Pride and Elegance, a photo from West Bengal, Est

Photographer's Note

She is one of hundreds of laborers, mostly bonded laborers who work under compulsion forced by money lenders to whom they or their close relatives are indebted, in one of innumerable brick kilns scattered across the Indian subcontinent. The work is back-breaking, dusty, unbearably hot under the relentless tropical sun. In April temperature often soars in West Bengal to 100 degrees F with nearly 95% relative humidity, in summer it is often as high as 105-110F, with 100% humidity. Work begins before sunrise, and does not end until five or six in the evening. For women that is only the beginning of another chore...household work.

This woman in her elegant dress appeared to be the hardest worker in this kiln. During the 2 hours or so I was there, she never paused. Unlike curious gazes from others, she never even once looked up and made eye contact.

The elegant white headdress below the head pad (meant as a cusion for carrying heavy head-weights) signifies that she is probably a newly wed. Did she come to this kiln as a result of her marriage obligation? Or did she marry another person in the same kiln while she has been here? Why is she wearing her elegant bridal dress while doing this arduous labor? Is this all she possesses? Or is this her choice dictated by the custom for a newly wed to dress well...to rise above her conditions for a few days of nauptial glory?

This is my dedication to Labor Day.

[Yes, I know I am going to get a lot of rebuke from my friends for succumbing to the siren song of raunchy color PP. My defense...a guy has to experimenet sometime. And then, how can I deprive this elegant and proud queen of the kiln of her colors?]

vincz, kajspice, fijiphil, thaprem, yanseiler, sabyasachi1212, vagabondtravels, arnabchat, priyasri_80, markoci, sayan, chc, KevRyan, prezntime, keribar, rajju, Rumblestripe, HIRAKZ trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

vincz (19113) 2006-09-04 11:25

Well, waht counts most for me is the result and I think you did a great work here. Both at taking the picture and at post-processing time. It just looks great.

kajspice (4542) 2006-09-04 11:36

I agree...you had to try something a little different and it got my attention. I really like the effect you got here.

She stands as tall and strong as the tower behind her. I wonder if the other ladies were envious of you concentrating your attention on this particular lady. She deserves to get your attention as she stands for much more than a worker here. She looks strong and determined to get her work done...

CliffW (2381) 2006-09-04 11:40

Well, I personally don't mind experimentation. Actually, I'd rather things move in the direction of growth. The yellow does seem to intensify a message of searing heat. Not as sure if the light change/gradient around her specifically worked quite as strongly. Not offputting, but maybe not as solid as a contribution to the scene as it's noticeable presence would warrant. Anyway, off the PP, the shot itself is executed well, with the very low POV (which does a great job of putting her on that much deserved pedestal by itself) and a DOF that makes her a featured star on a dusty plain. I like the photo quite a bit, on it's own merits.

fijiphil (1355) 2006-09-04 11:59

As the previous critiquers mentioned, the composition itself is very very good, and the yellow colour cast works well to accentuate the feeling of heat. But the light halo around your main subject comes across a bit heavy handed and doesn't really help affairs, in my view.

vedra (0) 2006-09-04 12:34

Hi Animesh,
Looking at the thumbnails, I thought first it was a poster photo, but I'm glad I opened it. This is really a beautiful image of a hard-working woman that doesn't care about anything else but her job. I like the blurred background that proves something else - that nothing else matters here but she... At least it was so at the moment you took your photo.
Vedrana

bantonbuju (51815) 2006-09-04 13:27

i dont suppose you should be affraid of disgust or whatever among your fans, animesh!
why? - because this is your way of expressing how you felt and how you feel about the place; and i do share this vision of yours with pleasure, this yellow, sandy world, unfriendly to those hard working people in these conditions;
"depriving this elegant and proud queen of the kiln of her colors" was imo an excellent idea to "humanize" the queen :-))
best, j.

thaprem (2566) 2006-09-04 13:43

Animesh!...
What a explosive & dramatic exposure!...Like a grand opening of a intense movie!...
The subject, the note & the presentation are exemplary...
Cheers,
Prem.

