Beedi, a photo from Rajasthan, West

Photographer's Note

A beedi is a thin, South Asian cigarette filled with tobacco flake and wrapped in a tendu leaf tied with a string at one end. The word comes from beeda, Marwari for a leaf wrapped in betel nuts, herbs, and condiments. A traditional method of tobacco use throughout South Asia and parts of the Middle East, today beedies are popular and inexpensive in India. There, beedi consumption outpaces that of conventional cigarettes although these tobacco-filled leaves deliver more nicotine, carbon monoxide and tar and carry a greater risk of oral cancers. Beedies accounted for 48% of Indian tobacco consumption in 2008. Like all tobacco use, beedis increase the risk of certain kinds of cancers, heart disease and lung disease. Indian tobacco cultivation began in the late 17th century, and beedies were first created when tobacco workers took left over tobacco and rolled it in leaves. The commercial Indian beedi industry saw rapid growth during the 1930s probably driven by an expansion of tobacco cultivation at the time but also helped by Gandhi's support of Indian industry and Indian products. Perhaps due to this, educated classes in India grew to prefer beedies over cigarettes although this is no longer the case. Muslim leaders, calling cigarettes foreign products, have also endorsed beedies over cigarettes at times. By the middle of the 20th century beedi manufacture had grown into a highly competitive industry. This stage of commercial production—at the height of the beedi's popularity[citation needed]—saw the creation of many new beedi brands as well as beedi factories employing upwards of one hundred, primarily male, beedi rollers. Factory-based beedi production declined as a result of increased regulation during the 1940s, '50s and '60s and beedi-making became a cottage industry with a home-based women workforce predominantly employed only in the beedi rolling. In contrast, males continue to be employed in all aspects of beedi production.

angel66, golus, aekmekci, patdeph, ourania, ikeharel, SnapRJW, tyro, jester5, lakshmip1949, JFS, delpeoples, jhm, RhodieIke, aloyho, bj40 has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

angel66 (1006) 2012-02-14 9:28

Ciao Valter
mi sembra un ritratto perfetto! Mi piace come il profilo del viso e della mano tagliano l'inquadratura. Belli i toni di marrone che si spezzano bene con la vivacità del rosso. Messa a fuoco fantastica. Anche la nota è molto interessante. Decisamente un buon lavoro!
Un abbraccio
Giuliana

ciakgiak (30331) 2012-02-14 9:33

Ciao Valter,
accidenti che ritratto! Un'immagine che spacca lo schermo, una messa a fuoco fantastica che ci permette di ammirare ogni minimo dettaglio della donna.
I miei complimenti per questo bel lavoro.
Un caro saluto
Giorgio

aristo (3210) 2012-02-14 9:36

Hello Valter!!!
Excellent portret of this smoking old women.
Great captured my friend!
Compliments,

Take care!
Arek

diomed (13926) 2012-02-14 9:54

Ciao Valter,
ritratto spettacolare, per l'intensità dell'espressione, per il taglio per la straordinaria ricchezza di dettagli. Complimenti!
Buona giornata
Antonio

golus (2889) 2012-02-14 10:11

Hello Valter,

A perfect portrait of this beedi smoking old lady. I know how hard to make a technically perfect portrait, but this one is excellent in every respect. What I liked most are the amazing natural colors and sharpness. Her well worn hands and wrinkles on her face are very remarkable. Her head scarf is very stylish and eyecatching too. A great work for sure. Thanks for sharing. Best wishes,

Suleyman

dkmurphys (36857) 2012-02-14 10:11

Hi Valter,
Lovely portrait, so exotic and full of colors. Well seen, great work.
Have a nice evening.

Daniel

patdeph (35738) 2012-02-14 10:39

Hello Valter
superb way to have frame the woman smoking her beedi.The hands are impressive,they say that she work a lot,and I like the pose very much.Magnificent!
Regards
Pascale

ourania (12469) 2012-02-14 10:50

Hello Valter,
everything seems so real and natural in this portrait. It makes a very powerful impression to the viewer. Sharpness and lighting are extraordinary, textures and colours are true, natural and lovely. I like very much the way the lady's portrait is framed by her scarves, especially the red embroidered one. Her hand holding the beedi is wonderfully captured too. I like the way she is allowed to contain her thoughts to herself while we can infer much about her life and personality. Great work, congratulations!
All the best,
Ourania

Jeppo (17623) 2012-02-14 10:58

in India ho goduto nel fare ritratti...sopratutto con lo zoom...catturandoli a distanza quasi fossi un novello Vassilj Zaitsev (solo che al posto del suo fucile avevo uno zoom nikkon).
questo é il secondo tuo ritratto che commento (credo...) e come nel primo mi colpise tantissimo la ricerca del dettaglio: le unghie rotte, la pelle screpolata delle dita, le rughe del viso, l'espressione persa, il ricamo del velo ed il tessuto grezzo...

un gran bel lavoro. e forse ci sta bene pure il colore invece del black&white

ciao
jeppo

SnapRJW (18792) 2012-02-14 11:10

Hello Valter - The detail in your portrait is quite astounding. The woman's hands with the broken nails and rough dry texture tell us as much, if not more, than her face. Your composition is perfect, I like the tight crop and you use of DOF results in a background which simply fades away. Congratulations on a fine piece of work. Warm regards Rosemary

siudzi (23959) 2012-02-14 12:45

Hi Valter,

Excellent human study! You have taken a wonderful portrait picture with superb attention on details, great DOF and sharpness. Congrats!

