India with the Leica M 262 Part 2 by Dan Bar

December 19, 2016 Featured, Leica, Mirrorless, Travel 31

India with the Leica M 262 Part 2

by Dan Bar

Hi Steve,

Someone blamed me for writing India is dirty in my last post. Well I never meant to insult the country but to write it is only humid is simply not true. I was shocked at first by the amount of dirt everywhere, rivers, streets markets.  Yes I eventually got used to it and to the poverty. I loved the country, the lovely people, the beautiful places and colonial buildings. I enjoyed my three weeks stay alot, and yet I had to say what I saw , not what some expected me to say. Here are some more photos taken with the Leica 262:

Related Articles

31 Comments

  1. Great shots.
    But this would be as if I would cover the US with just the trailer parks, homeless on the streets, and broken down inner city spaces.

    Have you taken any shots of modern scenes in India or prefer to exploit the “colorfulness” of this exotic poverty? There is plenty of this reality in America and Europe as well.

    I’m disappointed that with this being regarded as a rich colorful representation, it is a small segment of the perspective which disproportionately disposes people to unfortunately disparage certain regions without basis or proper prespective.

    Have you ever photographed the grandeur of America and contrasted it with the depths of its poverty? You don’t need to travel so far to get these types of images.

    I challenge you to do the same justice for India and other countries in the future you wish to exploit with your lens.

  2. Hello,
    Thank for your post. The photos of this second post are truly amazing. I like the way you process them, contrasty with dark zones. Having travelled to Asia quite a few times those last three years it’s true there’s dirt, poverty in some places but when you come back to our western world all you remember is people’s kindness and smiles. Keep on the good work.

  3. I really enjoyed all the compositions, my personal preference would be a little less saturated colour but it’s exactly that, personal preference. I can see how you’d easily be seduced by the vibrance of colour.

    I’m never concerned by dark images and I don’t think you always have to reveal detail in the shadows just because you can, that said I do think one or two could be brightened.

    All in all a great set and as ever when it comes to images of India I’m left feeling envious that I’ve never made it there yet….

  4. Beautiful images most of them, well considered compositions. They do seem a little oversaturated to me, but that may be a matter of personal taste.

    As for the dirty truth, the truth need not always be said (it’s there for all to see, particularly for the ones that live there). When you enter the house of a stranger, you don’t tell the friendly host it’s dirty, even though it may be.

  5. Once taking a close photograph to a guy in one of those “3rd. wold places”, he was telling me: you have a pretty camera.
    When done he continued:and a pretty shirt and pretty trousers and pretty shoes.
    Perhaps even pretty sunglasses. I can’t remember.
    He was right anyhow.

  6. Yes nice images but also very dark images, don’t think it’s my monitor. Why are they so dark ? a lot of detail is lost, on most peoples faces are lost. Was this intentional, is it the camera settings or is it the PP ? not what I would expect from such an expensive camera.

  7. Most cities in India are very dirty. I grew up there. But the dirtiest toilet I ever saw in my life still has to be in the sweat shop I worked at. And it was in New York.

  8. Nice images. It’s simply a fact that India is dirty. That is just an observation. I don’t know why people feel we can’t just say it how it is. I’m in the Philippines right now and it too is dirty. However that is not intended as an insult. Just the truth.
    It’s also hot and beautiful in parts. Everywhere is different so lets embrace those differences. One place is not better than the other..

  9. Very nice photos. Who would not want that kind of color and resolution for that kind of photography? When people ask me what camera to buy, I always say search the web for images of particular cameras that were made by actual users, not web reviewers. See what kind of images you’d like your camera to make for you. Or which images you wish you had take yourself. Yours certainly do the trick of for me. It would be nice to know what lenses you were using to make these images.

  10. I just read your first post Dan. It’s true that ” dirty ” is one of the first word written in your ( very short ) report. Maybe not the best way to introduce a country you just spent time in … Also, i don’t see anything dirty in your pics … so, the pictures don’t represent your words. Then, you just can’t forget that you have a 10000 Dollars camera/lens in your pocket ( even more if you had the second lens in your other pocket 🙂 it sounds a bit like a guy coming out of a Ferrari and telling his wife how dirty is the bum sitting next by … not very clever, not very elegant …

    Now, on the other hand, i am certain that you didn’t want to insult anyone …

    This topic comes back very often, we should all learn from this …

    About your pictures, i like them a lot ! great framing

    • I don’t think there’s anything wrong with what he said. Much of India is dirty, that’s a fact not an opinion. It’s not a condemnation of the people there, it’s a state of affairs. Third world countries are, generally speaking a little ‘dirtier’, often literally due to many roads being unpaved.

      I remember flying to Bali and being surprised by all the garbage floating up on the beach every day by my hotel. Staff would be outside at 5:30am every morning trying to rake and collect it before the guests got up. Fortunately most of Bali was quite beautiful, and the people were all super kind and friendly.

    • Well yes i do have an expansive comera but, i am far from being a Ferrari guy,
      Yes i was schoked by the dirt and hygiene nand yet i fell in love with the country

    • You are right . I chose not to show the dirty parts.
      A few years ago i shot in a mentally retarded home for 6 months. I had an exhibition with the purpose of bringing together the retarded people with the outside population.
      You can imagine i saw some harsh and unpleasent episodes there.
      NEVER- not if once did i keep those images although it might have had “great success”
      Same here in India
      Thanks

Comments are closed.