COVID-19 has stabbed Venice to her heart - a city that would be normally worth 3.2 billion U.S. dollars in annual tourism-related revenue. Like hundreds of European towns, she has suffered the mortal wound of the two-month lockdown restrictions that have kept millions of Italians and foreign tourists at home for nearly two months. Venice is like the Grand Dame of International tourism. A must-see, the honeymoon dream destination, the town that no self-respecting traveler can leave out of
A Handful of Hands
A gesture of the hand is a form of non-verbal or non-vocal communication, which expresses feelings, emotions, thoughts, messages and many more things. This body language expresses blessings, power or a gentle feeling of fondness. Sometimes a hand gesture embodies a Mudra. A commonly found Mudra is often depicted in Buddhist art which signifies the act of teaching or reassurance. Representation of such hand gestures are visible in various art forms across the world. Great Italian painters
The Mystery of Mannequins
Since the rise of consumer society about 150 years ago, mannequins are an indispensable part of modern city life. Inevitably, they have also become a popular motive for street photographers. Our mute friends figure prominently in Eugène Atget's pictures of 1920s Paris and in Vivian Maier's work from mid-twentieth-century New York. Lee Friedlander captured some of them in his self-portraits, and later he even published a whole photobook on the subject - in “Mannequins”, slim bodies are melting
Home Under Lockdown
It was the beginning of new year, 2020, and mankind faced one of the biggest challenges in terms of the coronavirus pandemic. Our lives changed in terms of everything. Most parts of the world were under lockdown as a part of preventive measures against the disease. In India too, the government adopted the policy of a countrywide lockdown in March 2020. We had work from home and few others were just idle awaiting the saga to end. I used my time with my camera seeing what my family was doing in
River Rejuvenation
A peaceful river or a filthy drain? A place to worship or a garbage dump? Development that exploits or growth that preserves and sustains? The view of an emaciated Yamuna lying clogged and polluted at Kalindi Kunj Ghat evokes many of these questions, doubts and more. As the newly built pink coded Metro perched atop grey columns runs through the river ferrying passengers to far flung parts of the city, this generation of a change in public transportation presents a starke contrast with the
Pale Blue Dress
Human beings have waged war since the dawn of time. They have played war for almost as long. Roman emperors staged massive battle reenactments in the Colosseum, with casts of slaves and prisoners of war fighting literally for their lives. Two thousand years later, Buffalo Bill Cody concluded performances of his Wild West Show with a reenactment of the Battle of Little Big Horn. No one died – the bullets were blanks, the scalping sleight of hand – but Cody’s company did include Lakota warriors
Lisbon
The streets of Anjos are filled with tescas (local diners) and Chinese-owned stores selling random products from home appliances to cheap clothing. You can walk down the street on a late night and find out that right next to your favorite restaurant is an underground bar that only opens after midnight. In the last decade, the old timey classic Portuguese neighborhood has mostly been known for drugs and crime. Fortunately, the crime has decreased but Anjos and its surrounding area has sadly lost
Keep Your Head Above Water
Societal collapse during the outbreak, through the eyes of Israeli workers “Any day the police can come and shut us down with no notice, so we try to sell everything as soon as we can. I make serious discounts, but people won’t go outside unless they absolutely have to. If the situation won’t change, I’ll have no other option but to close the business.” (Top image) The pandemic has hit all of the world at once. Some countries are dealing with heavy casualties, while others try to find
The Gentlemen in Suits
I’m Santosh (a boy with a lens for an eye). For many years now I’ve worked in a call centre selling broadband, talk, tv packages as well as mobiles to potential customers over the phone. To get myself out, I needed to learn a new skill. I purchased my first DSLR (Canon D400) and off to the streets I went to learn photography. For my first project, I went outside Harrods and photographed people each time they touched one another. I was afraid and my hands were shaking, however, I lifted the
Mystery in Streets
As humans, there are always forces that move us in our lives, whether they are tangible or intangible. These forces inspire and help us to decide directions that we take in our lives. Everyone in this life has his own direction, and one of the hidden and intangible forces that make our moves and let us feel that we are alive is “mystery”. In my opinion, human life is equal to desires. There is no life without desires. If I have no desires that means that I am dead. As we know, desires can
The Istanbul Example: When Does Color Help in Street Photography?
The act of grabbing a camera and walking around somewhere, documenting life as it happens (a.k.a. street photography), has generated, as in every aspect of human activity, lots of theories, including many do's and don'ts. One of the most discussed topics is whether we should or not to use color in our images or just shades of gray. Countless words have been written about it, dogmas have been established, but personally I prefer to take a different approach. For me, color, hues, intensities,