The Mamis at the Aurbathimoovar Festival Photo

Photographer’s Note

The Kapaleeshwarar Temple, rebuilt in its present form in the 16th century, is one of the most important landmarks of Chennai. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and showcases beautiful architecture. Some of the inscriptions of the temple date back to 1250 AD. The temple is popular for the bronze idols of 63 Nayanmars (Shaivaite saints) established in the courtyard.

During the Aurbathimoovar Festival, the 63 saints of Lord Shiva are honored for leading ideal lives of penance and devotion by carrying the idols in a colourful procession around the town. Thousands of devotees travel to Chennai to witness and be a part of the procession. Offerings of flowers and fruits are made to the deities. Streets and houses of devotees are decorated with kolams (form of sand painting using rice powder). Celebrations also include folk music and folk dances. The famous traditional 'thoippavai' puppet show is performed during the festival.

The Mamis* in the picture were kind enough to give us a free run of their balcony for our shots. We see them here enjoying the procession.

* Literally means aunty in Tamil but used to describe any elderly lady.

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EastbayJ (9) 2009-04-10 12:15

Great aerial perspective, and lighting. The focus seems to be a little off, but a pretty good shot!!

Cheers from San Francisco

phwall (5530) 2009-04-10 12:30

Hello My friend,
What a sweet face this lady has, I like the way she's looking into the crowd.
Good composition, the balance in the frame is excellent.
I know you were going for a very shallow depth shooting at f2.8 but I think you needed a bit more DOF. The flowers on her sari are sharp but her face is just a bit soft. I'd have thought the DOF at that aperture would have carried too, ah, we live and learn.
Warm wishes
Peter