Monday, December 17, 2007

‘Wedding receptions’ – Are they meaningful or enjoyable…!


I had an opportunity to participate a couple of wedding receptions during this week , not as a photographer but as a guest. Indian weddings are becoming more lavish and crowded than before. People prefer to participate in receptions mainly because it is held during a comfortable time, and it extends till late evenings ..... sometime till 11.00pm. Unlike participating in weddings, you have a Indian Stretchable Time (IST) for receptions.

In those days, receptions were generally organized when the wedding is celebrated in a different place. But now, weddings are made simple to make receptions grand. Well, the purpose of a wedding reception is mainly to meet the couple, their family and few common friends but I found in the recent receptions, that the purpose is to just to mark the attendance and part a gift in the hands of the couple even without seeing their face and talking to them properly. We go with a preoccupied mind and want to leave the place as early as possible.

It is also strange to see people rushing and pushing each other when they want to meet the couple. Unfortunately none of us like to go in a 'queue' and wait for our turn patiently. Some times there are few ‘smart guests’ who gain entry from the exit platform; not minding lot others waiting in the other end. These ‘smart guests’ confuse the whole event and there is a mess of actions happening in the center of the reception dais. The hosts from the both families feel delicate to handle such 'smart guests'. They also make the job of the photographers and video personnel confusing. The couples miss out the opportunity to share their joy with the people around and many important group pictures are missed because of this confusion.

Remember, all these things happen and get over in about half an hour (you can call this as 'peak hour of a wedding reception') and after this confusion the reception platform is relatively free; and by then most of them had gone to the dinning area to create the same confusion in the buffet dinner also.

There are few unanswered questions which remain in my mind every time I go for wedding receptions….

  1. Why cannot we understand the meaning of a wedding reception and plan a time for it?
  2. Why cannot we really have the heart and mind to wish the couple?
  3. Why cannot we follow the discipline of standing in queue and wait for our turn?
  4. Why cannot we value others time and follow the basic rules and avoid the ‘smart shortcuts’?
  5. Why cannot we be civilized enough to behave properly in a gathering of selected invitees?

These questions are almost endless…

Finally for the organizers of the wedding,

  1. Why cannot we stop the noisy (I wonder if the noise pollution control norms of ‘so many decibels’ applies to these music/noise troupes) ‘so called light music’, playing a great havoc in a small gathering where we want to talk to our fellow guests and friends?
  2. Why do you call people and make them just sit and close their mouth and ears..?
  3. How can we speak to some one when we cannot hear them in the noise of music?

Let us make our life and relationships meaningful.

- KL.Raja

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

The most precious moment of a South Indian wedding.


Weddings are of course most important on everyone’s life. During a wedding, there are lot of events and ceremonies performed by the kith and kin of the couple. But there is always a climax for a wedding celebration… and that is called ‘Muhurtham’ (The groom tying the ‘Thali’ – ‘mangalsuthra’ around the neck of the bride) in south Indian weddings. It is this moment which is very precious in the couple’s life as they are declared officially and religiously as husband and wife. This moment may be compared to the exchange of wedding rings in western weddings.

The emotional content of these pictures are usually very high as it reflects the cultural values of the Indian weddings. The bride and her close relatives (the bride’s parents and grand parents) burst out in peak of emotions. I had captured the emotions of the brides and her fathers, collecting tears at the corner of their eyes during the 'muhurtham' in some of the weddings.

I saw the above expression (first picture) of the bride; while the groom ties the ‘Thali’ around her neck. She became excited, closed her eyes tightly and buried her head in between her legs and the photographers were not able to capture her face clearly. Well, even though the face of the bride is not clearly visible, I liked this picture. For me, the momentary expression and the body language is more important to tell about the mood of the occasion than showing her face. (Look at the ‘tongue biting’ expression of the groom also).

But the other photographer did wait to get the couple pose for a shot as tying the ‘Thali’ (the second picture). I never believe in such kind of ‘posed photos’ as they look very artificial and the looking into the camera with a framed expression is not exactly real and natural!

Let us capture the inner mood and expression of our subjects, especially in a wedding.

-KL.Raja

Monday, December 3, 2007

Temples are powerful…!

India is a country with thousands of temples with diversified architecture and cultural background. Indian temples can offer a feast to your camera and a travel photographer can have a lot of good shots. I get fascinated about temples and they are one of my favorite subjects when I travel. I love every bit of the sculptures and the great history behind every temple. Though I had visited most of the temples in India, I am more comfortable with my camera when I visit temples in Tamil Nadu.

For me, temples are more of a subject of photography than a place of worship. Well, what can you shoot when you are in a temple? Most of us obviously shoot the facade and the exterior of a temple. But there is a lot more to look into when you plan to shoot a temple with your camera. Well, a temple elephant, the corridor, the temple pond, children enjoying a dive into the pond, the typical attire and body language of the priests, the candid shots of the devotees and foreign tourists, the pillars and galleries with beautiful sculptures depicting the style and period of the kings and emperors who had built the temple are some of the fascinating scenes. The small vendors and the local transports are also some of the interesting subjects around a temple. The typical lifestyle of the people around the temple is also yet another beautiful subject for your cameras.

I had shot lot of the above subjects during my recent visit to Kancheepuram, known as a ‘temple town’ which is about 60km from Chennai. But I liked the late evening shot of ‘miniature cradles’ tied on a tree inside the temple. The childless couples believe that they will be blessed with children if they give an offering of ‘miniature cradle’. People across the globe have several beliefs about their life and a contemporary photojournalist shooting a temple should also document the popular beliefs of the people.

Get the pleasure of shooting temples and enjoy the unknown perspective of it.

- KL.Raja