Friday 18th March: day 7 it's been on the road a week now.

Woke at 4.30am this morning  feeling more tired than when I went to bed last night, I don’t know why but even though I know we are 3000ft above sea level here I’m getting knackered more than I should and I am still fighting off the flu I had in Dunedin a week ago.

Again we headed off in the early morning darkness to Lalburgh Park where I had arranged to meet the sun worshippers again and also possibly catch the laughing group.

In the dark I was rating the camera at 3200ISO and I was still not getting any good images so on with the flash and started snapping away. They all knew I was coming and accepted the inconvenience of the flash. It seems that I’m turning into a bit of a star here  as people tell their friends about this crazy kiwi photographer whose in town – should be good for a laugh I guess, anyway  back to the sun worshippers who can bend and twist like you wouldn’t believe. This old 67 year old was posing for me even though I didn’t want to shoot him so I did and concentrate don his hands and feet to get a different view of it all. Looked first at getting a number of action shots using pan action flash techniques as the light picked up and then I could move into a more comfortable shooting regime.
Then I started to look for angles, viewpoints and features, got some okay pics I guess, but so tired today so it was a struggle to get the brain into gear and be happy about my work.  I am however happy with a couple of images I captured so the morning wasn’t a total loss anyway. The light here while golden in the morning can change quickly into really harsh and contrasty strong directional light which the eye can adapt to but the digital camera cannot so I am changing the way I shoot to a total RAW only work flow now to maximise my chances rather than letting the JPEG ruin any more good pictures.

The laughing group turned out to be just five guys who mimic monkeys laughing and other animals while they exercise so a no show there but I think I got an ok image from one of them – maybe next time.

Today will be a slow day as we may get some images printed out this afternoon to give to the locals I’ve shot and prepare for the weekend. Time to work on my own projects I think.

 

Thursday 16th of March: Day 6 The fun begins.

5am walk up call, actually jet lag opened my eyes at 3am but I stayed in bed typing my diary until 5 and the Vino John and I went out in the unusually quiet and dark Bangalore streets to the famous Lalburgh Park in northern Bangalore.
Surprisingly there were people up –local street cleaners tidy up from the previous days messes, students heading off to school and shift workers heading to their jobs. Over at Lalburgh Park it was full of people exercising, it was a bit of a shock to see so many people out in the pre-dawn light striding about and jogging along dressed in their usual working clothes. Indians seems to be almost as fanatical about personal fitness as the Chinese. There were hordes of them swinging their arms around, doing amazing yoga moves and power walking; mind you most were over 35 as I saw few children or teenagers exercising.

The light was amazing so soft and golden, so Vino John and I shot up a storm, well I did, Vino John was relaxing watching people go by and snapping off pics of me lying on the oldest rock in Asia to get a different angle. Met the sun worshippers who meet there every day to perform intricate yoga moves and worship the sun when it peeks above the eastern horizon. A  nice bunch of guys and girls ranging in ages from early twenties to 80 years of age – man I hope I can move as they do when I’m that old. Wandered about a bit marvelling at the beautiful light in the park before we headed back home where on the way I also took the opportunity to shoot drive-byes on the golden light. Bangalore wakes up quickly and the motorbikes, auto three wheelers, buses and cars all come out in force about 0830 choking the roads. We to leave the park by 0800 as that’s when the close the gates and start charging everyone a fee to be there plus a fee for their cameras etc another money making venture I guess – shame really a nice park too.

Anyway went home and prepped for the afternoon lecture at NICC.

They sent us a driver I am sure he was a kamikaze expert the way he drove almost had two nose to tails when he wasn’t watching the road ahead, he picked us up and we headed back out the 7 kms  to the NICC campus where sadly the power had failed, so I started my lecture outside in the blazing midday sun as a hands on portraits shooting session to get the students used to ordering people around, many are embarrassed to talk to people and take pictures so it was a good exercise for them, but I soon figured out that it is a combined class of designers and photographers  of which some don’t want to be involved and others as usual try to dominate your time. After an hour the power was back on so we retreated to coolness of the classroom and I talked about the great picture hunt, then after two hours of reviews of the students work which most was actually really good and creative before the faculty dragged me away upstairs where I was invited to offer my advice on a number of projects they were contemplating. I took the opportunity to explain my ideas for their projects and how I thought they should be handled, man where they happy they had found me. We had a great time and I enjoyed the experience, now they want me to a: coach the class on Sunday at the annual Holi festival- the colour throwing one, so I’m gonna go out and get some throw away clothes and plastic bags for the cameras as I know I will be a prime target there, b: conduct a two day class on travel photography to Mysore with the students on the 24^th / 25^th and then on 8/9^th April conduct sessions at their annual design show and exhibition in Bangalore. So it all seems to be slowly fitting in with my concept of the reportage theme. They love the idea and we will work together to make it an annual event here. This is where I will get the other photos for my outreach exhibition from – the students work – cool.

