Flow of life Photo

Photographer’s Note

"...The Ganges, above all is the river of India, which has held India's heart captive and drawn uncounted millions to her banks since the dawn of history. The story of the Ganges, from her source to the sea, from old times to new, is the story of India's civilization and culture, of the rise and fall of empires, of great and proud cities, of adventures of man..."
source

The Ganges is for sure the major and most sacred river in India. Cities grew up around its margins and life happens in it, as life happens in the streets of any other major city on earth. People meet here, walk, talk, bathe and wash in a big social encounter. They do the puja (purification, worship) and the laundry on the same waters, side by side. Watching this unique river atmosphere is simply spectacular.

sleon, indoka28, delic, snunney, feather, belido, Guenther, syd1946, siolaw, axiotea, noborders, Cricri, john_c, lucasgalodoido, Tue, paura, Emile, pboehringer, manatee, Gerrit, ribeiroantonio, rajju, danos, ChrisJ, jmdaoudal, alvaraalto, photographer123, Photo65Net, Vato_Law, Didi, xuaxo, lestans, sothy81, Henryk_Bilor, rigoletto, Jonas_Schmitt, J_Schmitt, yasoda-nandana has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

sleon (9352) 2007-08-16 4:30

Hi Ricardo
Fascinating capture of everyday life in this sacred river. The colourful people add life and movement as they go about their rituals and chores and the compo is well thought out with the diagonal on the left and the bridge behind framing the scene.
Regards, Susanna

indoka28 (5187) 2007-08-16 4:41

Hello Ricardo,

A busy "Har ki Pauri" ghat very well depicted by you. Lot of colours and avery good daily shot life from this prime religious location..!!and also a very good POV for this shot..!!

Regards,
Indro

delic (6735) 2007-08-16 4:56

Fine documentary of the life around the Ganges, Ricardo. Each group of people is worth looking at. Nice and realistic colors. Regards,
Hakan

snunney (35464) 2007-08-16 5:07

Hello Ricardo,
Much animation in this composition of every day life in India. I like the diagonal perspective along the ghat. Good colours and clarity. Very good work.

feather (50144) 2007-08-16 5:44

You have captured so much interest in this image. We could look at it over and over and still find something new. Your high POV (from a bridge?) has allowed you to fill the frame so well. Placing the steps on a diagonal was the perfect choice. Well done
Kath

belido (16857) 2007-08-16 6:47

Hi Ricardo,

nice and vivid image full of interesting elements. The combination of the different clothe colors and the position of people in the frame make this shot a lot attractive and give us some kind of "organized chaos" feeling. Great job!
Regards,
Carlos

Guenther (6859) 2007-08-16 6:53

Hi Ricardo,
splendid daily life shot, very lively, very colourful, rich of details ... great job, TFS.

syd1946 (17965) 2007-08-16 7:00

Hello Ricardo,
A classic scenery from India!You did a great work here because you captured the atmosphere.I can feel it,even I didn't go to India.Full of colors,full of life...flow of life!

Greetings,
Thomas

siolaw (25832) 2007-08-16 7:04

Ola Ricardo,
The strong lines of the Ghats and the bridge are well balanced by the randomness of the Indian crowd ;D The light is low but colors came nicely.
A good daily life scene.
Laurent

leonorkuhn (13999) 2007-08-16 7:24

Olá Ricardo,

Esta é uma imagem clássica, mas impressionante pelo ritual religioso e cultural que ali é executado por centenas de pessoas de cada vez. Eu não me canso de observar os gestos de cada um deles nesta cerimônia. Excelente ponto de vista e enquadramento, parte rio - parte margem. Ótimas cores e grande nitidez.

