PhotoDuniya » Street candid

Candid Travel Picture from the Streets of Kolkata – Devotees along the Ganges

Ranjay Mitra — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 05:04:39 +0000

I traveled to Kolkata, previously known as Calcutta, in the summer of 2008. The weather was humid & temperatures soared over 100 degrees during the day time. My brother, whose learning to film, took me over to the banks of the Ganges to take pictures of candid street life.

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.

Street People Portrait – Candid Portrait of Children from Kolkata

Ranjay Mitra — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 23:53:33 +0000

Candid Portraits of Children are best taken when you let kids be themselves. An experienced children photographer will spend a lot of time with the children before getting any good shot.

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.

Horse and carriage rides in Central Park, New York City

Ranjay Mitra — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 03:07:02 +0000

It has been a long time custom to take leisure rides on horse drawn carriages in Central Park. Families huddle together while the carriage rolls through the inside roads of the park. The rides usually end at the southern end, where the horses get to eat and relax.

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

Street dance, music and roller skating in Central Park

Ranjay Mitra — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 22:07:30 +0000

The spring is beginning to bring the revelers out. People grouped at the South Western part of Central park to play music, dance and roller skate. The sun was shining bright but the chill in the air could not do much to dampen the spirit of the revelers.

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

New York City – lady taking a short break

Ranjay Mitra — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 21:26:58 +0000

New York could be well the world’s riches city and the financial capital of the world. But that does not change the lifestyle of ordinary people a bit. It is hard to make a living in the city and even harder to relax.

The lady here takes a quick break from her restaurant work and takes a peek at the afternoon edition of the news paper. The picture is taken on a hand held Nikon 200 on Lexar Pro media card.

Chessboards and chess players in New York City

Ranjay Mitra — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 06:47:18 +0000

Bryant Park is a place where various types of New Yorkers assemble throughout the day. The weekends bring the musicians and the chess players out to the park. These are friendly competitions but every player is as serious about the game as if it were holding a grand prize. You can make out the stress from the way the player in the red cap is clenching his fists.

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!

Central Park pedi cabs – resting cab driver

Ranjay Mitra — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 04:24:17 +0000

Right outside the South end of Central Park, the pedi cab drivers wait patiently for tourists who would hire a ride. This is a very popular vehicle within the park for a quiet, environmental leisure ride within the park. But the chilly weather causes a big slump in their business.

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