Today, not a Blessed Day Photo

Photographer’s Note

This is how everything happened on the eve of Masimagam : Lord Shiva came to town riding on his bull driven cart.
Stopping to give blessings to his devotees standing along Pondy streets.

As you may see, the worshipping level has reached its climax.

For who might wonder, I don't think the colors of his cart umbrella might say something about his preferences as he shagged thousands of gopis (cowgirls) in one of his further life.

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May Shiva lend us his third eye for the five next years : Today is not a blessed day for us in France. Sego has bitten the dust and I fear there might a very long time before any woman gets elected to the presidential function.

chicken, Brian, Rinie_Hoff, PixelTerror, prantik, prezntime has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

mfonda (889) 2007-05-06 13:03

Hi Luko,

Very amazing capture. I love your POV and the fact that they are all oblivious to the fact you are there with a camera, yet you still remain in the middle of the crowd. Very well done, thanks for sharing!

-Matt

Brian (1) 2007-05-06 13:08

Hi Luko,
I'm not so sure. Is the lord shiva a dude? Yea, if I were him, I wouldn't have a rainbow colored umbrella. He's gotta be puttin out the wrong signals here..
There does seem to be a lot of chaos here. This picture from your Pondicherry series is different. It looks as if it's on dry land, and the time looks later in the day. Of course, the colors are amazing, since it's in India. Sorry to hear about France today. Maybe next time...

-Brian

eleparc (24059) 2007-05-06 13:08

vraiment pas un jour avec puisqu'aux dernières estimations de 18h ( Belgique) Sarko l'emporte avec 53 ou 54% des voix;-) Vraiment un jour sans, tu as raison!

tu ralais sur mes fonds surexpo mais là celui ci me semble assez cramé aussi, non?

CliffW (2310) 2007-05-06 13:16

Things I like: the gradient of light from top right to lower left; the predominance of women in the frame; the man on the left with cupped hands; the umbrella position and the light through it. Not as much: The clutter of heads all at eye level (but even that does help show how it's crowded). Way more things that I like.

markoci (3917) 2007-05-06 13:23

something missing for me here luko... i mean it's a nice compo (love the rainbow umbrella positioned top right), but still... perhaps not feverish enough? you have those three characters with the hands, but none of them stand out enough somehow imo... sorry, i can't quite put my finger on it but i just wish there was someone in the crowd to draw our attention to... if only somehow you could have been closer to the guy on the left...

p.s. do i see a bit more reddish/magenta hue in your recent posts? you no longer like green or is my screen screwed up?

kajspice (4534) 2007-05-06 13:28

I am sorry to hear about Sego...

You know how I feel about women...they are better - full stop.

Now...this I really like. Did you brighten up the spot in the center? it creates a kind of haze, which I actually quite like. Also, did you subdue the colours? I like the effects very much. This is one crazy scene - you clocked it! its excellent. Something very fetching about that pinkish-red saree blouse and its creases.

I could go on but I am getting kicked out...I have no idea how I'm gonna get home -no ricks about. I got attacked by a pack of dogs yesterday :(

scalerman (25787) 2007-05-06 17:08

Luko: your shots of late have been tableaux or mêlées of almost too much energy. It's a great lesson for me, actually. It's a crazy, energetic scene and you handled the light perfectly again. cheers, c

Furachan (0) 2007-05-07 3:49

The light is just great here, Luko, outstanding really. Again we have a painterly feeling here, like those nig huge heroic canvasses in the Louvres (is it David, POussi or Delacroix?)
Nice how you kept dark tones dark, you know, there's a natural gradation of tones, a respect for them...
bw,
-F

PixelTerror (86853) 2007-05-07 4:17

Bonjour Luko,
La France d'en bas se pressant pour venerer le nouveau Dieu elu par les medias a sa botte, Sua Emittenza a traverse les Alpes hier soir... Ah non c'est en Inde ? Comme quoi nous sommes souvent plus proches des Indiens que nous voulons bien l'admettre ;-) Une image qui presente une tres bonne dynamique dans sa convergence vers le Sarko local.
Bonne journee,
Jean-Yves

faubry (32419) 2007-05-07 4:35

quelle ambiance dans cette photo,j aime beaucoup l ombrelle coloree a droite,par contre dommage pour la lumiere trop forte sur les bras de l homme ce qui fait qu il n est pas tres contraste sur le fond? mais j aime ta composition
a bientot
francine

ninaL (19592) 2007-05-07 4:49

Bonjour, Luko.
J'aime bien cette scène très bien cadrée, les mains se tendant dans la même direction, et le cadrage fermé par ce parasol de couleur. Une belle lumière....délicate mais donnant un peu de l'ambiance à la photo.
Amicalement, Grazyna.

