I did a few trips up to Zaanse Schans. It is historical and stuff. I used Kodak PORTRA 160VC film i.e. Vivid Colour. 120mm Kodak PORTRA Vivid Colour film at 160 ISO. And this is how the photos turned out.

I must admit that I haven’t come to terms with the colours. I have not used the 160VC until now. In fact, this is the first time that I have used 120mm colour film, vivid or otherwise. And the colours look a lot livelier in the high resolution scans. I guess they’ll make good travel magazine spreads. You think?

And this afternoon I did a trip to Volendam. I didn’t bother doing colour. I loaded black and white film instead. Good old black and white.

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Zaanse Schans is a beautiful neighborhood to the north of Holland.

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“YES – pulling – like that pulling – come! come!” cries the fisherman. It is an invitation to the tourist(s) to hop aboard the Chinese Fishing Net (that) he toils on. And experience the process. Seldom is he turned down.

And once on the platform:

“This is Chinese technology fishing net – the framework weighs eight hundred kilos – pulling then net comes up – release it then goes back down in the water – it is hard work: and at this time of the year, very little fish…”

Almost all of the fishermen that toil on the dozen odd Chinese Fishing Nets (that are) installed along the shores of Fort Cochin are Catholic and speak English. The state of Kerala boasts of cent percent literacy wherein every adult and juvenile can read and write in the state language, Malayalam if not in English.

“It costs about five lakh rupees to build. And thirty percent of our profits go to the owner. And the other seventy percent must feed five to six other families. And we don’t catch a lot of fish at this time of the year. So please give us a donation!”

The principle is simple — like that of a seesaw: but it is hard work under the beaming hot sun.

All of ‘em fishermen came across as humble and decent individuals. And yes, the catch wasn’t substantial. So I gave them a decent ‘donation’.

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I enjoy the experience of using film – the 35 minute train journey downtown to Rajubhai’s shop where I purchase the film and then a rickshaw ride to Bandra to get the film processed after I have exposed them. And then the scanning – at home on my EPSON V600. I’m not so sure about 35-millimeter film anymore. Firstly, it isn’t easily available. Fuji Neopan is the only film easy to find but something seems to be wrong with it. Maybe they don’t store it right. And secondly, scanning is a pain. The dust, spots and scratches are difficult to negotiate. I still enjoy medium format 6×6 photography (120-millimeter film on my Yashica Mat). And medium format negatives are a lot easier to scan. I shot this photo at a Kathakali performance at Fort Cochin in the last week of March. I didn’t particularly enjoy scanning it. So I’ll put my Canon AE-1P away for the moment. Perhaps.

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Britona sits along the Mandovi River, close to Panjim in the once Portuguese state of Goa in India. Britona is a quaint Goan village. In the mornings, the river is still and the air is clear. It is quiet and peaceful. Kingfishers keep a close eye on the river from treetops and mangroves. R. Mandovi bends and branches out into smaller tributaries. As a result you’ll see layers of mangroves along the edges of the bending tributaries. And more birds. Eagles, Herons and Egrets. Flocks of Asian Openbills reside deeper in the mangroves.

I shot this photo at Britona. Limited edition archival prints are available. If you’d like one, please leave a comment. I’ll then get back to you.

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On a winter afternoon, Rahul Alvares, Anne Ketteringham and I did a boat trip in sunny Goa through the backwaters of the River Mandovi. Amidst the narrow canals and mangroves that are rich in bird life, the motor gave way.

The lightweight paddles helped us maneuver the boat through the canals and down the main stream. And the sausages nourished us through the long journey back. We escaped by the skin of our teeth!

Please use the arrows above to navigate through this set of seven photos.

Now that’s not what actually happened. In fact, the motor didn’t work too well right from the onset. And its health deteriorated further along our journey. Whilst it lacked the power to force us through, it never gave way completely. Our motorman managed to steer us back to Casa Britona – a fantastic boutique hotel along the banks of the Mandovi.

A view of the mangroves along R. Mandovi seen from the upper deck of Casa Britona. Shot with a Canon 50D camera and a Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 lens.

Rahul drove us back to Assagao from Britona.

“I’ll be right back”, Rahul hopped out of the driver’s seat. He was back in a minute. “Here – keep this sac at the back next to you.”

“What’s in it?”

“Snakes!”

Rahul has hands-on experience in handling snakes. He is famous.

Anne Ketteringham got a picture of me whilst I was loading film into my Yashica Mat using her Pentax camera and Sigma lens.

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Some student volunteers take time off to shake a leg on stage in between events at St. Xavier’s auditorium during Malhar on the 30th of August, 2009.

&the rationale: political &commercial insecurities.

&at concerts too. Cameras are not allowed into gigs at MMRDA Grounds unlike Wembley &Madison Square Garden.

&the auditorium too. NCPA etc.

&the rationale: political &commercial insecurities.

I spent a Sunday at Malhar in the midst of some 2000 odd juveniles.