yanseiler (20) 2006-09-04 14:46

Hi Animesh, amazing picture, looks like coming from somewhere else, surrealistic... Before having a deeper look and reading your note, I thought that the ligth was so strange, nice effect made in the PP... And thanks for the journalistic note...
Kindly
Yan

sabyasachi1212 (19779) 2006-09-04 14:56

Hi Animesh da,
I am somewhat familiar with your gallery and know your fascination for B&W images. So it was a pleasent surprise to see this. Infact I had to rub my eyes just to make sure this was from you! The post processing has taken a magical effect here and this could well have been one of those highly valued Indian paintings at Sothebys.
Best Regards
Sabyasachi

scalerman (26900) 2006-09-04 19:14

Actually, Animesh, I think your PP here is spot on. This is a really beautiful canvas. I think it must look very nice from a good inkjet print. Nicely retouched, and well seen. regards, c

ALSOM (6616) 2006-09-04 19:16

Hi Animesh,

I don't see the colors, I only see this woman, she really stands out from your capture, not only because of the oof that emphasizes her but her pride & elegance, her face, her body attitude all jump to your face.

Not sure if your PP has caused some artifact on her right hand or maybe this the natural sandy dust ...
Thanks, Alain -

[workshop] [compare] +

arindam_thokder (3987) 2006-09-04 20:04

Hello Animesh,
I don't know the technique of the colors in this shot, however I like this a lot. Awesome color in the frame and the attention goes to the lady directly. Even this would look good in B/W too...For me this is somewhere in the middle of art and documentary. GREAT.

Arindam

Homerhomer (4080) 2006-09-04 21:58

"Yes, I know I am going to get a lot of rebuke from my friends for succumbing to the siren song of raunchy color PP."
--------------------------------------------
you know you can always count on me when it comes to rebuking and complaining:-)))))))
Apart from this very very very ugly yellow this is a very good shot, still remember your other colour image you uploaded with the same woman few months back, wish this one had similar colours;-)
Peter

[workshop] [compare] +

Polonaise (5802) 2006-09-04 22:16

Hats-off to Animesh' outstanding photography.
So stylish, and so beautifully composed and presented it can melt the heart of stone. Animesh, this is a masterpiece.
This is a joy for my eyes. What a pleasure is to know that this kind of photography is well and kicking strongly.
My highest praise.
--------------------
IMHO...Both versions have the magic power, but yellow one - is simply unique.
-----------------------------
The note, Animesh, the note…!!!
As we give the points for the photos, we should pay you for your notes.
God bless man, God bless…
g.

vagabondtravels (6511) 2006-09-04 23:27

Great capture of daily life with a great note. Not to big on heavy pp but this really works well. Good work.
Ben

dhurjati (2709) 2006-09-05 0:17

Hi,
Fantastic daily life picture.There is a band of brightness near the lady,dont know why.But would prefer to omit this.Anyway nice capture.
TFS,
Dhurjati

arnabchat (7233) 2006-09-05 0:57

Animesh-da, i prefer the other versions that this one, as they go more with my stand of not altering the natural ambience of colors. i'd love to see you back to your own style, a trademark monochrome i love to see from you. this looks rather a painting than a photo, colors are rather stylized. I hope you can get what i say.
the composition was really good with nice DOF, and colors tones suggestive of the dusty ambience and the sun.
Best, Arnab

aadilj (18102) 2006-09-05 2:46

Just an outstanding and amazing work I have seen in a long long time. Surely an inspiration for amateurs like me who are trying to figure things out.

priyasri_80 (363) 2006-09-05 4:38

Agreed. there are lot of people like this in India who suffer a lot because of their close realtives... mostly a father, husband or a brother being in debt. Well captured.
Priya

markoci (3933) 2006-09-05 6:19

hm... rebuking... o.k. well i guess someone's gotta do it.. (although peter mentioned ugly yellows.. an understatement...) what can i say?... three words come to mind (well just one really..) why?... why?... why?...

Furachan (0) 2006-09-05 7:24

Beautiful, almost filtered shot, something like you mighyt see in a sandstorm in "Laurence of Arabia", ya know? I can't get over the tones here. It is contemporary and yet it cold be...an ancient photograph.
I find this one mesmerizing.
-F

prantik (1136) 2006-09-05 9:15

Interesting effect. Looks like the glow of a Hydrogen bomb, and she the determined survivor walking out from ground zero. A poster for both Teller and Pauling's office walls. :)

sayan (2617) 2006-09-05 12:24

Hello Animesh da,
Wonderful experimentation. Personally I do like experimenting and this one has a great effect. The golden glow is really adding to the composition. I am seeing that prantik had already make a comment regarding the glow and I really like that a lot. But personally I think it can be compared with those rare ocassions when such light really occurs and we call it "koney dyakha aalo", may be those situations are little less in brightness but, this really reminds me of those rarest situations.
Best regards
Sayan

