Dustbin men Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

It was nearly sunset, and I was walking back to my hotel when I noticed this rubbish truck and the building together. India always seems to me to be bursting at the seams, just about holding everything together; the buses are nearly broken, the buildings are falling apart, the infrastructure just about copes and the people are just getting by.

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USM, autolevels.

rabani has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

robbertjan (2906) 2004-02-12 3:55

Bryan good capture of the daily live in India. The old building on the background is a great detail. The people on the foreground make the picture. Mabey you can make them i bit lighter? But well seen.

jrj (34779) 2004-02-12 4:19

Maybe the truck does it, but sure the whole impression of the pix is in the line of something not to appealing. Good job Bryan

nwoehnl (118) 2004-02-12 4:56

It's always very interesting for me to see those daily life scenes from India here on TE. And this is another very good one, Bryan. That truck in front of the building is quite a sight, a lot of fascinating details all over your frame.

I tried a quick workshop for you to show you a slightly alternate version of this. I hope you like it.

[workshop] [compare]

clodreno (0) 2004-02-12 5:40

Lucky you, I have never been to Calcutta.. But I will soon.
What a site. Incredible. may be too dark but still a nice image. The building in the background is incredible.

manny (21378) 2004-02-12 7:50

I like your note. And the picture. The darker foreground compliments your story so it's okay. You can also crop it tighter on top. Nonetheless, this is a great shot.

Josh69 (1427) 2004-02-12 8:36

What a mess! Good photo though, just goes to show even a truck full of rubbish can be interesting if photographed well.

Would be good to see a contrast mask of the photo to bring out some shadow detail in the truck... assuming you want to see more detail of a rubbish truck of course.

henrye (3498) 2004-02-12 9:53

A great capture of daily life. The stark colors add to the atmosphere. The idea of the decay, as described in your note, is brought accross very effectively.

eelliott305 (776) 2004-02-12 12:16

Yes India is not always as beautiful as people imagine. Sometimes good to see the other side.
It would be nice to see a bit more detail of the garbage truck but still a very good shot.

touristdidi (8561) 2004-02-18 11:50

so true, so true.... and they even sit in their rubbish trucks with the "dust" they collect....... I love this, it is India!

rabani (9421) 2004-04-29 5:25

...and anytime now, any of those, would burst at its seam.

There ought to be a better way to live rather than like these. Just about everything in this photo is either in the state of decrepit or garbage material.Well, exception is the tree.And nature is about to take over too. There are even plants growing on the ledges of the flaking building.

This photo ought to be on the cover of Life India magazine. A good reality check kind of photo.

rajhema (1863) 2006-07-21 12:03

You can't say that any better Bryan. That disturbs me a bit as well. I should also admit the cultural richness in this place is great as well. In general I noticed more pictures are posted from India from our TE travellers even though they visit other places. I wonder why ? Just check the TE statistics for instance. 25% of pictures from Asia is from India. India must be photogenic. I lived there for 25 years and never appreciated the same way our fellow travelers do.

http://www.trekearth.com/stats.php

Superb portrait of daily life here I should say. although it teases my emotion, the working man and the brick visible old building behind all says a 1000 words. Great capture.

Cheers
Rajesh