Beijinhos
Leonor

UnTrained (0) 2007-08-16 8:01

Olá Ricardo,
thanks for that as I hade no idea before how this would look like. I heard of that scenes but was not able to imagine it. Good POV with the diagonal stairs and I don't want to count the colours here.
Lieben Gruss, Ulf

Valerka (8159) 2007-08-16 8:19

Hello, Ricardo,
Excellent shot and colours.Neat details. Excellent work.
TFS
Valerka:)

axiotea (16287) 2007-08-16 8:31

Ola Ricardo
This photo is full of life with so many details to look at. Good capture as well of the people taking their bath for purification while other one are sitting, talking and I even see these two guys, on the left side, holding each other...I also like the way the ghats create a diagonal.
Cheers
Marilyn

carper (65646) 2007-08-16 9:39

your Asian shots are alway amasing Ricardo,
the shot is very good, technical it's nice and I like the composition you made with all those details, there is so much to look at, very good photojob here, have a nice day.
gr. jaap

pablominto (41354) 2007-08-16 9:47

Hello Ricardo,
Good diagonal composition!
What is more remarkable is the number of people you manage to put into one frame in something that is an ordinary daily life capture...
So many details to explore, colourful in spite of low light!
Greetings,
Pablo -

noborders (14201) 2007-08-16 10:57

What a great crowd and how happy are the colours ! Your POV ıs great and I love to see all the ınterestıng detaıls of thıs photo, thıs gıves me the nostalgy of Indıa,
Bravo and best regards from Tokat, the last leg of my journey where I am now waıtıng for a very late nıght bus,
Cath.

Cricri (43738) 2007-08-16 11:20

Hi Ricardo,
Trés jolie et interressante image, belle coutume de ce pays, bon cadrage et scéne des personnes, compliment
friendly
cricri

lucasgalodoido (16789) 2007-08-16 11:27

Olá Ricardo!
Gostei da fotos desse famoso Rio, aindo vou aí conhece-lo, e apesar da sujeira é bem capaz de eu entrar também! Gostei da multidão na foto e das cores da Índia!
Parabéns e Abraço!

Tue (25608) 2007-08-16 14:00

Hej Ricardo,
A good capture of the river Ganges and all the life surrounding it. I find the composition and POV very good. It's interesting to see what all the people are doing, also the many colours of their cloths are very attractive. Good work, thanks for sharing!
Regards,
Lars

paura (39258) 2007-08-16 17:28

Ricardo,
Creio que essa agua não deve estar assim, por dizer, muito limpa, pois não? Usaste o seu ceroulão colorido para se disfarçar de todo mundo e conseguir essa ótima composição?
:-)

Fotografia realmente boa e interessante.

Paulo

Emile (20125) 2007-08-16 21:54

Hola Ricardo.
Excelente foto captada desde un buen POV alto, la presencia de la cantidad de personas tomando su baño en el Rio Ganges y las que estan a su alrededor produce un magnifico efecto a tu foto, los colores y definicion son estupendos. Muy buena composicion.
Felicitaciones.
Abrazos.

berek (29019) 2007-08-16 21:56

Ola Ricardo,
what a wonderful daily life sense. crowded , colourful and impressive place. , like it.
greetings.
B.Erek

manatee (4297) 2007-08-17 0:17

Do you saw the movie WATER, is a very nice hsitory about India in it castas, I was waching somoe documentary in Nat Geo and I understand better, they coustums, like the intochables and other things, is very very interesting, I would like to visit this country for me is one of the most intersting cities in the world.

Sorry, I forgot to witting you in Spanish:

Bien como te decia india es un pais magico, pareca Caotico pero hay un orden dentro del caos, me gusta mcuho la comida y su cultura, en esta foto puedo notar esto y como tu bien dices para ellos el ganges lo es todo, creoq ue no podria existir la cultura Indu sin el Ganges.

Muchas gracias por tu fotografia, nos ensenas mcuhas cosas ahi, como por ejemplo, la gente banadose, los jovenes reunidos, la forma de socializar etcetera, ademas el marco es muy bueno amigo.

Un grande y caluroso abrazo

Elias

Angshu (34099) 2007-08-17 0:34

Ola Ricardo
I plan to go to Haridwar sooner than later...let's see when. Going by your exif data, you took this shot early morning. Lots of random activity as one may expect from this holy place. Well composed with the stairs in a diagonal. Good shot from the high POV. Well done my friend & congrats for your second post of the week ;-)...hopefully this frequency will continue.
Friendly Regards
Angshu

