enveloped in a shroud of mysticism, a photo from Uttar Pradesh, Nord

Photographer's Note

Azadpuri Naga Baba of the Anand Akhada takes a dip in the holy water of the Ganges....
To honour his guru who "does not reside our world", he is not going to speak for 12 years.. he'll be breaking his penis at the next kumbha mela to make that ultimate transformation into a great naga..

Old Benares is home, both permanent and temporary, to some extraordinary people.. one can meet the famous agodhi sadhus, naga sadhus of different akhadas , sadhus of various other sects and most importantly the extraordinary people of immense faith in the unseen who have passed through the veins of this city making its heart beat for the past 2000 years..

scanned from a contact sheet.......

nerve, Curioso, don_narayan, mlopes, arnabchat, Vesela, yasoda-nandana, baudinm, clynch77, digi-mom, ewasting, vmukherjee trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

torben (3100) 2005-09-05 14:48

Ahh, right out of the 19th century traditon for pictorial photography, ie. out of focus and strange exposure.

Now, that perhaps sounded a little nosey but I really like the photo, especially for the kindness that seem to radiate from this man and of course the interesting pictorial effects. To be honest I don't think they make the image anymore "mystic", but that's allright with me, it's very nice anyway.

jeanfrancois (1260) 2005-09-05 14:48

Fantastic image.
Different from the rest of yours. A more heavenly one I think.
Looks like a semi-god emerging from the original sea of milk.
Beautiful.

Bluejeans (64251) 2005-09-05 14:57

Interessante a tua foto, a personagem da foto parece um espirito , parabems

don_narayan (2014) 2005-09-05 15:05

wow! very intense. I only wish the hands were more visible.

andreineamtu (466) 2005-09-05 15:17

interesting light. the person is interesting as well.

nygus (8178) 2005-09-05 15:28

if it was only sharper..great idea

maciekda (19895) 2005-09-05 15:30

yeah, if it was only sharper. great idea, bold compo, great character, and lack of sharpnes.. but a big smiley for the originalty, cool stuff Sohrab

alimo3 (6854) 2005-09-05 15:38

Hi Sohrab,
one more good one !
great face .
i like your serie from Varanasi , this one is really mistic,
and the high key gives a strong holy feeling .
Bravo .

Tom

flydragon (0) 2005-09-05 15:54

amazing !!
a picture from another time
i am a bit right with maciej
a bit more sharp
but yep this is a nice idea
and well composed
regards
••simon••

sorry green later

bhogalrajnish (72) 2005-09-05 17:18

Nice piture and write up . Yes the sadhus are really mistirous.

Luko (14000) 2005-09-05 17:39

I would really like to see this one on a proper sharp print with a full frame black filet... I would even more likely see this one with a lith print.

One of your shots that here and there takes everybody by surprise and makes you one of the most popular photogs in this site.

Just wait 2 or 3 years until you can show a whole portfolio with such quality shots, artistic twist based on documentary material and you could reasonably pretend for your own exhib.

sengir (4956) 2005-09-05 18:04

easy to pass by your photos in gallery, but when I finally opened it - I found great picture. There is definitely this magic of benares in it. Seen so many pictures from Varanasi, but definitely your are the best - probably because you are from there, you are able to go much deeper below the surface than any of Europeans - and one can feel it from your photos easily.

tongapup (0) 2005-09-05 18:40

Penis-crackin' good shot!

No but seriously... I do love this photo. It's completely entrancing. Whatever effect you used here worked to great effect. (Kinda reminded me of the effect here.)

Yeah I would love to see a large lith print of this. Obviously you've done well with the "connection" you've talked about -- he seems to be looking at you with bemusement? compassion? or does he feel sorry for you?

MKING (3054) 2005-09-05 22:24

More praise for an excellent photograph-- definitely the cover photograph for your series from Varanasi. I wouldn't change a thing-- not the exposure nor the motion blur nor the composition because it all works.

What also makes it interesting for me is that it does try to put these holy men in a different context-- tourist portraits of them are always sharp and make excellent studies of their faces and clothes. They concentrate on the tangible elements of their character, leaving the explanation for their existence to be written in the accompanying note. Here, you've tried to express what others have documented in words.

mlopes (494) 2005-09-05 22:26

yikes....what a mood here! so strange and beautiful at the same time... maybe a little out of focus, but i don't know if it was intencional.

this photo as something of unreal and mystical.

Mario

arnabchat (7233) 2005-09-06 0:55

simply amazing. the exposure does it all, i think this aspect also affected the sharpness. very good quality of work though.