wolf38 (13085) 2007-05-07 5:54

Hello Luko. Fantastically. A photo of full action and dynamics. In addition wonderful colors. To regard perfectly and beautifully. Best regards, Wolfgang.

vapours (7913) 2007-05-07 6:05

Great mix of colour here (including the umbrella), and I think the vital part of this image is the man handing the oranges over..without that I think we'd be a bit clueless with what was happening.

ALSOM (6616) 2007-05-07 6:11

Je cherchais mon parasol arc-en-ciel, voilà que le retrouve sur l'autre côté indienne.

Belle scène de cérémonie on sent une certaine efferversence.
Néanmoins, je ne suis pas convaincu par le traitement qui attire l'attention sur ces parties roses alors que d'autres détails me semblent clé comme l'attitude de cet homme sur la gauche ainsi que les autres bras tendus.

Je ne sais pas à quelle distance tu étais nit quelle focale, j'aimerais être encore plus dans la scène ...

Bon dans mon élan de générosité je te donne 1.5 vert + 0.5 vert parce qu'on a déterré Mireille Mathieu hier soir pour ce concert mémorable. Il manquait les blagues d'Arthur pour couronner le tout !

A+.

naxius (16679) 2007-05-07 7:54

Salut Luko,
Mais oui,c'est bien lui,c'est Nicolas qui est caché, pas très loin, que les gens viennet applaudir! Une bonne photo d'ambiance, tu es dans la foule et on te sent presque en transe!

un très beau traitement mais sur celle ci je suis moins fan du vignetage ajouté ou naturel.
Alex

prantik (1134) 2007-05-07 9:25

Love the umbrella; Shiva with the rainbow coalition. Just missing the "Pace" sign and Jessie Jackson. Your timing could not have been any better, even the shape of the flame is pefect. You must have been completely overwhelmed by all the estrogen surrouding you, no? Little confused, you mentioned Gopis. That's Krishna. Was this a Shiva worship or Krishna? You are right about Krishna's peccadillo with the Gopis. However, while he gets to fornicate with all the babes from Vrindavan, Shiva just gets his Linga bathed in milk by the husband-seekers.

Sorry about getting stuck with Sarkozy for the next 5 years. But compared to what we have been stuck with for the past seven years, you are not doing too bad. The positive upshot of us in the US: at least no one would be selling "Freedom" fries anymore at the cafeteria of the Capitol.

prezntime (3945) 2007-05-07 22:27

Man, that's a powerful shot. All of the dynamic cluster and crowding that marks a climax...seems like someone's always getting psuhed out of the way. The backlighting is awesome here. I don't know...hard to describe I guess. That is a good thing. Great photos always make me scratch my head...they just inhabit a different level. I think I tend to associate this particular emotion with B&W shots...I'm not sure if you understand; it's great to feel this way about a color photo.
Chris.

nicoz (1963) 2007-05-08 11:09

Salut Luko,
Encore une fois je suis pas trop capable de reconnaitre le dieu ou la deesse dans ce bazar, mais toutes ces couleurs et tout ce bazar me le font oublie.
Il y a tellement de details que je m'y perds comme dans un "ou est Charly".
Bien joue!
Nicolas

AmiBe (6042) 2007-05-08 16:38

Il faudrait toujours avoir une ombrelle comme cela sur soi, ça rendrait n'importe quelle scène photogénique. :)
Une photo qui ne manque pas de dynamisme, on est au coeur de l'action.
J'aimerais bien que la personne qui tourne le dos au "héros" soit un peu plus présent.
a+

kensimage (8543) 2007-05-12 17:31

Great timing, Luko, catching all those outstretched arms. It's a chaotic scene but your shot is clear, with people not blocking one another at that moment from your POV. The shot gives a feel for the very ordinariness of something intended to be sacred. Regards, Ken.