Gerrit (36269) 2007-08-17 1:01

Hi Ricardo,
perfect skyless shot. There is so much to see in this tableau vivant ful of life and interesting details.
Regards, Gerrit

ribeiroantonio (21969) 2007-08-17 3:16

Para o nosso estilo de vida, esta actividade diária dos hindus ao longo do Ganges é qualquer coisa de extraordinário. Essa coisa de tomar banho, lavar roupa e tudo o mais não encaixa na nossa mentalidade. E ainda por cima são milhões a fazer isso todos os dias. Mas, culturas não se discutem e temos de aceitar a cultura dos outros.
Conseguiste uma boa composição com cores muito bonitas e muitos pontos de interesse. Gosto muito.
António

vincz (19045) 2007-08-17 6:54

i like very much the atmosphere here with the so many people around like in a social gathering but ... in a sacred river. Nothing special for them it seems, just normal. Great feeling.

pboehringer (770) 2007-08-17 7:09

Ricardo,
The Ganges is certainly not the most sacred rives in India, but for sure in the whole world. Just by counting per person involved with this river it wins in popularity by far. You got an image that shows that beautifully. It is very interesting to watch all this people gathered in different groups and imagine their history and reasons to do the pilgrimage and washing at this river.
The composition is certainly very good, although the brigde in the background with all the people on the top being cut half is not the best. I probably would have cropped that out. The question how deep into the image.
Abracos, Peter

john_c (24635) 2007-08-17 7:43

Hi Ricardo,
An engaging, indeed fascinating shot of this ritual in progress. I like the angled view of the steps. Although you were not favoured by the best light, your exposure level is good and the clarity of detail is excellent. The garb and attire of the people is so colourful that they readiate their own light. Very fine work..later.
John

ChrisJ (70443) 2007-08-17 8:20

Hi Ricardo

I like the strong compositional diagonal of the riverbank in this busy, but interesting scene. The people certainly add life & animation. Good colour & sharpness. Tfs!

jmdaoudal (82) 2007-08-17 10:23

A shot of the Indian daily life is always interesting, crowd, colors, socialbility and religion.
A good one and certainly a nice souvenir for you in crossing this civilization.
Jean Michel
Tech : its a nice framing, well done in the upper part for an horizon, and cared as nothing distub the subject in the borders.

Scharan (13955) 2007-08-17 13:26

Olá Ricardo

Uma foto muito interessante deste rio na Índia. Ficou boa a composição e as diversas cores do cenário, dão ainda mais vida à imagem. Bom registro, meus parabéns.
Grande abraço,
Vera.

devimeuxbe (56362) 2007-08-17 13:39

Hi Ricardo
Intersting picture on the daily life there.
It's perfectly composed and also the colors are amazing
Bertrand

alvaraalto (5303) 2007-08-17 14:51

Hi Ricardo,
A great picture full of life and full of colours and a lot of information about a rising continent,
Groet Rob

gilou530 (35680) 2007-08-17 16:07

salut ricardo
une photo de scéne de vie pleine de simplicité mais tellement réaliste, un pov en plongée qui nous montre une belle vue d'ensemble, beau travail
amitiés
gilbert

Benedict (7062) 2007-08-17 22:11

colorful all over! the ganges has always amazed me.
a classic indian documentary ala-history channel presentation!
benedict

toto (18755) 2007-08-18 0:52

Belle photo de cette scène des gens qui vont se purifier dans le Ganges,fleuve aimé par tout ces gens. Jolies couleurs,belle profondeur et superbes vetements typique de l' inde,modernisé par les jeunes surtout les jeunes hommes qui portent des shorts. Les jeunes femmes plus réservées reste quand meme plus couvertes. Amitiés Thomas
je reviens

keribar (42760) 2007-08-18 3:53

Hello Ricardo,
Great view and picture for sure.
But what about this bridge at the top ?I am sure that I would also think about what to about it.. Shouldl I include it or not at all ?
But It would never occur to me to take it partly. You did something I wouldn't even think of.
Hugs and a good caress to my friends - Izzet

photographer123 (5803) 2007-08-18 9:25

hi ricardo..
captured well ,the busy ness of the ghat and its atmosphere..well documentation...color is good,best wishes...subir

danos (33272) 2007-08-18 10:24

Ola Ricardo,
a nice documentary daily life in India.Thousands of people are purified in the sacred waters of the river of India.The crowd of colourful believers are impressive.I don't know how clear are the waters.Well done my friend.