Every now &again Malhar volunteers sporting Malhar Tees &chuddies expressed concern:

Are you press?
You are not allowed to make pictures from here.
Only the PRESS is allowed to photograph this event.
No taking photos from the audience area.

Such restrictions coming from the organisers of a popular youth festival are disturbing.

In 1964, Mario Savio &his contemporaries led fellow students at the University of California against universities in America, demanding their right to free speech on campus &this free speech movement is the most significant &successful youth protest in all of history.

&fables about student organisers imposing such restrictions at cultural festivals in as far ahead as 2009 must make poor old Mario roll in his grave.

It is the age of Social media. Of blogs &facebook. Access to photo equipment is less of a hassle. &photography is my right. &yours too.

Cultural youth festivals &the government must encourage the Social media.

Political &commercial insecurities have ruined Bombay’s ancient &contemporary cultural heritage.

&blog posts tagged bombay &mumbai have been on the decline.

&just the odd post about Malhar in 2009.

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A bunch of juveniles engage in outdoor sports whilst high tide during the monsoons at Juhu Beach in Bombay. 2009 brought the tallest tides in over one hundred years.

Contact prints are expensive &indecisive. I prefer low resolution scans instead. I can then check focus, composition etc. &get the better frames scanned at a high resolution thereafter.

Studio Mull Herr’s best deal is Rs. 400 for 36 exposures at a resolution of 4 x 6 inches at 300 dpi. Instead, I get this preliminary scan done from Mazda. Mazda charge Rs. 100 for the 36 exposures at 72 dpi.

I’d shot some film a month and a half ago &haven’t had the time to go to back to Mull Herr to do the high-resolution scans.

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Pre digital photography times, the one-room-kitchen apartment at Prabhadevi served as shop. Or should I say, darkroom and waiting area. Prabhadevi isn’t the cheapest neighborhood in Bombay. But Paritosh and his brother could afford the rent. Just about. Give thanks to the Rent-Control Act.

Everybody loves Paritosh. And his brother.

Digital cameras. Hmpf. A set back for Paritosh. And his brother. Paritosh and his brother have but this one skill. Black and White film. Processing and prints. Good job. Comparable to the best photo labs in the city.

No capital to invest in a digital lab. Digital media. Hmpf. A set back for Paritosh. And his brother. Profits declined. Customers too.

Paritosh and his brother moved shop. Into a ‘Pigeon-hole’ like block, at a slum, in Mahim. Everybody loves Paritosh. And his brother.

But numbers trickled down further.

I remember patronising them, at the slum, in Mahim in 2005. Paritosh and his brother were desperate.

Paritosh and his brother have but this one skill. No capital to invest in a digital lab. Digital media. Hmpf. A set back for Paritosh. And his brother. Losses in business. No customers.

Almost every lab discontinued Black and White film services at the end of 2006.

Digital cameras in all shapes and sizes. And cheap.

Paritosh and his brother shut shop. For good.

But God is Great.

Paritosh got an offer. He accepted. With both hands. Paritosh is these days, a salaried employee at a popular conventional & digital imaging centre in Prabhadevi, close to his shop of old. Paritosh does black and white.

His brother got an offer. He accepted. With both hands. He is these days, a salaried employee at a popular conventional & digital imaging centre, at Opera House.

I met Paritosh this afternoon. At the conventional & digital imaging centre, at Prabhadevi, close to his shop of old. I had five rolls of black and white film to be processed.

“Hello! How are you! Do you still do black and white? Or no?”

“Yes, Paritosh, these are some black and white rolls that I have brought to you.”

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“..stay indoors if you can. Stay back at the office, should things get out of control. Avoid outings during the 23rd, 24th and 25th, of July, 2009.”

“WOW! High tides! Waves! Let’s go!”

Crowds of people assembled, in anticipation, along Marine Drive. Numbers grew. Bombayites, old &young, fat &thin, healthy &unhealthy and uncle &aunty. Some 5,000 of them.

Close to 13:00 hours, the tides got taller and stronger. Strong winds blowing.

“Do not stand along the edges. Step down. Down, sir, not along the edge.. Yes, you.. you too.. and you.. don’t you understand Marathi?”, pleaded the cops via public announcement arrangements from their Toyota Qualis. Nobody bothered. Hooligans. Someone is going to die.

Soon, these waves – strong and over ten meters tall hit the coast hard and some distance into shore! Bombayites, old &young, fat &thin, healthy &unhealthy and uncle &aunty availed of the free entertainment that the polluted seas had to offer. Some 5,000 of them.

“HA HA HA HA HA HA AAAAAAAAAA HA HA HA”

Big smiles. It was an awesome feeling. Crowds of Bombayites along the western waterfront, drenched and smiling and having a great time. Some 5,000 of them.

It takes a tragedy to bring the people of this city together. This was different. Joyous festivities not affiliated to history or religion.

Also see the high-resolution scan.

FIN