#411. …and then you’ll be able to rememberise Varanasi

By Paul Perton | Travel Photography

Oct 07
He walks in his own light, Varanasi

He walks in his own light, Varanasi

 

Sunrise ceremonies, Varanasi

Sunrise ceremonies, Varanasi

 

Cows everywhere, Varanasi

Cows everywhere, Varanasi

 

Saturday – we were advised last evening that today’s early afternoon flight west to Varanasi had been cancelled, the airline offering us an alternative at 04:30 to Delhi, several hours wait, then a flight all the way back to our intended destination. Or an airline switch that would cost 3000 Rupees (R600/£30) for the pair of us.

 

Rather than waste an entire day travelling and sitting around, we opted for the relatively small extra and landed in Varanasi mid-morning after an 05:00 wake-up call and a quick transfer to the airport.

 

International baggage allowances vary, depending on the airline. Most allow 23kg, Emirates 30kg. Both of our cases tipped at the scales at under 20kg when we flew here, but the internal airlines are on the same money-making gig you’ll encounter elsewhere and were very quick to charge us several hundred Rupees extra for our “excess baggage”. I do understand the profit motive; I’ve worked for myself for more than 30 years, but this feels much more like taking the piss because you can.

 

Rant over. For now – we’ve another flight coming up.

 

Untitled, Varanasi

Untitled, Varanasi

 

Flower market, Varanasi

Flower market, Varanasi

 

The school run, Varanasi

The school run, Varanasi

 

Untitled, Varanasi

Untitled, Varanasi

 

Kolkata had largely proved my photographic choices; small mirrorless cameras (Fuji X100T, Sony NEX-7) and 25/35/50mm lenses. I’d also packed my ancient Leica 135 f2.8 thinking I’d use it around the Taj Mahal for sunrises and sunsets. That has still to come, but given the very limited scope for long lenses so far, I’m beginning to think it would have been better to leave it at home.

 

In the main, the Fuji shines very brightly. When it hits a critical focus point, the results are as good as with the best of cameras. The autofocus isn’t that quick however and I have definitely lost some images in alleyways and poorly lit buildings that were grabbed en passant. Another second or two and some patience could have delivered a great shot.

 

The NEX-7 and it’s manual lenses remains a delight, but not for anything other than outright daylight, or situations where there is time to focus properly. Zone focus is a solution, but at ISO800 and f2.8 a daylight exposure value that delivers wonderful focus and sharpness deteriorates to f2.8 and a half second exposure in a heartbeat, as the environment changes from pavement to semi-dark alleyways and the deep gloom of open fronted shops/eating houses.

 

My new Fuji X-Pro1 and 35mm f1.4 arrives with the rest of the family in a couple of days and I’m hoping that will be a more workable solution.

 

While I’m being a bit technical, I’m using some different editing techniques on this trip. Fortunately, they’re non-destructive, so if what I’m doing doesn’t fly, I can head back to where I started.

 

The first change is the use of a 2.39:1 crop – the cinematic ratio, I’m told. I’ve tried several different ratios before, including the usual landscapers’ 2:1, but this one really works for me – especially with the scenes I’ve been shooting. Comments would be helpful…

 

Shoes off please

Shoes off please

 

Queue to enter the Golden Temple, Varanasi

Queue to enter the Golden Temple, Varanasi

 

A common sight on Varanasi's lanes

A common sight on Varanasi’s lanes

 

The Ganga at sunrise

The Ganga at sunrise

 

The Ganga at sunrise

The Ganga at sunrise

 

The second experiment is using VSCO’s plug-ins. I bought Pack 4 (essentially offering Velvia, Provia and some Kodak film emulations) and added it to the free Pack 0 which I use for Tri-X emulation. I’m really enjoying the bright and intense colours, but find it necessary to tone down some of the Velvia renditions, especially with Asian skin tones which quickly head for bright yellow. All-in-all, it’s an experiment worth trying.

 

Untitled, Varanasi

Untitled, Varanasi

 

Untitled, Varanasi

Untitled, Varanasi

 

So, Varanasi. It’s dry, dusty and much less humid than Kolkata. The traffic is as bad and the willingness to hoot at every piece of paper on the street, shadow, dog, cow, cyclist, pedestrian, or other vehicle within 50m is identical. The hotel, several notches up from Kolkata’s quaint Fairlawn has just served us a passable buffet lunch and we currently await our guide for the afternoon’s exploration.