Have a nice weekend,Danos

Photo65Net (43096) 2007-08-19 1:17

Ricardo,
I like the life you caught in this one.
So many people to look at, so many details for the eye, with nice colors.
Very nice,
Regards,
JB.

AiresSantos (42902) 2007-08-19 7:53

Ola Ricardo
Excelente imagem deste 'ritual' tipico da India. A perspectiva é excelente. Podemos ver imensos detalhes e o enquadramento ajuda.
Um abraço e bom Domingo
Aires

Vato_Law (11686) 2007-08-19 13:01

Olá Ricardo,
Um clássico das fotos acerca da India, mas visto de uma perspectiva diferente e mais abrangente, logo mais interessante da classica aproximação mais cerrada.
Gosto especialmente de como a vista se estende ao longo das escadas e da forma desordenada como as pessoas se vão purificando.
O colorido tipico das vestes indianas é outro ponto interessante desta bela foto documentária.
Um abraço.
Paulo

Bluejeans (33049) 2007-08-20 5:06

Oi amigo que foto fantastica , deve ser fabuloso de ver isto ao vivo e a cores :), lavar a roupa , tomar banho mais as cinzas dos mortos , se calhar eu tambem ia para dentro da agua :)
A foto ficou muito bonita, colorida , aquela ponte no fundo toda cheia de fendas , que perigo !!!
Parabens !!!
Um abraço Gonçalo

Didi (36442) 2007-08-21 3:50

Ola Ricardo
It can not be happen in France such scene; what a marvellous country !
Very nice indeed.
Obrigado.

xuaxo (5835) 2007-08-21 4:33

Olá Ricardo,
Uma cena muito interessante, pois o pessoal anda por ali como se fosse uma praça ou o rio uma rua normal. Daily Life(!) só mesmo na Índia.
Gostaria de ver incluída a parte superior da ponte lá atrás, mas isso não é muito importante aqui.
F

Stepan (27175) 2007-08-21 12:02

The light is a little grey but except that the scene is really typical from Gange rivers. The energy of India is there, that's obvious.
Stéphane

lestans (15492) 2007-08-22 11:59

Good shot, Ricardo!
there are so many people, so many groups. I like also the composition, the ghats in diagonal.
Varanasi is a great place, a great subject for a photographer. I felt shocked visiting it. You describe Varanasi well!
Livia

sothy81 (8540) 2007-08-24 11:39

A very nice shot showing daily life of people from there. Very interesting to see how people believe in doing this thing. Well done. Sothy

Henryk_Bilor (20371) 2007-08-25 5:26

Hi Ricardo
Interesting scene in this holy river. Nice composition and colours.
Regards

banyanman (7737) 2007-08-25 22:55

Hi Ricardo. You've really captured the 'buzz' of India well in this shot. You managed to find a really good POV for this perfectly composed image, with no bodies cut off in the water and everyone perfectly positioned in the frame (it is like you were the film director and they are all the extras who have positioned themselves for your scene!) I disagree with Peter about cropping away the bridge at the top. It doesn't worry me that the bodies are cut off there because they are so small - I just like the impression created of people everywhere as far as the eye can see. A very well executed photograph in all respects. Cheers . . . David

rigoletto (26792) 2007-08-28 4:29

Ola Ric!
Sorry for spoiling the wonderful "100" of this photo, but i needed to add myself to the chorus of admirers...
It is like a Bruegel painting, with so many colorful figures, doing so many things. Such an interesting scene, worth examining for a long while...
Congrats for this one :)
Cheers,
Deniz

jinju (14265) 2007-08-28 5:16

So many people!!

This is a nat geo sort of shot that conveys to us the feel of a place. Its a good shot that lets me have more than just a visual experience..if only you had some audio:)

coco (28122) 2007-09-15 5:53

Hi Ricardo.

Note and photo are good. They are for TE.
They are useful and good and we can learn about the world with them.

Well done.

Jonas_Schmitt (3074) 2007-09-27 8:16

Hi Ricardo!
Great composition with good colors and excelletn details,that shows the real life so well!Excellent point of view and nice scene!Thanks a lot fir sharing......
Best regards,
Jonas

J_Schmitt (163) 2007-10-06 10:55