I Love Photographing Older People

Everyone has a preference or something that they are especially good at.  I would never pass up the opportunity to capture a beautiful landscape but for me there is nothing better than connecting to people.  I am continually scanning the crowd like radar.  I choose to shoot someone when I respond viscerally.  My stomach literally jumps.  This happens most often around weathered older men and women. 

Boatman, Hoi An, Vietnam 

Our relationships are generally brief based on a chance meeting.  So I have to be ready with all the tech stuff on the camera already set.  Then, I have to quickly make the subject feel comfortable.  A smile, a big laugh works very well for me. 

Sudhu, Kathmandu, Nepal

To me, they have paid their dues and are wearing their life on their face.  Their wrinkles, toothless smiles and twinkle in their eyes say it all.  It is honest and I love them for it.

 

Hongsa, Laos

Dege Tibet

Carpe Diem,

Lorrie

www.LorrieDallekPhotography.com

Streets of Kathmandu

Some of my favorite images have been of street life in Kathmandu. Within Thamel, the tourist section where I am staying, it’s a web of narrow streets that gently meander. It’s nothing like Morocco or Rome where you think that you will never get out of the tight maze. After a couple of days I got the hang of it and can even return to my hotel without asking for assistance.

Within these neighborhoods life boils and simmers depending on the time of day.  No matter what time, the neighborhoods are inhabited by an endless sea of people going somewhere or trying to sell you something.  “Madam, just look, it’s free to look”, “Where are you from”- meaning I can be your guide or take you trekking are incessant comments.

Small cars, motorcycles, trishaws, bicycles, pedestrians, homeless dogs abound all walking and driving not only on the left but every which way.  So far I have not been hit or had my feet nipped but a few jumps behind a pole helped.

It’s the start of Monsoon season here which means that its rains most afternoons for a bit and in the evenings sometimes quite heavily.  The streets can get very muddy and full of puddles on the already uneven cobble or rutted street.  All this just adds a bit more to the chaos.

Here is the requisite group of sacred cows that have decided to sit down in the middle of a moderately busy street as morning rush hour was getting going.

A look at a shopping district at with a mix of old and new;  buildings, dress style. Throngs of people living their everyday life at about 11 am.

Haircuts are available on the street, small food markets all over and even a tailor

At the end of the day I stumbled upon these young girls playing in the street creating fun with the little that was available to them.

KTM is smaller and the people less aggressive than in India. Despite many opportunities in very close spaces, I have not been groped.  While I have received a few proposals for “love” in this rainy season which they define as a time for romance, its all been very manageable.  ;-)  Kathmandu has been a good place to pause. 


Today for the 4th of July and I have been invited to the American's Club by my hotelier- another 1st for me.

On Friday I head to Sri Lanka for a world wind tour before returning home.
Hope you are enjoying these blogs


Carpe Diem, 
Lorrie
www.LorrieDallekPhotography.com

 Kathmandu- a mini Delhi

About 10 years ago I was in Delhi.  A maelstrom of life.  I was really looking forward to returning on this trip but expected temperatures of 100—108 F made me decide to skip. 

Kathmandu, my next stop.  Everything has been so easy.  I did Visa on arrival.  I turned in my form and photo at one desk, paid at another.  Being prepared certainly helped stream line the process.  I had been allowed to carry my large & heavy camera bag on board so that was goodness; no extra charge & no concern about theft or damage.  The clothing bag arrived.  All systems go.  My driver never appeared but again with a bit of luck, I met an English speaker at the greeting island who knew my hotelier & helped sort it out.

Traffic from the airport was nuts. As my driver said, there are no rules. Lots of cars, motorcycles and a few cows & monkeys for good measure.  It made me laugh.

Most people here in the city speak English.  I find their accent a bit hard to understand at times but all manageable-it’s English after all.  Money exchange is a breeze-every other block is a Money Changer.  They’ll take any currency & turn it into anything.  Same at the shops.  The store owners are hungry so deals abound & there is a lot of cool stuff to choose from.  OMG, I bought 5 handmade papers items (lamp, hand cut pop up cards, mobile…) yesterday for a total of $12.  Any one of these things would have cost $12 apiece in the USA. I’ll probably end up paying the difference in international shipping or extra baggage fees with the airline.

The architecture is amazing.  I have visited Bhaktapur, KTM Dunbar Square & Pashupatinath so far.  By far the most intriguing so far has been Pashupatinath.  It’s a very old site where cremations & burials are performed.  Based on pictured I have seen  but not yet visited, it seems like a mini Ganges. I am told that there are between 70-200 cremations/day.  The wealthy and dignitaries are cremated on one side, the ordinary person on the other.  Children and religious persons are buried.

Cremation platforms for the ordinary person like you and me.

A body being prepared

The same person being moved to his correct side for cremation. The other side for commoners.

While maybe this should seem moribund, it was not.  Like AngkorWat, there are families living within the gates of Pashupinath who were not displaced.  So on one hand you see cremations and simultaneously, there are children running around playing and cows grazing.  As an outside observer, everyone seems to accept the end of physical life.  Maybe the notion of re-incarnation helps?

Carpe Diem,
Lorrie
www.LorrieDallekPhotography.com