When we finally got home later that night Auntie Fatima had cooked another good chapatti meal, when an old friend of Vino’s, the Chief Photographer at the Deccan Herald named Samson called in to discuss the workshops etc and the future over a few beers. People here are waking up to the idea that teaching photography is a good career to assume when they retire from the newspapers so schools are springing up all over the place but as usual they may be able to shoot well but often they cannot speak or teach well so they are reaching out to people like me to fill in the gaps

Looking around I have decided one project is going to be on Moore Road Frazer Town, the small district I am staying in. It should be an interesting experience so I better start planning my work.

India Day four - first day on the ground

Day four - after another flight I eventually touched down in Bangalore, 40 hours after I started and yet only the next day according to the clocks.

So jet lagged and so tired I was happy because waiting for me there was Vino John, photographer extraordinaire and friend to all, a welcome sight i can tell you. we drove through the uncharacteristically deserted early morning streets to his lovely little flat in Fraser Town an older district, there after a short nap we headed off out to discover Bangalore and start my projects. He knows everyone here and we meet some really amazing people, his landlords Fatima and Chandrasekhar are really lovely and treated me to a lovely evening meal of chapattis and pepper chicken I have arrived in India but badly Jet lagged and still on a buzz I crashed that night and slept like a baby.

Tomorrow I start calling on people to help my project and to start preparing for my photos. 

 the man himself Vino John master photographer

 lovely neighbours

 cooking stir fry next door

 unreal traffic

 the view from the front door down onto Moore Street

our humble abode just off Moore street in Fraser Town Bangalore - yes I know its pinks don't laugh

putting myself in the frame up in our roof top BBQ area - nah just kidding indians don't have BBQ areas

Days three and four - in the air long and slow

The trip from New Zealand to Bangalore via Sydney, Bangkok and Dubai was as expected long and slow, next time i will either go via A380 direct to Dubai or via singapore. any way it was an interesting experience, While transit in Sydney I spotted these three chairs sitting alone as I felt at that moment.

40 hours later I finally made it to Bangalore and met my friend Vino John, who has this lovely little place in Frasertown

images of Dubai, a hot and weird place more images on my picasa website

Day two in the shaky city

 Day two, two photographers, two computers in their second location for the Christchurch Press.

This morning I visited my younger brother Richard and one of his colleagues John Kirk-Anderson, a photographer at the Press newspaper in Christchurch, working from just a couple of laptops in their tiny space dedicated to the Illustrations department out at the Press new facilities in western Christchurch, near the airport. The entire editorial team which usually works over two floors has relocated into just a couple of small offices after the famous Press building was decimated in the Christchurch Square following February's earthquake. Both were inside when it all came crashing down around their ears but luckily both made it out alive and then spent the rest of the day shooting pictures of the dramas unfolding around them.

Overnight we all watched in fascination as NHK relayed live pictures of the tsunami which hit northern Japan, while I have never been to Sendai, I do however have fond memories of my times at Epson's factories in Nagano which has been also hit by another big quake late last night.

I hope all are well up there.

Day One VISUAL VISITOR India

Finally I'm on the way to India, it's a long haul: Christchurch to Sydney, Sydney to Bangkok, Bangkok to Dubai and then 9.5 hours waiting around (luckily got a hotel room thrown in for free for 8 hours) and then finally Dubai to Bangalore, arriving there at 4 am on Monday morning.
This is the start of my project assisted by the Asia New Zealand Foundation, and I will be staying with my good friend and very talented photographer Vino John.
Along the way I have been set the task of shooting an alternative picture every day so I have picked a combination of putting myself in the frame and recording the days number.
The trip will be long and tiring, stressful and invigorating but it will be fun
see you again soon.

day one Christchurch the shaky city