11th February 2014 (Day 3) (Vrindavan #3)

In the afternoon, we went for a walk across town to a recycling centre and then back to the ashram.

Here are a few comments about my attitude to street photography.  I don’t ask people if I can take their photograph.  What would be the point of that?  You just would get faces put on for the camera, not potentially a fleeting glimpse of reality.  On the other hand, if people ask me, that’s fine.  I don’t usually look through the viewfinder or the back of the camera in order to have some interaction with the people I photograph.  If people indicate they don’t want to be photographed then I don’t do so.  I’m looking for what’s real rather than flattery. I will discard or not take images that show people in an unfortunate light.

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This was a case where a couple of people pulled me over to take a picture so I did so.  It was only later, looking at the image on the computer, that I realised they had given me a special opportunity for an environmental portrait.

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People in Vrindavan were frequently keen for me to photograph them just for the event and the social interaction.  All I could do was show them the image on the back of the camera.  Usually they had no computer or email and maybe not even a viable postal address.

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These women are making paper using recycled materials.  Friends of Vrindavan is a non-profit community organisation that seeks to improve the environment in Vrindavan in a variety of ways and also provides employment to the poor.

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For a while walking back along the streets of Vrindavan I was besieged by a scrum of laughing, screaming children, wanting me to take their photograph and having a great time.   It was difficult getting images in focus because you can’t focus on a moving crowd from six inches away.

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