I have posted many of them here, some on Journal Image. The entire bank of the river next to the burning ghats, was lined with devotee stumps. People offer their prayers & their offerings to Kali here. The priest lives next door. So when its not the time for “puja”, he runs a small school for the street children.

This picture was taken on Nikon D200 with camera mounted fill flash on full power. Since it was noon time, & the subject was primarily white, I had to fill the subject at full power to overcome any under exposure.

I also used a graduated 3.0 ND filter to shadow the sky. The picture is only cropped for easy viewing over the internet.

Once they get comfortable around you, your camera or flash lights will not amaze and distract them any more. For a street photographer trying to get candid shots of children, you have to be patient till they don’t notice you anymore!

This is a candid picture of Suraj, a teenager from Kolkata, who loves to play & dive in the water of the Ganges.

Suraj & his group of friends spend the morning at Ghats of North Calcutta. And they have their own kid’s games too.

Like for example, they would dive and swim to the steam boats ferrying across shores. They would compete from one buoy to another. Thats all these children need to make them smile!

Suraj had a characteristic smile. A perfect “ear-to-ear” smile, and his eyes closes every time he laughs. He posed for me after a dive & could not resist laughing every time the flash went off.

This candid street portrait of a child from Kolkata is taken with handheld Nikon D200 & a wide angle lens.

The picture is taken on hand held Nikon D200 with fill flash and a wide angle lens.

A perfect showman who just found a great way to earn money just by dropping his clothes. And the confused tourists, not knowing what this is all about, is more than willing to shell out a couple of bucks for a picture to carry back home as a souvenir.

The picture is taken on hand held Nikon D200 with a wide angle lens.

Following my experience in San Francisco in documenting Street Musicians, I have started a similar project in New York City too. While most of the usual musicians are still playing in the subways, this group was one of the few that added a nice flavor to the city.

The image is taken on hand held Nikon D200. I did not use flash which could have distracted the musicians.

I have written about Alan Rabinowitz on & often. He continues to inspire me personally. I have been inspired after seeing a National Geographic documentary on Alan’s life, his cause & his mission to save the wild. Although he has taken a back seat following his health condition, he still leads the exploration group of the Wildlife Conservation Society.

Alan’s expeditions & his stories have brought the grim truth of survival. His fact finding missions led The New York Times call him the Indiana Jones of wildlife science!

In this book, Life in the Valley of Death: The Fight to Save Tigers in a Land of Guns, Gold, and Greed, Alan talks about the story of life & death, of frustration & the emergence of reason in a nondescript Hukaung Valley of Myanmar (Burma). This is a precious land in the eyes of Big Cat conservationists. This has one of the largest population of tigers outside India. But now the wild cats face extinction in the hands of poachers & gold prospectors.

The land strip is also known as the valley of death. Post the World War 2, the Hukaung Valley claimed the lives of thousands of war victims trying to escape the Japanese army. The land is ruled by a military dictatorship. Alan goes on to explain how the group of scientists have to battle not on a vicious government, but also the local military tribes, insurgence, poverty & the crude diplomats!

This is a must read for all conservationists & nature lovers. The review comments “In forests reviled as the valley of death, Rabinowitz finds new life for himself, for communities haunted by poverty and violence, and for the tigers he vowed to protect.”

While people are spending hundreds for the latest designer clothes on one hand, just on the other side of Times Square, another group of tourists is paying anything between two to five dollars to the naked cowboy’s agent to have a picture with him.

This picture is taken on hand held Nikon D200 on the divider in Times Square.

The picture is taken on Nikon D200 with a wide angle lens on Lexar Pro media.

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There is off course a prize, not apparent if you are new to this environment. It is the satisfaction of an afternoon well spent outdoor in the company of people who love nothing but playing chess!

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This picture shows a rickshaw puller resting in the slow weekend. The picture is taken on hand held Nikon D200 without any flash.

Vincent has been playing the pan for over 25 years and about a decade in New York City. He is from Trinidad, but has been entertaining the New York City tourists for over a decade now. On my request, he played the Jamaican Farewell. I had first heard it on the pan in San Francisco by another street musician by the name of Jonathan.

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I shall post more on Vincent in my later blogs. This picture was taken on a hand held Nikon D200 with fill flash & is part of an extended documentary on Street Musicians. Read more here.

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I have used a watermark on the above image. I apologize for the inconvenience but I am using it since the time I found out that Musicnation.com and a few others have violated copyrights & copied my images while being very insensitive to the musicians all in the name of driving more traffic to their websites.

Set up in the early 1960s, the cookie factory has not changed a bit even though California now boasts of the fastest growing technological advances made in the valley. The entire “factory” is one single room and has enough place for three adults to sit and work. And each of them run one complete machine to bake, fold and drop the cookies.

San Francisco Fortune Cookie Factory @ photoduniya.com

These are chocolate fortune cookies, with a chocolate flavor. The image is taken on hand held Nikon D200 on pro lexar media.

With Christmas round the corner, and San Francisco decked up in Santa Clauses and the colors of Macy, Mitchel is back with his Carols. And he could sing the noel in English, Spanish and in French. For the most part though Mitchel was singing in French.

Mitchel singing Carols @ photoduniya.com

The image is taken on handheld Nikon D200 on Lexar pro media card. More images will be uploaded on the Projects section of Photoduniya.com.

With Thanksgiving gone and Christmas round the corner, San Francisco has started playing the carols and we can see Santa coming back in many places. This Santa shown here is 45 years old. To some, it is a small tradition. Speaking to the employee of this roadside flower shop, she has visitors who had been coming for over 2 generations to see the Santa.

