Of Men and Gods, a photo from Kerala, South

Photographer's Note

Theyyam rituals are embodied by performers in trance, possessed by the diety or ancestor he represents. Invocation preceeding a performance are meant to invite the entity to inhabit his body temporarily and to dissolve his conscience.

Once they are in trance, they shake, walk on fire, spin, jump and run around the temple for up to several hours, despite elaborate headdress and heavy costumes, to the vigorous rhythm of drums. This complex choregraphy is very spectacular, sometime spooky, and the ritual culminates with a blessing of each devotees. The Gods speak through the performers, responding to collective and individual concerns, such as dangers of epidimics, prosperous harvest or fertility problems.

Although very chaotic and theatrical, the performances are not improvised and are essentially religious events. Most of these sacred ceremonies take place in the middle of the night I have been there 3 nights in a row at 3h00 in the morning, and it was quite strange to see dozens of young childrens around.

In workshop, you can have a look at the humongous headgear some of the characters are wearing.

sevy, carper, luisafonso, patdeph, Floydian, maltese, hispic, jjcordier, manojtnair, Photo65Net, BurhanettinMasa, Angshu, Bruno40, everlasting, pauloog, Wanda1, KevRyan, axiotea oznaczył to zdjęcie jeko użyteczne

Critiques | Translate

sevy (58) 2009-05-22 0:51

Bonjour André,

Pour sur, c est bien plus impressionant qu une souris. Cet homme qui nous regarde en coin ressemble aux peintures de demons dans les monasteres boudistes.
L arriere plan bien floutté donne un beau rendu car il rappelle les teintes du visage.

Yves.

carper (96) 2009-05-22 0:59

it's a fantastic head andre,
and look at that eyes they are looking right in the lens,
very nice and good photo. I have heard you have visit my country, I hope you made also a few shot's there, this one from India is a masterpiece, good photo job here, have a nice day.
regard jaap

Budapestman (82620) 2009-05-22 1:00

Hi Andre,
Astonishing portrait... I believed it I see a mask. The details interesting and spectacular, the composition of the photo is very effective. The note is excellent likewise. Tfs! Have a nice day!
George

luisafonso (862) 2009-05-22 1:28

OK, this is you in disguise and you photographed this in your hotel room with all the perfect conditions. :)
Man, this is unbelievable! That twist of the face is perfect! If you had photographed him from the front, the photo wouldn't have 10% of the impact this one has. Really strong attitude like this! Perfect!

Morac (27725) 2009-05-22 3:13

Bonjour André,
Ce regard "en coin" est vraiment surprenant et d'une grande beauté.
L'équilibre est parfait entre la netteté du visage et le flou de l'arričre plan.
Marc

pisces (782) 2009-05-22 3:14

Hi Andre!
The look in his eyes is almost scary. Great portrait - like the tight crop which adds an intensity to his expression.
TFS
Maria

patdeph (35750) 2009-05-22 3:46

bonjour André
voilŕ donc une photo de cette cérémonie dont tu m'as parlé,ça doit ętre effectivement trčs impresssionant,et tu me fais pâlir d'envie d'avoir pu y assister!La photo est géniale,que ce soit le cadrage,l'expression du visage avec les yeux en coin,les couleurs et les motifs peints!J'adore aussi le WS!
Amitiés
Pascale

pboehringer (770) 2009-05-22 3:54

Andre,

I finally will have to report you to TE adminstration. Did no one tell you that TE should not have in studio shot but out there in the world? Common, don't tell me that you went out there in the night at 3 to get such a shot. This is too good to be true. The light is superb and the lateral approach with the lateral gaze ... the eye contact that you got with God. Oh man, I am about to get into trance too and I will be able to carry all the Mark III of the entire planet during my dance.

What happens to these characteres once they are done with the trance? I mean carrying this heavy attire and shaking, walking on fire, spinning, jumping, running around ... for hours. While on trance there is no perception of all this but at the end when everything is over and they are back on earth they must be close to be dead, completely exausted! I know, the physician in me can't let it go. I have to know all the physiology.

