I recently returned from a visit to Calcutta / Kolkata, my first trip to India and indeed east of Western Europe. “Incredible India” greatly understates the experience, full of amazing food, choking air, and friendly people. The most incredible bit? The apparent calmness of drivers constantly honking and swerving their way down congested roadways! Houston drivers could learn loads living in Kolkata for a few days.

Challenge: Be an unobtrusive observer

I left the Canon gear at home, not wanting to make myself more of a target than necessary. My shiny bald head does that nicely enough, thank you very much! Armed with my very capable fixed lens Fujifilm X100 (and iPhone), I tried to document my trip and the city as unobtrusively as possible. Unfortunately the bald head and white skin stick out, and out of the corner of my eye I could see people’s heads swivel around to stare at me as I walked past.

In this picture, the only eyes not staring at me are the ones hidden behind those backs in the window! FYI: I was pretending to photograph the building behind as the bus approached, snapping the photo as it passed. The passing pedestrian was a nice bonus!

But I expected the attention and the staring, especially in the suburban and decidedly non-tourist area where I was staying and largely spent my time.

From my first drive through the city (or around the city, to be precise) from the airport, I was captivated by the life I saw on the roadsides. Life in Kolkata plays out on the pavement for most people. And every bit of it is put to use in most parts of the city. Homes and businesses occupy roadside space as much as foot traffic, which usually spills onto the congested streets in order to keep moving.

I realised I could put my travel time to good use, taking photos unobtrusively as we passed through suburban streets in rickshaws, auto rickshaws, and taxis. My challenge was to quickly identify interesting people and compositions before we passed, ensure my camera was set up to adequately capture the scene, and then to time my trigger finger appropriately. I can’t help you on that last bit, as it just takes a bit of instinct plus trial and error. I can tell you that my X100 was generally set for shutter priority (not my usual preference) at 1/1000, with the ISO set to auto.

Here are a few examples, most of which have had slight adjustments to crop and rotation to account for “flying blind.”

And one often-passed location on two different occasions:

Finally, a couple of sneaky snaps I took on an organized tour of historical Calcutta, in two places where we were forbidden to take photographs (on foot, in this case). Such a law breaker…

These old boys in this last frame were talking LOUDLY as we arrived, and gesticulating as you can see. At first I assumed they were annoyed at the intrusion from the tourists. My partner informed me that one or more of them are hard of hearing, and they were simply carrying on a normal conversation. But still it took me a few minutes to draw up the courage to take this one!

Upon closer inspection, the man mostly hidden behind the one leaning over appears to be staring directly at my camera as he whispers (shouts?) to his friend. Maybe I’m not as sneaky as I think I am…

Winter gave us a temporary pass on Wednesday, with temperatures finally nosing well above the freezing point. But that didn’t stop Sara from passing on the opportunity to show off her winter gear! Bright and clear cold gave way to a warm(ish) wet Wednesday for our engagement portrait shoot at Rivervale Barn. The wet limited our options, keeping us out of the lovely gardens and new footbridge. Fortunately they have a nice courtyard space which offers great opportunities for portraits.

And such a cool fountain! I won’t ruin it for their wedding, so you’ll have to wait until then for the definitive Rivervale Barn fountain photo.

If you’re paying close attention, you might recognise Sara from Katie and Adam’s wedding at Coltsford Mill earlier this summer.

It’s not often I pen a post of pre-wedding portraits after the wedding has taken place. But for these two both days were just a week apart! So they’re happily wed now (they were just as adorable together at the wedding as they are in the photos beolow) but you’ll have to wait a few days to see those photos. For now you can enjoy their autumn engagement photo session, set in Well Hall Pleasaunce next to their wedding venue, The Tudor Barn Eltham. Who’s afraid of grey November skies at 4pm? Not these two…