Santa Clause @ photoduniya.com

This image is taken with hand held Nikon D200 and SB 600 sppedlight. The flower shop is located on the corner opposite to Macy’s in Union Square, San Francisco.

Jacob brought out the silky striped and starred flag for the holidays. Taking up his usual place in Market, Jacob plays the keyboard and a host of jazz instruments including the saxophone. But a personal tragedy now prevents him from playing any of the wind instruments.

A veteran of the Vietnam war, Jacob has been playing various instruments for over 40 years. Although basking remains his main income, he is also trying to bring out his music on his own CD to the market soon.

Jacob in San Francisco @ photoduniya.com

The image is taken on handheld Nikon D200 on Lexar pro media card. More images will be uploaded on the Projects section of Photoduniya.com.

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Note: We are now integrated with photoduniya.com and have moved to a new location. Please update your bookmark. Click here to go to the new location http://www.photoduniya.com/photography-blog/

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Henri is playing the saxophone in San Francisco for about a couple of years now. Coming originally from Wisconsin, Henri has been playing the “horns” since he was nine. After a gap of about 15 years Henri is now back to his love – the saxophone. The instrument is as old as he is – with authentic metal in its construction and the music so vibrant.

Henri in San Francisco @ photoduniya.com

The image is taken on handheld Nikon D200 on Lexar pro media card. More images will be uploaded on the Projects section of Photoduniya.com.

It’s time for Christmas. Macy’s all decked up in beautiful lights, Union Square boasts of the biggest lit up Christmas tree and the flower boutiques brought out their Santa Clauses. Amongst all the frivolity, you cannot miss the amazing voice of Mitchel playing the Christmas carols right on the Square.

Mitchel singing carols in Union Square @ photoduniya.com

The image is taken on handheld Nikon D200 on Lexar pro media card. More images will be uploaded on the Projects section of Photoduniya.com.

China Town in San Francisco is stuffed with oriental gifts and crafts that has permanently charmed the tourists. The favorite and popular ones among the statues of idols and deities have always been the Buddha in all his forms. We have seen the miniature laughing Buddhas, the sitting Buddhas, the busts.

Buddha in Chinatown of San Francisco @ photoduniya.com

The Oriental Craft Emporium has one large bust of the Buddha showcased to tourists. Photographed with hand held Nikon D200 on Lexar Pro media.

Although I have made a few posts on a couple of street musicians from Hollywood, in all honesty, I would not like to place them in the same league as those I have photographed for months in San Francisco. It is the apparent difference in scale and showmanship that will keep them apart. Here is another vocalist and guitarist who was playing in the Universal Studios in Hollywood.

Guitar player in Hollywood @ photoduniya.com

The image is taken on handheld Nikon D200 on Lexar pro media card. More images will be uploaded on the Projects section of Photoduniya.com.

On a sidewalk in Old Chinatown in Los Angeles, Shi Ji was playing the accordion. An ehru lay next to him. He has been playing the accordion and the ehru for over fifty years now, and it shows. Playing some of the popular western tunes on the accordion as well as a few eastern ones, Shi entertained the tourists and the bystanders.

Shi Ji on accordion @ photoduniya.com

The image is taken on handheld Nikon D200 on Lexar pro media card. More images will be uploaded on the Projects section of Photoduniya.com.

For about a year now I have documented as many as sixty street musicians in San Francisco. I have met many of them repeatedly. Many have become friends and many well wishers. And as for me, I have enjoyed every bit of it. I am in Hollywood today, taking a short break from my regular life. While in the Universal Studios, I met Mickey Bridges playing the saxophone. And although there are contrasts, both in artistic talent and in showmanship, I could not help but enjoy the tremendous music.

Mickey Bridges @ photoduniya.com

I shall post a few more of Mickey and another musician I met in Hollywood shortly. The images are taken on handheld Nikon D200 with speedlight SB600.

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Note: We are now integrated with photoduniya.com and have moved to a new location. Please update your bookmark. Click here to go to the new location http://www.photoduniya.com/photography-blog/

Nate, or Nathanuel, is barely in his mid twenties and already a promising saxophone player. Originally from Seattle, WA, Nate is going to school in San Francisco. Music lies in his heart, and he has been taking to the busy streets of San Francisco for a couple of years now.

Nate @ photoduniya.com

The photograph was taken on Nikon D200 with a standard lens and speedlight SB 600. More images will be uploaded on the Projects section of Photoduniya.com.

Xuan plays the ehru. A note on his side reads that he was also filmed in Will Smith’s 2006 film The Pursuit of Happyness. Well the story goes like this. Xuan did play a musical note on the traditional chinese ehru, when he was asked to play one during the filming of The Pursuit of Happyness. However, the scene was altered during the final cut, since the tune that Xuan played had a prior copyright!

Xuan on the ehru @ photoduniya.com

The photograph was taken on Nikon D200 with a standard lens and speedlight SB 600. More images will be uploaded on the Projects section of Photoduniya.com.

Henri is not new to my readers. He is a fantastic vocalist playing for the band called The Jimmy Hendrix Experience (Experience This). I have been photographing the team of Henri, Rob and Johnny for over three months now near the union square. Photographically, the extremely low light, a combination of fluorescent lamps and tungsten ones and an extremely busy side walk make the task very challenging.

Henri @ photoduniya.com

The image was taken on Nikon D200 with a fill in flash and recorded on Lexar Pro media card. More images will be uploaded on the Projects section of Photoduniya.com.