Chor Bazaar

Happy New Year!

I’ve been meaning to post a whole lot of images lately. I’ve finally got round to editing some stuff from November.  This post is on one of India’s most prominent markets, shot mostly on film.

Chor Bazaar (Thieves Market) – Mumbai, India – November 2010

The Chor Bazaar is one of India’s largest flea markets. ‘Chor’ literally means ‘thief’, and the area is littered with all kinds of completely random items – from antique artifacts to walkmans (walkmen?) to car parts to mobile phones.. you name it, the Chor Bazaar has it. The streets are dusty, crowded, chaotic and noisy – and full of junk. It’s not really the kind of place I can imagine most people would want to spend much time in, unless of course you, like me, are fascinated by all things out of the ordinary.

Nikon F3 – 50mm f1.8 – Kodak 400

On the way:

Children on bikes (without helmets of course) – a sight you soon get used to around these parts:

It’s the small things in a place like this that make it what it is, like the ‘Mercedes’ sign on a filthy shutter, in front of which is a boy playing with a goat.  Perhaps I’m overanalysing the moment, but to me, the irony in a symbol of wealth, alongside dirt and the simplicity of animals and children jumps straight out.

He gestured for me to take his picture:

I have never seen so many walkmans in one place:

What use would the brown, knotted casette reels even have to anyone?  I can honestly only think of artists who would want to use that as part of some creative project, yet this being India, I’m convinced there’s some practical use for it – there always is.

Switching to Kodak 200:

This looks like a scene out of the 70s:

Thinking about it, the streets really were reminiscent of another era.

Haven’t done one of these in a while:

(Note to self – do not wear sleeveless tops in mosquito-ridden areas.)

Digital images:

Notice the difference in colours between film and digital?

Wherever you go in India, tea is obligatory – a necessity in fact.

The shot above reminds me of this image I took in London’s Brick Lane – the closest comparison to this market I can make in terms of the random items – http://tanya-n.com/BrickLane2/IMG_3009b.jpg from this blog.

This boy was looking after the entire shop while his dad was busy elsewhere.  He knew the price of every single item.

I loved this shop – it was full of old Bollywood posters and items like this slide:

It only just occurred to me that I’ve taken similar images in Brick Lane..again.

http://tanya-n.com/Meetingofstyles/IMG_9637.jpg from here and

http://tanya-n.com/629/IMG_8154b.jpg from here.  I could start a series of these!

This shop was selling a Hasselblad for £100 (that’s without bargaining so knock at least £50 off that):

This place has its own vibe and unique character, and the clutter is endless.. It can make you feel quite claustrophobic but is fascinating nevertheless. Something to definitely check out if you’re ever in that part of the world.

Snow and Squirrels

London – December 2010

The weather in the UK is always a talking point – us Brits never seem to tire of the topic, especially when it causes havoc and brings the country to a standstill.  Yes, a few inches of snow really does bring the entire UK to a stop.

On the plus side, it makes my part of South London the prettiest it will ever look. This is my journey to the train station in an attempt to get to work.

Nikon F3 – Kodak 400 – 50mm f1.8

There’s always random rubbish dumped at the end of this road.  The usual includes old TVs, bathtubs, sofas, and the most recent – beds and matresses:

As per usual, the main issue when it snows here is the lack of grit that is supplied, which results in roads that become literally like ice rinks.  This time, grit was dumped on the high street in piles:

I guess the council decided that distributing it was too much trouble.  I really do wonder how other countries manage to function when it snows.

Of course, again, as per usual public transport was inevitably and completely screwed up.

This train was the only one that arrived for about an hour, and it was too packed to get on (similar to the Northern Line on a normal day).

In total, my journey into work that day took over 2 hours.  I was so cold by this point I only just managed to click the above.

Some digital images I took over the next couple of days:

I do love the snow – I just wish getting around wasn’t such a hassle because of it.

A few months ago, walking through St James’ Park in central London, I became obsessed with the idea of getting a good shot of a squirrel.  It was the last warm-ish day of the year.

These creatures are seriously fast little things.  These were about the only decent snaps I got over the course of around an hour and a hundred pics later.

I took these with an 18-55mm, so you can imagine just how close I was for this:

Shooting animals is a completely different type of photography to street – it reqiures a LOT of patience and perseverance.  It’s definitely not something I’d be able to do on a regular basis, but it was worth it for this.