Peter

Floydian (30970) 2009-05-22 5:48

Hi Andre,

High class publication material my friend, all other words are not needed here. Colours, tight framing, the drawings on his face, but most of all the look at his eyes...stunning. I saw it already on your little machine, but now seeing it larger it even looks better in detail. The ws gives a better view what's going on here, but this close-up is superb. As said, high class material...!!!

Take care,

Henk

gary91 (15348) 2009-05-22 6:22

Hello André,
Ayant été, comme toi, absent depuis un moment, j'ai appris par la bande que tu passais ici nous faire un petit coucou entre deux échappées...
Et quel coucou !
Ce portrait mi-humain, mi-sculpture est une réussite totale. La mise au point est effarante de précision et le rendu des matičres vraiment sublime.
Devant un tel sujet, tu as su parfaitement profiter d'un angle et d'une composition millimétrés.
Cet oeil qui nous fixe sans possibilité de détourner le regard est vraiment terrible.
Chapeau cousin pour cette image de trčs grande classe et bon vent pour la suite !
Amicalement, Christian

Flavia (10352) 2009-05-22 7:49

Hi Andre,

Fantastic! You got such a near shot of him with all the nice details of his painted face. His expression is also great, i love the way he looks at your camera. We can this 'god' was angry with you!

Regards,

Flavia

P-S-I-G (25536) 2009-05-22 9:00

Salut André,
Magnifique. La netteté et la profondeur de champ m'impressionnent.
Je cherche vainement avec quel objectif et quels réglages cette petite merveille a été faite. Une vraie perte avec la nouvelle version de TE, męme si tu as bien résumé la situation de ce changement dans le forum.
Amicalement,
Fabrice

photographer123 (6246) 2009-05-22 9:25

hi..
wonderful look..nice color...wonderful crop..with all of these,it made wonderful..well done..best wishes..subir

scalerman (26900) 2009-05-22 11:43

André: I was wondering if you were going to get one of these - absolutely stunning. Detail is incredible. Some great work here. I think your portrait here is superior to many in this reference:

http://telsawy.tripod.com/Theyyams/index.html

c

maltese (22907) 2009-05-22 13:42

Salut André
Impressionnant dans tous les sens du terme!!
Ce regard que tu as parfaitement saisi et dont il est difficile de se détacher, ce maquillage parfait et ta mise au point superbe pour nous laisser admirer le travail!!
Une trčs belle photo!!
Amicalement
Hervé

MarianneS (15338) 2009-05-22 14:12

Bonjour André,
Alors tu es de retour!!! Super :-)
Cette photo est vraiment impressionnante! Tu as réussi ŕ capter ce regard sombre, cette expression qui me semble hautaine et tant de détails. Le maquillage est particuličrement impressionnant. On peut l'apprécier dans le moindre grain de peau grâce ŕ la netteté parfaite de ta prise. Bravo!
Amitiés,
Marianne
PS : j'espčre que tu as aussi apprécié ton séjour en Europe. La prochaine fois, j'espčre que l'on pourra s'organiser pour te revoir :-)

Signal-Womb (13048) 2009-05-22 16:17

Very striking portrait Andre that jumps off the screen. You caught the glance of both eyes and I really like the close composition caught between focus which gives the image a depth. Excellent work..

PeterDF (421) 2009-05-22 17:44

Just an amazing photo of this performer giving you menacing glance. The colors and elaborate decorations are just really stunning, and your photography is equally stunning. Just a great photograph.

hispic (9652) 2009-05-22 19:45

Hi Andre
This is a superb portrait with most strong impact on TE. Rendered very carefully an attractive powerful face with a delicate touch, luminous impression of the headdress is truly excellent, and bokeh is softly mellow. Superb work!
Have a nice weekend, Hisashi

jjcordier (79299) 2009-05-22 22:40

André
Quel fantastique portrait! Ce regard en coin plus ou moins aimable est assez impressionnant....comme la qualité technique parfaite de l'image. Merci de nous faire partager cette petite merveille...et le WS, trčs beau également.
Amitiés
JJ

manojtnair (435) 2009-05-23 0:20

hi andre,
excellent. superb close-up of the make-up of the theyyam performer. this shot from side with the person looking into the camera makes it impressive. tfs.
manoj

Photo65Net (43144) 2009-05-23 1:12

Salut André,
Quel portrait !
Ce regard est maquillé impressionnant d'intensité, et c'est trčs bien réalisé, bravo,
Bonne journée,
JB.