 

Collecting us from the airport was Anil; chatterbox of note, he was keen, a mine of information and introduced us both to the concept of rememberisation; some kind of recall one has after visiting Varanasi and joining one of his tours. I hope we’ll remembers this one with great fondness.

 

Billed as the planet’s oldest city, Varanasi is known for its temples, religious activity and daily gatherings at the ghats along the Ganga (Ganges to us outlanders). Our first guided visit was to walk a bit of the city and end at the Dashaswamedh ghat – a stepped entry down into the Ganga – as darkness fell.

 

In classic Indian style, the evening ritual was celebrated with a huge crowd, seemingly made up equally of sightseers and worshippers. Bells clanged, hand organs played, tablas bonged and five orange and gold clad priests led the ceremony, chanting, singing and ringing hand bells. The crowd joined in and with the addition of clouds of incense, turned a sundown rite into a spectacular experience.

 

Sunday morning saw us with another early alarm call, this time to re-visit Dashaswamedh ghat, to climb on board a large rowing boat to see the morning bathing ritual and witness the sunrise over the Ganga. There are few words to describe the experience.

 

Off the boat, just beyond the cremation area (strictly no photographs), we walked along the various ghats, spectators at a daily ritual critical to India’s Hindu community. If last evening’s ceremony was a great experience, this was truly special – one of the great sights that make India the travel destination it is.

 

Untitled, Varanasi

Untitled, Varanasi

 

Waiting for the ceremony to begin, Varanasi

Waiting for the ceremony to begin, Varanasi

 

Untitled, Varanasi

Untitled, Varanasi

 

The Ganga at sunrise

The Ganga at sunrise

 

Sunrise witnessed and hundreds of pilgrims seen washing and purifying, we were ushered back to our hotel for a (very) late breakfast, followed by a walking tour of one of the city’s fabric factories, the Islamic market and a the lanes that differentiate this ancient city from so many others.

 

This morning (Tuesday), another early call heralded departure for Allahabad and Lucknow – in other words, a day in the car, with brief stops at Sangram, the holy confluence of three great rivers and then on to Nehru’s house in Allahabad. Photography in most of these places is forbidden and while the house is magnificently maintained, I managed only a couple of shots. The police are inches thick everywhere and I suspect falling foul of them is not advised.

 

If you’ve read Rohinton Mistry’s A fine balance, or Gregory David Roberts’ Shantaram, you’ll understand.

 

Before I turn my attentions to Lucknow, I need to say that Varanasi was truly special; the religious pilgrimages surrounded by the Ganga and a city full of ancient buildings, unique. That said, for all its history and appeal to the tourist/photographer, the city is unremittingly dirty. There are dogs and (predictably) cattle everywhere, often asleep in the middle of main roads and alleyways. Their droppings make navigating the litter- and rubble-strewn lanes and roadways almost impossible. Couple that with the unending press of humanity, motor bikes and scooters roaring past and the permanent stench of just about everything you don’t want to imagine and you’ll be well prepared if the you choose to visit.

 

Sunrise

Sunrise

 

Sanskrit University, Varanasi

Sanskrit University, Varanasi

 

The Ganga at sunrise

The Ganga at sunrise

 

Untitled, Varanasi

Untitled, Varanasi

 

Sanjiv, our day guide did a fine job of navigating us through the labyrinthine lanes and alleyways, and swatted (not literally) away the endless stream of beggars. If you’re planning to visit Varanasi and need someone to show you the real photographic sights – send me an e-mail and I’ll let you have his details.

 

Wednesday – Lucknow. Breakfast soon and then our first of two full days in the capital of Uttar Pradesh.

 


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  • Richard Warren says:

    Paul, you know perfectly well that you are a very good photographer, and there’s really nothing to say on your choice of the cinematic crop ratio. You choose it, because it helps you to express what you want your photograph to say.

    The only ‘comment’ I could make on this topic is that I cannot agree with the comments from some people, to the effect that nobody should ever crop, because everyone should compose their photos perfectly in the viewfinder before pressing the shutter button – making cropping totally unnecessary. Nice if it works for them – but it is altogether too silly to imagine that the universe only consists of photo opportunities that are the same size ratio as everyone’s viewfinder. Apart from any other consideration, it is quite common for different cameras to have different viewfinder ratios (3:4, for example – and 2:3). And the cinematic ratio is just another example.

