This is the first post of my new photography project ‘Street
photography from my garage’. There is a fascinating flow of humanity along this road which leads
to a tenement (or slum) area in Colombo. There is a massive construction
project of luxury flats to the left. All trees on the road have been cut down,
nothing replanted.
You can see all kinds
of faces, all kinds of people – office workers, housewives, families, the down
and out, the poorest, the beggars, addicts, the aggressive, the submissive, the
hopeful, and those who have lost all hope.
My project is not meant to exalt or condemn. I just want to
capture passing life, and show it as it is, without romanticizing.
These photos are mainly taken at dusk, when the light is
lovely, but also in bad weather, drizzle and rainstorms.
I have used two cameras – Canon 5D Mark III and Canon 600D –
with a very old Russian 400mm M42 mount telephoto lens with a maximum aperture
of F8. With this, I can photograph the street from my garage unobserved. The
Mark III’s low light ability is very useful when light starts falling quickly,
forcing me to go from ISO 1000 or 1600 to 6400 or more.
I hope to post these photos once or twice a week, as time
permits.
Welcome to this fascinating gallery of portraits and street
life. As for taking permission from those photographs, it’s impossible because
for several reasons. If I ask them, they might or might like the idea. If the
person is a drug addict, it could be downright dangerous as word gets around.
If they consent, I have to get back to my filming position and get them to walk
again, and the photograph will be posed and look unnatural.
As I said earlier, I don’t mean to condemn or exalt. This is
passing life in the street as it happens. My approach is documentary, and it’s
for the record.
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