The Alchemy of Tea Making, a photo from Madhya Pradesh, Central

Photographer's Note

Indian tea, or chai, is an important element of everyday life in India. In its plain version, it’s a mixture of milk, sugar and tea (in that order). In a fancier version it comes with masala – a mixture of ground spices such as pepper, cardamon, ginger and many more I don’t know. I’m sure many people who have been to India will agree that masala chai is something to die for. It’s both refreshing and nourishing and is served at every street corner, every train or bus station. Buying a glass of chai from a street stall in the morning and sitting on the kerb to drink it is one of the pleasures that keep me returning to India over and over again. And it’s a very democratic beverage: at two rupees (or three US cents) even the poor can afford it.

Cropped and increased contrast

ttmountainman, burdallet, phrozen, pancla has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

maciekda (19895) 2004-06-14 10:20

very nice picture Joanna, nicely composed and so close... lots of smoke and this hand pouring the tea... moody

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ttmountainman (2279) 2004-06-14 11:46

I like it that youve made it into a watercolour almost...the added noise in the picture gives an almost mystical effect to this icon of India...the chai shop!
Great shot

piozac (2065) 2004-06-14 16:38

ALeż klimat! Znowu dym na zdjęciu. Pani Joanno, ma pani swój styl...
Podoba mi się ta fota!

Pozdrawiam!!

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shihwei (238) 2004-06-14 22:40

I like to see the smoke ...could symbolise living. The pouring is powerful too. my favourite.

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manny (22032) 2004-06-15 3:47

Finally after you "Fray..." shot, here's another shot from you. Very very good. I like the fact that you chose to come clower and took this picture rather than the usual man pouring something pic. The colors and the texture are so good. Another excellent shot Joanna.

Piotr (0) 2004-06-15 4:07

Bardzo ladna kompozycja, az czuje te zapachy, troszke szumy duze na zdjeciu, ale w odbiorze to nie przeszkadza wcale, pozdrawiam

[2] [workshop] [compare]

bfly (5775) 2004-06-16 13:32

Joanna, a very nice picture again with your beautiful backlight (curd making)..I liked the smoke and bluish tones very much...(but there is a fine jpeg texture seen on the dark parts)..
your notes are very loving and caring about India :) I feel happy reading them...(btw, chai is same and read the same in many countries starting from India to Turkey)

avis2avis (4264) 2004-07-14 2:31

I like the crop which makes this a great metaphorical shot. I like the note which is very informative. But I wonder why the grainy effect... too much contrast?

burdallet (0) 2004-11-11 3:14 [Comment]

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gilman (139) 2005-12-28 2:09

just through me back to amazing india while looking at it...
think its grea shott- the light so nice...and i like the coposition as well.
maybe just a little noise that can be taken care of! still wonderful shoot, well done!
gil.

manulvu (200) 2007-06-19 4:22

I really like this shot and the way it is presented. By increasing the contrast you have brought out the color of the tea or chai.. This enhanced contrast has given a life or freshness to the shot.. similar to what the one cup/glass of chai does in the morning or whenever you want..

Kaukayari (0) 2010-04-22 23:46

Great shot joannar, a lot of action and movement going on. Love it.