Curd making in Pushkar Photo

Photographer’s Note

This was taken in one of the narrow dark alleys off the main street in Pushkar. There is usually much activity going on in these alleys: food is prepared and served in tiny restaurants, cows roam around and shopkeepers tout their wares... The man in the picture is making curd, or yoghurt.

While for many Pushkar is a town corrupted by tourism, I prefer to remember it as a mellow little place where one wakes up to the scent of puja flowers.

wtolyz, chagovets, bfly, ttmountainman, shihwei, adalbert has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

clodreno (0) 2004-03-04 4:28

And you are right, a lot of tourism, but still many things to see and enjoy there. I like the atmosphere in this shot. The smoke.. I love curd too.
Well done and welcome to TE.

Edwin (2039) 2004-03-04 4:29

Very interesting documentary picture Joanna! The strong incoming light that emphasizes the presence of the steam from the food preparation process is stunning! Your picture certainly transfers the relish of delicious food... It actually made me wonder about how long it has been since I had a sweet "lassi" (an indian yoghurt shake)...

A great first posting Joanna, and welcome to TE!

belgeric (235) 2004-03-04 4:35

Welcome on TE Joanna!
Waow! I really would like to be able to take so beautifull photos... The atmosphere is palpable, even through my screen... Really sharp and nice colors. All perfect.
(just to say something, your frame should be modified at bottom)

olli (2091) 2004-03-04 4:36

Excellent light and framing. Beautiful brown/dark tones, many great details: the "pans", smoke/steam...
Very-very well seen and captured. Welcome.

Rinie_Hoff (9334) 2004-03-04 5:00

Wow, what a beautiful picture, very well seen. I like the light on his hands very much. Nice notes, thank you, and welcome to TE! You have good memories of this place!

piozac (2058) 2004-03-04 5:39

Fajna fota pani Joanno! Świetny klimat...
Podoba mi się światło i to że gość jest bez głowy.
Super, pozdrawiam!

cxxl (2680) 2004-03-04 6:02

Excellent composition, exposure and subject Joanna. I like the steam and the action. Very well done.

cloverstar (0) 2004-03-04 6:08

Welcome to TE Joanna. Very good capture of the smoke and sihoulette image. Nice low angle. Well done.

dominique (11414) 2004-03-04 6:13

Very good composition, I like the environment of the photograph like the light, a really interesting photograph.

dib (277) 2004-03-04 6:14

tres belle prise de vue. Ambiance magique, mystique. en connaissant bien le pays, c'est une invitation à la trance que peux procurer ce pays.

cool_s15 (4048) 2004-03-04 6:26

wow what an atmosphere! I like the dark and the light side... The smoke is great with a great framing. Excellent compsotion, Welcome to TE!

maciekda (19599) 2004-03-04 8:35

wow, what a start! great light, all this smoke and rays of light... and just hands... very moody!
welcome to TE! keep posting and start commenting other people's photos, it is fun!

aby tak dalej! :)

femkevdh (2633) 2004-03-04 9:36

Beautiful!! Very atmospheric photo. Interesting choice of framing (no head), like it.

BobTrips (1853) 2004-03-04 11:47

Welcome Joanna. Great first post.

In my opinion this shot is all about light. The content is very interesting, but secondary. But the real subject is about how the light falls on the pourer's hand and how it filters through the steam.

I prepared a Workshop as an attempt to concentrate attention on the light. I cropped away the distracting window and turban on the left, cloned out a bright spot, and darkened the surface of the mud stove.

I don't have a preference for the two version, but just as in so many great images one can often find another great image. Just an attempt to give you another way to view your work.