Salil_B (737) 2006-09-06 11:00

Good image certainly. From your old series, right?
Fine composition. Good effect and impression of searing heat.
One nitpiking point. Is the 'band of brightness' a result of dodging? If deliberate, fine, if not ...
Salil

chc (1468) 2006-09-06 16:42

Hi Animesh,
I like the composition you did here. The yellow tone had something different than the B&W (it underlines the difficulty of the work (hot, dust etc.) rather than the dramatic aspect of the situation as the B&W would). I especially like the light you put all over the women making an “apparition effect”.
Christophe

PeterC (2242) 2006-09-07 9:27

Animesh,
Hi long time no speak. Its been a while and im slowly getting through people shots. I remeber you taking shots from kilns before in India. An thought provoking shot indeed. I love the strong compostion the laady striding through the frame. Beautifully captured. I actually like the PP adds a little extra to the shot and like Francis said makes it kind of timeless.
Cheers
Peter

KevRyan (22956) 2006-09-10 19:15

.....brick dust dirty in her wedding red.....
nothing else to wear instead
she still walks tall, holds up her head
beneath the brick kiln dowry

I like your work with the camera and after it here Animesh - I have such respect for so many of the women I met in India - remarkable very ordinary people for the strength, simpicity, hard work, courage and tenacity of their lives......not to idealise...there is nothing but hard work and poverty for so many - but there is something very real and relatively uncomplicated - something about basic values in life - or the basic neccessities which is ten times more appealing than people in the West....

best wishes Kev

kensimage (8563) 2006-09-11 11:17

I like the effect with the colors, even though it doesn't look real--it creates a dreamlike mood, though it's a sad dream indeed. She must be a person of character--she has no real motivation to work harder than anyone else (the "glass ceiling" must be impossibly thick), so she must be doing it out of pride. I like your low POV to emphasize her dignity. Well done, Animesh. Regards, Ken.

prezntime (3946) 2006-09-17 9:45

Greetings Animesh.
Hmm...The uncomposed composition is excellent. The mirroring effect of the tower behind also is a wonderful symbolic feature...showing her strength, and ability to be a monument herself. Women, mothers, sisters, grandmothers...most would say pillars of strength in ones life, though just a fallable as any human. Much like a earthquake to the pillar, life can bring down a woman. But here, they both stand tall and act as a temple to the memories they hold.
Experimentation can lead to the most creative outputs. You do what you feel and people, as well as your mind, will respond. It is experimentation with life that has allowed you to grow from a child to a man. The cast of the yellow light focuses the attention on the woman, although I think that attention would still be centered on her in any medium.
Well done and thought provoking.
Regards,
CHris
:) tomorrow.

keribar (43841) 2006-09-25 1:38

Hello Animesh,

We don't see too may color pictures inb your site and it is natural that this one jumps out. It jumps not only because it is a color picture but because it has become poetic with the changes you gave to it. your experiments proved well.

All the best - Izet

pracas (511) 2006-10-22 0:07

Hi animesh,

Long since i've been around the galleries... for some reason i had lost interest in TE...And today i saw this one by chance...A real good shot...and a very inspiring one too...only i'm rather surprised at the colors...but as you said she deserves it....and to tell you chandannagar is building my curiousity...probably i should go there...

claudeblasen (131) 2006-12-23 18:20

Thank you for sharing this experience. During my trip to India, I often admired the women's beautiful dresses. Even the poorest women were fine and clean tissues. It's probably a part of their pride and. Even if forced to labour, their keeps upright and they would never ever lose their dignity. So many people in our western countries could take thousands of lessons in India.
Again, thank's for this message.
Claude

dreams (2) 2007-01-12 10:49

bonne composition
bravo

sebinho342 (19329) 2007-01-15 8:14

Hi Animesh, i don't come that often in your gallery but here i have the opportunity and i want to let few words on this one that i saw many times. You are right to say "a guy has to experiment sometimes", of course !!! You did a terrific job on that one given this picture almost a drawing aspect, really pure shot and PP work, that fits very well the mood you want to share.
Great !

Rumblestripe (308) 2007-02-06 17:49

A stunning image that stood out to me on the page amongst the thumbnails such was it's power.

It does look like a painting, fantastic use of colour and the image is perfection.

Thank you

No_One (4) 2012-01-20 13:16 [Comment]