Warm regards,
Malgorzata

tyro (13149) 2012-02-14 13:08

Ciao Valter,

It is amazing how much I learn from TE! You have taught us about the "Cilum" and now you teach us about the "Beedi"!

Another excellent portrait from India with incredible detail and sharpness. The close crop really concentrates the viewer's attention on this lady's face and hand and the bright colours of her head scarf provide an excellent frame for her face.

Wonderful!

Kind Regards,

John.

LOOOK13 (19022) 2012-02-14 14:41

Bonsoir Valter.
Un bel ritratto, i dettagli sono sontuosi, lo sguardo di questa donna è molto espressiva, la nitidezza è perfetta.
Di classe molto elevata.
Una gran festa.
Eric.

mauro61 (52527) 2012-02-14 14:52

ciao Valter,
un grande dono che viene concesso a noi che scattiamo immagini e quello di entrare in modo incisivo nelle espressioni e a volte sembra anche nei pensieri dei soggetti che riprendiamo.
Sei riuscito al meglio in questo ritratto presentato con grande qualità e ottima tecnica,
saluti
maurizio

jester5 (1620) 2012-02-14 15:30

Fantastic detail with good sharp colours and a thoughtful subject.I think if my hands were as worn and sore looking as this ladies I would be smoking the betel nut too.Life can be so hard sometimes.
Lovely revealing portrait Valter.

lakshmip1949 (19110) 2012-02-14 18:44

Hello Valter,

A very nice portrait of this woman whose face shows so many wrinkles and whose hands must have done some pretty hard work like lifting the cement or bricks. I like the way she is holding her beedi thinking deeply . The head scarf also grabs the attention. This portrait is beautiful with natural colors , sharpness and depth.

Lakshmi

gita (243) 2012-02-14 20:31

Hello Valter,
This is a interesting shot of woman smoking beedi and portrayal of her fingers indicates that she is a hard working labour. Excellent sharpness and well defined framing.

JFS (32189) 2012-02-14 22:51

Ciao Valter,
Top class portrait, excellent close-up of this thinker woman, great definition and colors. Bravo!

Cheers,
Juan

delpeoples (45018) 2012-02-15 0:01

Caro Valter

Stupendo questo ritratta. Sei cosi vicino al tuo soggetto e' davvero incredibile. Impressionanti i colori, la nitidezza e profundita di campo. Mi piace molto come hai tagliato límmagine. La tua modella e'proprio brava. E come va le sigarette per te? Ancora hai fermato?

Complimenti e ti auguro una buona giornata. Un abbraccio
Lisuzza

jhm (122490) 2012-02-15 0:51

Hello Valter,

Sharpness and clarity are superb.
All details make these picture attractive.
Very well done, TFS.

Best regards,
John.

ikeharel (37424) 2012-02-15 0:54

Ciao Valter,
A close close-up on the unique face's expression.
A good sharp image, as every wrinkle shown on her face, and her pose is extraordinary taken from this POV.
Buona giornata,
Ike

everlasting (13803) 2012-02-15 3:50

a nice tight crop here which works well. we see from her hands that her life is hard. Maybe we can tell more from her hands than her face.
Good DOF.
Nice work
If I had to nit-pick I would get rid of the green in the top left hand corner, it does distract a little

sacimar (25957) 2012-02-15 4:11

Hello Valter,

this is a great portrait, the image has a strong visual effect, I like the face expression of this woman, excellent details and composed,

Best regards,

Sergio

aliabazari (10105) 2012-02-15 13:18

Hello Valter
Very nice portrait with good color and exposure. Vbyshtr of all female hands.
Best wishes my friend

Silvio1953 (98259) 2012-02-16 0:39

Ciao Valter, gran bel ritratto dell'anziana donna, espressione in tensa, fantastici dettagli, splendida luce e bei colori, bravissimo, ciao Silvio

cavli (1874) 2012-02-16 4:08

Hello Valter,

this realy very clear. Very good potrait. I like the colors very much. Sharp eyes details impresive. tfs
regards..

RhodieIke (9207) 2012-02-17 2:08

Wow Valter, Your capture of this super old lady enjoying her Beedi, is fantastic, the details are superb, due to your great skill, wonderful colours, Tfs, Cheers Iain.

aloyho (6705) 2012-02-20 5:09

Hi Valter,
While you chose Beedi as the title for this shot but I am sure this shot tells us more than that. I like the close up and tight cropping so that I can see all the minute details on her face and hand which clearly tell her life story. The fact that so much can be seen and felt make this a great shot. Brilliant piece of work!!

Best Regards
Aloysius

girni (344) 2012-09-26 0:10

hello,quels détails , ces mains et ce visage marqué par le temps !
digne d'un journal reporter !
Nicole