Furachan (0) 2005-09-06 3:30

Now here, you're treading in waters that are way beyond my snap-happy range, Sohrab!
Pretty extraordinary treatment of the image, that Sadhu emerging out of a white fog like that.
You play for keeps my friend...
Wow!
Francis

nerve (10231) 2005-09-06 3:52

Nice central composition Sohrab, very highkey image,
quite dreamy, holy feeling in this, it matches very well with the spirituality of this city..
Well done, :)
(ill pass by tomorrow for these famous greens! LOL!)
Take care. (did u get my last e-mail?)

Darren (6823) 2005-09-06 4:01

It's a great capture of the guy Sohrab, but it needs to be sharper. Everything else works for me.

stefi (1230) 2005-09-06 5:33

Hi Shorab, in my opinion this shot is perfect. The slight out-of-focus, exposure and composition makes the figure going out of the frame and becoming something mysterious, a sort of "ghost" or something else supernatural.
Great, you make a picture that is really what I can imagine from your title. Great Shorab.

jcandeli (40) 2005-09-06 9:10

this one blows my mind. It is like a dream but in photograph form! Wow. Amazing. JP

Homerhomer (4080) 2005-09-06 9:21

Is he swimming in milk;-)?
Perfect, glad you are uploading again.
For some reasong even though TE has themes and all that, for me it is a single photo oriented site, wish you had a venue to display your galleries in more organized fashion, your images deserve this.
Peter

Vesela (967) 2005-09-06 12:48

Hi Sohrab!
This is an amazing picture,indeed!
The man looks like coming from some other world...or living in such which is the truth.
I like that the whole image is somehow out of focus and blur - that makes the whole impression more mystrerious and breath-taking.
Regards,
Vesela

sayzey (2358) 2005-09-06 19:02

Nice shot, a little blurred and i think too bright for me, but a good shot all the same, the idea is very good!

Hes not going to speak for 12 years and hes going to break his penis? If he can break his penis without speaking obscenities he must really have faith!

Godo shot

sarju (5324) 2005-09-07 13:35

Hi Sohrab
Cool portrait of this tranquil Sadhu mate
This photo encourages me not to be afraid of testing the limits of overexposure that you have used so very well to your advantage
well done man
Cheers ... sarju
PS: It is always a pleasure to visit your gallery as I always learn something new
tfs ... keep them coming

baudinm (349) 2005-09-08 8:56

Hi Sohrab,
This is a very interesting portrait.
The man seems to come from nowhere...
If you see this man again, please let him know that there is no need for him to break his penis...
The high-key + black and white choice is working great in the picture and allow to focus on the global picture rather than in details.
Bravo !
Amicalement,
Michaël

PSYOPS (0) 2005-09-09 20:32

scanned from a contact sheet.......

*

It's hard to believe such a creative try, but I must believe.
My favorite!

George

fixed (3836) 2005-09-12 5:46

Amazing shot sohrab !!
I like the mood !!
Very nice !
well done sohrab
thanks
Arnaud

SoupDragon (652) 2005-09-21 10:50

master of the mystical!

You got me here, not your usual style, but very unique. His stare and stance speak volumes.

Curioso (9271) 2005-10-15 15:50

Just haunting, powerful and magic atmosphere. I have a peaceful and respectful feeling when seeing the character coming from nowhere, maybe from the mist. I'm impressed by that picture Sohrab ! Keep shooting, you have a great style !

roshnir (52) 2005-11-02 13:46 [Comment]

Show Comment

rafid76 (0) 2006-12-21 5:36

truly majik.
i love how he jsut rises like a dream or an angle coming to warn us of dangers. well done sohrab, we need more people like you here

longwayfromhome (419) 2007-07-02 19:08

Brilliant Sohrab! I was looking at your photos for the first time in an age and this jumped right out at me. I had already decided it was one of my favorites before I saw it was scanned from a contact sheet! After that I simply love it more because it reminds me of when I was seeing the world and submitting scans from contact sheets to the critical eyes of the elder members. Your efforts supercede mine very much though! The process you have used here captures the essence of the picture perfectly. Wonderful

coco (30439) 2008-07-17 6:56

Hi Sohrab.

This is an impressive photo and I won't say anything new about that.
The best I can say: congratulations for this photo.

Regards.

Photo Information

Copyright: sohrab hura (sohrab) (7439)
Genre: Gens
Medium: Noir & blanc
Date Taken: 2005-08-00
Categories: Moment décisif
Camera: Nikon F-80, Kodak TRI-X 400
Exposition: 1/4 secondes
Versions: version originale
Thème(s): magic in benaras, Portraits 101 : a lesson in portraiture [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2005-09-05 14:40
Favoris: 1 [voir]