Angshu (56760) 2009-05-23 8:41

Unbelievable-fanastic Andre! believe me, as an Indian, I feel ashamed that I did not know about this ritual & had to learn about it from a Canadian friend! The massive headdress seen in the WS, looks even more massive from your low POV.
Enjoy your trip around your country! But do keep posing shots from my my country
Best Regards
Angshu

BurhanettinMasa (641) 2009-05-23 8:53

Hi Andre,
Really an exceptional portrait, excellent ... Also very thanks for the note and WS ...

Regards,
Burhan

SteveH (6429) 2009-05-23 20:59

Hi Andre, a very striking image. Nice tight crop, perfect colour, DOF etc and great subject. Can't imagine how it could be improved. fine work. Cheers, Steve

Bushrat (69) 2009-05-24 0:32

love this photo, love the expression, love the detailed face paint. Focus, composition is great, the attention is drawn to the dominant eye. Congratulations
Kind regards
Alex

yquem46 (38752) 2009-05-24 9:11

Re André
J'en termine avec mon retard dans ta gallerie !
Beau regard en biais dans un portrait coloré et techniquement au top
Patrick

Bruno40 (6658) 2009-05-25 1:06

wow, this is an impressive portrait, great details, and I love how the subject is looking at you.
great work... maybe considering to get that 85mm in the future! :-)
tfs
Jorge

gilou530 (34) 2009-05-25 13:36

salut andré
quel personnage!, quel maquillage!, quel regard!
quelle netteté, quelle photo, bravo
amitiés
gilbert

everlasting (15914) 2009-05-26 21:33

So what a portrait Andre, the rich colours, the tight framing, and the beautiful markings on his face, but above all that eyes contact. It just stops you in your tracks!!

pauloog (11751) 2009-05-27 1:15

Hello André,
A fantastic witness of this tradition. Good choice of such a close-up that brings the details of the decoration and of the face painting. And the eyes are watching, watching... The workshop photo offers another wider view that is equally surprising.
Regards,
Paul

Wanda1 (15142) 2009-06-21 9:15

Hi Andre,
This has to be one of my all time favourite shots of yours. The detail is simply superb! The quality of your 85mm really comes through here. I love the orange colouring and his penetrating glance is so intense, even from the side he seems to look right through one. Perfect tight crop and use of depth of field. I like the workshop too giving us a great idea of the huge headdress and spectacular costume.
Hugs
Wanda

KevRyan (22956) 2009-06-22 14:44

many years ago I had the pleasure of programming the work of an English company called Centre Ocean Stream - Barbara the director of the company had spent three months with these performers having missed a train - and then later married one of them. COS brought elements of their performance together with the facial decoration, contemporary costuming and a mix of Indian and english music into a fantastic fusion.....but after her marriage this was also combined with the traditional performance skills in a classical way......your portrait, such a strong portrait is evocative of all this for me.......a truly wonderful expression beautifully captured.

bw kev

Dragut (14) 2009-07-12 10:33

Bonsoir Andre

ça c'est une "gueule"...bon cadrage, bon regard lourd de sous entendus...

Belle image

axiotea (21651) 2009-07-21 3:32

André
un grand bravo pour ce portrait tout ŕ fait réussi!
Ton modčle, mi-homme, mi-dieu, a bien joué son rôle...regard pénétrant ou bien regard qui tue ;)
Maquillage et parure en argent sont superbes!
Y'a de la texture et de superbes couleurs.
Sympa la photo dans le WS!
Ciao
Marilyn

Eatlovepray (17) 2009-10-12 10:07 [Comment]