark and fades over time.
Mumbai, India, 2011
Canon EOS 5D Mark II with Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG
Tags: henna mehndi culture wedding india hands square camera:canon_5d2
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A crumbling wall-section of Daulatabad Fort bakes in the morning sun in Eastern India.
A short drive North-west of Aurangabad is the town of Daulatabad. From most parts of the town, one can see the fortress perched atop a conical hill. Like most forts, this has spent time under various rulers and has seen many renovations over the centuries. These renovations have mainly been performed to make the fort more defensible.
In the waning years of the first millennium, the lower slopes of the hill were excavated to present attackers at ground level with a 50 metre high vertical wall. Later on, caves were dug in the hill to present a pitch black, three-dimensional maze to attackers aiming to reach the summit. There are also the more conventional moats and bottlenecks that aid in the fortress' defence.
Despite all of this, the fort has been through many different owners over the centuries. Control passed on from the Yadava rulers in the early 14th century to the Mughals who gave the fort its current name. Since then ownership has passed back and forth among the Mughals, Peshwas and Marathas before coming under the control of the Nizams of Hyderabad, who held it until Independence.
Daulatabad Fort, Maharashtra, India, 2011
Canon EOS 5D Mark II with Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS
Tags: square india ruins fort maharashtra daulatabad mughal peshwar yadava nizam camera:canon_5d2
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Just off the Worli coast in Southern Mumbai, a small boat floats aimlessly by with the Haji Ali Dargah mosque.
Built in the early 15th century and recently renovated, the Haji Ali Dargah mosque is one of the most iconic landmarks in Mumbai. Like all old buildings, it has a colourful history complete with legends and miracles.
Visiting it in the present day is a chaotic mixture of striking contrasts. Modern marble and centuries-old Indo-Islamic architecture. The heady fragrances of spices adjunct to the stench of human waste. Well-dressed and wealthy visitors walking amongst maimed beggars.
It was, like much of Mumbai, a memorable assault on the senses and an unworded reminder of how unequal life on our planet still is.
With this photo I experimented with a symmetric arrangement, throwing out the rule-of-thirds we've all been told about. The waterline is in the middle, the mosque is central and even the boat is centrally aligned. Normally I'd have taken a few steps to either side to place the boat off-centre, but not this time.
Mumbai, India, 2011
Canon EOS 5D Mark II with Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS
Tags: mumbai mosque islam muslim square f:long waterscape Haji Ali Dargah Haji Ali Dargah desaturated camera:canon_5d2
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Atop a large column high above Dharbanga Ghat in Varanasi, a man wakes up and surveys the morning commotion.
Prior to visiting this ancient city in India, I had heard that it was a 'spiritual' place that changes one's outlook on life and the human condition. On leaving I had to agree. It's a magical place that everyone should visit at least once, to see life stripped of all pretense and at its most raw and honest.
Varanasi, India, 2015
Sony a5100 with Zeiss FE 55mm f/1.8
Tags: india varanasi camera:sony_a5100 person priest ganges mmystic travel f:long morning SixteenByNine
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