    That said – I love your photos, and I had similar focusing issues using my Sigma Art primes on my Nikon 810, on a recent shoot in the south of France. In the end, it was mostly a question of familiarity – I’d bought the lenses for that trip, and was still on a learning curve with them, during the trip. But it has worked very well overall, and by the end of the trip I was very satisfied with the results the lenses were producing. In poor light I had a number of shots that I needed to take several times, before I was satisfied with the result. Less so in the second week than the first, and the moral of that is, I should have practised more with the new equipment before I set off for the other side of the world.

    • paulperton says:

      Thanks Richard. In respect of not cropping, I spent a week at a workshop in Paris with Peter Turnley when my NEX-7 and 25mm Biogon were new. In fact, I’d collected the lens and the following day, got on the train to France – hence no practice. Using this combination took a bit of getting used to, but it delivered many good images.

      Peter himself was insistent that we cropped in the viewfinder. And, I’m not suggesting it’s wrong, it is something I simply didn’t master.

      Consider too that in India everything seems to move at high speed. There’s no casual stroll along a boulevard in predictable and consistent lighting conditions, rather a race between hurtling motorbikes, dodging cars and cattle or avoiding strange things underfoot. In situations like this you could possibly use zone focussing, but as I said in the post, from broad, bright sunshine to deep shadow is often a single pace. I came here to see, experience and photograph India, not waste my time endlessly fiddling with a camera. Although I brought the NEX-7 and most of the wide crops were shot with it and a 50mm f1.4 Summilux, in the main I’m finding that autofocus is the best solution for this trip.

  • pascaljappy says:

    Fantastic, Paul. You text is inspiring and has drawn me right into the scenes you so aptly describe.

    Comments on your cropping and post-processing choices … Brilliant.

    Your very first pano is a masterpiece and the others are very pleasant as well. I don’t know whether the distinct look is Fuji or your filter pack, but it suits the subject perfectly. As much as I love my Sony, I don’t think it would produce the same slightly gritty feeling.

    And, using these filters, you havemanaged to retain great consistency in your look.

    Wonderful stuff. Thanks again for sharing.

  • Bstrom says:

    Your notes make this a difficult travel destination to sell guides to, I suppose? Admire you tenacity to travel to the less fortunate locations on earth. We’re I half my age again I would make such a trip. Oh, and while I’m at it, more photos!!

  • Philberphoto says:

    Paul, though I am an established card-carrying fan of yours, your pics from India still manage to surprise and delight me, if this last word is appropriate considering the poverty surrounding you. Fantastic visual storytelling. You manage to capture the atmosphere, the bustle, the noise and the smells even. Intoxicating!

  • Job Honig says:

    Love the photos! Wrt cropping in the viewfinder: Now that so many cameras come with an EVF, I find it a shocking oversight that you can’t choose from many croppings and in fact define your own… I often use 1×1 and 2×1, and find it very difficult to compose for them in a 2×3 viewfinder… An unneccessary burden for evf cameras! -job

    • paulperton says:

      Job, fine for landscapes – I can’t imagine 200 people standing still while I fiddle with my EVF, so I can get a nice crop of them all.

      Of course, it’s easy to implement – the Leica D-Lux did it on the rear LCD via a selector switch on the lens barrel. It’s the same issue as why we can’t have ETTR metering. It’s do-able, but no-one can be bothered. We’re only customers after all.

      • Job Honig says:

        What you are saying is true, but nobody is forced to crop differently for every photo.

        I personally like to stick to one prime lens for a few days, to really get a feel. This is the same I think. If i want to think in terms of square compositions, which I tend to do more than anything else, I’d like to have that option.

        When I shoot square now, I make sure to take enough distance, just to be sure, and i end up cropping both dimensions. Thats a waste of pixels. But better than having too few in the dimension that you have to guess.

        -job

      • Job Honig says:

        And now that I’m thinking of it: iwould actually like to have an option to turn the evf image upside down, to help composition! -job

  • Soso says:

    Great shots, both color- and crop-wise. They perfectly meet the subject. And personally, I think they are the best you have posted here for as long as I remember. But maybe I like people and Asia more than the Scottish landscape.

    On cropping: My stand is, if it doesn’t add to your image, cut it off. And the aspect ratio tremendously important for the overall mood. A square-like image is much more balanced while a cinematic crop adds more dynamic to it. So, yes, it’s worth experimenting with your ratio and crop. One only have to take care when your shots appear in a series, to not have every shot differently.

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