Chips with your spice, a photo from Rajasthan, West

Photographer's Note

There's a lot of contrasts in India... one of them in this photo where potato chips are on sale next to spices, which have some religious symbols on them for good measure.

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Critiques | Translate

clodreno (0) 2004-01-18 9:21

Nicely composed picture of a banal settings, but then in India every thing is exotic... I like the colors, with the blue curtain rolled up. This guy is peaceful.. ...
The svastika we see a lot in India.. Symbol of life.

I had so many of those Lays potato chips...

maciekda (19895) 2004-01-18 9:35

very good scene, interesting colors, very good composition - entire scene is closed in the frame, nothing is cropped. interesting poses of those two guys, the one inside the shop spotted you. interesting way of decorating spices. very good work.
and I love chips, today I had Ruffles cheddar & sour cream, mmmmm

manny (22032) 2004-01-18 9:46

The way the colors and images are shown makes this picture graphically appealing. I can see two people and a lot of chips. The patterns in the spices are very nicely done too. Well-captured!

richtersl (3546) 2004-01-18 11:21

There is a lot to look at in your photo. Both men are placed very well. Your exposure is perfect, as the man in the window is still visible and not masked by too much darkness while the other is not overexposed. The array of chips and spices is wonderful! The religious symbol is perfect for tying the whole composition together.

BobTrips (1857) 2004-01-18 14:49

I like what you've seen. Lots of color and detail, very interesting pattern on the goods for sale.

I think your original capture was a bit over-exposed. Take a look at the bags (of popcorn, puffed rice?). There are some areas of no detail, areas that are blown out.

I think that if you bring down the brightness a bit and increase the contrast the colors will be richer. You might need to lighten the doorway area to let the second man continue to show.

I'd also clone out the bits of tile in the upper left and crop as much as I could from the bottom while leaving the vendor's shoe.

Dinyar (704) 2004-01-19 7:29

Great shot. I like the mixture of traditional spices and other local fried dishes with the new and modern Lays.
Plus the colours. Very nice.
Its even better that the men selling it are in traditional clothes. It goes a long way to show the direction in which India is going. Slowly towards modernism but cautiously without giving up some of the old traditions.

I realise that's quite a ramble for a simple photo of a man in a dhoti selling Lays. Hope I didn't bore too much :-)

eelliott305 (776) 2004-01-19 7:41

Those Lays chips must be in every shop in India. Nice to be reminded of them by this attractive shot.

orme (7219) 2004-01-19 23:25

Great composition, Josh. I love the blue colours in the shot and the way you have captured the man peering out at you, from the dark shop door. Both the mixture of foods and the symbol on the spices is interesting.

ianmcall (1213) 2004-02-27 22:27