[workshop] [compare]

cool_krishna (465) 2004-03-04 13:05

Joanna, thats a lovely shot to debut'. :) Such a perfect dark shot, with the smoke to alleviate the atmoshpere. Waiting for the forthcoming pics !!

eelliott305 (776) 2004-03-04 16:32

An unusual and exciting shot, so dark and atmospheric. I like the way you have not felt it necessary to include the man`s head, allowing us to concentrate on the hands and the drink falling into the pot. A great first post.

afaust (302) 2004-03-04 20:04

This is a great photograph! It sure tells an interesting story. There are so many interesting components without the picture being too busy or cluttered. The lighting is wonderful; I love the highlights on the person's hands and the metal bowls below. The rising steam makes the picture soft. Excellent!!

Riz (0) 2004-03-05 7:34

excellent shot joanna- first photo great work, welcome to TrekEarth. The light coming from the top of the frame to the hands leads your eye to the curd. good composition, keep on posting.

lukasfoto (3078) 2004-03-05 10:03

co za klimatyczne zdjecie!!!!!!! piekny klimat... swiatlo... kompozycja... jestem pod wrazeniem! Gratulacje!

touristdidi (8561) 2004-03-06 11:26

That is a wonderful picture....BUT I have no smileys left today, sorry! You deserve at least two from me!!! This is atmospheric,a nd real! I have been to Puskar twice already, and will go back. I like smaller less tourist places more.... like Bundi, but for color, and atmosphere, Puskar is still great, and I LOVE the Puskar camel festival..... I have returned to award you the smiley! GOOD job!

morganommer (765) 2004-03-07 0:25

impeccable

nwoehnl (120) 2004-03-07 10:05

Welcome to TE, Joanna, and quite an entrance you're making ;-) I guess all has been said about the merits of this shot - the handling of light is just perfect. The curd-maker is basically just seen as a shadow, and the steam is another atmospheric treat. Splendid work, I hope you'll be bringing more soon.

wtolyz (20) 2004-03-17 6:15

It photo is really touching to my point of view. You've captured a lovely scene. Excellent! I like it alot.
Asiu, bardzo dobre zdjecie.
Pozdrawiam :))

chagovets (190) 2004-03-24 19:42

Another great solution to difficult and non-standard light conditions. Besides, the subject is very authentic, very natural... Great mood!

Benedetto (437) 2004-03-25 5:46

This is a perfect photo, no words.!!!
Best regards.

Nina (4613) 2004-03-25 19:02

Like someone else already said, this picture is all about light. That's precisely what every good photo should have as one of it's the main ingredients. Excellent capture Joanna.

Danzi (2405) 2004-04-02 0:57

Joanna your picture is great.
A scene with lot of character- well done.

bfly (5737) 2004-06-01 5:18

hi Joanna..one of my favourites for so long but I did not write a comment by that time ?..probably I was shy not knowing what to write rather than "great" by that time...all written already but still : great light, great composition...

ttmountainman (2275) 2004-06-04 4:09

Being an Indian I've grown up watching scenes like this...took them for granted all along...then this pic comes along and makes the ordinary ...extraordinary!
Superb capture!

adalbert (1323) 2004-07-14 1:57

Niesamowite zdjecie !!!.... Pozwole sobie powtorzyc komentarz, ktory zamiescilem jakis tam czasu temu u niejakiego "maciekda" :)
Patrzac na To Zdjecie zaczynam dochodzic do wniosku, ze wynalezienie aparatu fotograficznego jest jednym z najwazniejszych osiagniec ludzkosci...
Joanno ! Nie rozstawaj sie nigdy z aparatem i, na Boga, dziel sie z nami Swoim widzeniem Swiata....
Pozdrawiam i.... zazdroszcze...a nade wszystko podziwiam

ahmedkeizer4u (138) 2007-04-12 8:06

Welcome Joanna, wonderful shot to start with, u have great observatory power

KateinDenmark (1117) 2009-09-25 4:18

Your composition here is nearly perfect. One can feel the steam and hear the milk as it falls into the wok. You've manged to perfectly balance the space between the man's hands and the top of the picture with the space between the wok and the bottom. It is really well done.

Sincerely,
Kate