Kathamndu

The Streets Are Paved With Photos

| paulamyes
Something strange afoot … Raúl Cañibano’s Habana, 2023.

 

I came across a wonderful little piece in the Guardian the other about a photographer whom I’d never heard of before, but on looking at his work I was completely enthralled. The photographer is Raúl Cañibano from Cuba. His work falls into the categories of humanism and surrealism and follows in the traditions of Henri Cartier-Bresson, Elliot Erwitt, Walker Evans, Josef Koudelka and Sebastião Salgado. It is wonderful stuff and I would urge you to have a look at his work and maybe buy his books.

This genre of photography is one that for a number years I really wanted to practice without much success. There is this assumption that it is very easy – all you have to do is walk around and point your camera at everything you see and you’ll end up with “art”. It takes a great deal of dedication, patience and an eye that can spot “a significant moment in the continuous flux of life and captures it in a fraction of a second”. (p 104 Badger, G. 2007 “The Genius of Photography – how photography has changed our lives” Quadrille Publishing Ltd, London). Or to put it another way that nanosecond when all the individual elements of a photograph come together to create meaning. For years I have wanted to take a certain photograph that for me epitomises this ethos. I can see the image in my minds eye, but, I can never manage to make it happen. It is a simple concept but it has eluded me.

 

Durbar Square by Paul Amyes on 500px.com
Walking through the feeding pidgeons in Durbar Square Kathmandu. Olympus OM4 with Sigma 75-210 lens, Kodak Ektachrome 100.

 

The idea is that a person walks into a large flock of pigeons that are feeding on the ground and as they do the birds take flight and we have a photo of a person surrounded by a swirling mass of birds.  As I said it is a very simple concept and not original in any shape or form. The occurrence happens frequently yet I just can’t nail it. The best attempt so far is one that I took in Nepal in 1987 (yes it’s been going on that long!). It’s an OK shot on one level, but it is really too cluttered to work. Fast forward to Monday and I was in Perth walking through Forest Place where there was a flock of pigeons feeding on the ground. Suddenly alert to the possibilities I caught out of the corner of my eye a small boy running around in that state of hyper excitement that only small boys can have. I immediately thought that at last it is finally going to happen. So as the little lad approached the birds I quickly framed up and set an appropriate aperture and shutter speed and waited for the decisive moment of the child scattering the flock and them taking flight around him. I could just see the finished photograph. So what happened? Well the little lad did indeed run among the pigeons and they just didn’t react. The whole episode was a tremendous anticlimax. Maybe one day it will happen.

 

The Kid Among The Pigeons
The Kid Among The Pigeons. Forest Place, Perth, Western Australia. Canon 5d with Canon EF 50mm f1.8 ii.

Nepal Earthquake

| paulamyes

I have very fond memories of Nepal. I went there in November to December 1987, and although the people are among the poorest in the world I found them to be some of the most cheerful and hospitable people I have ever met. One of my fondest memories is of a night when we stayed at a remote farmhouse while trekking. I had been ill with dysentery for a couple of months and had lost a lot of weight and looked pretty awful. We arranged for a bed for the night and a meal of dhal baht (the local staple of lentils, rice, and potato and cauliflower curry, sometimes topped with a fried egg if you were lucky). The older man of the household was very concerned about me – he literally tucked me in bed and soothed my forehead while making clucking sounds.  It was one of many wonderful and hospitable moments from people who had not much more than nothing.

 

Elephant In The Mist
Working elephant heading off to work in the early morning mist in Chitwan National Park, Nepal.

On the 25th April Nepal was hit by a devastating earthquake which has killed over 6000 people and has an expected death toll of 10,000. Worse than tat it is estimated that twice that number will have been injured and tens of thousands of people have been made homeless. As photographers we take a great deal of pleasure from the world around us and those that live in it. Perhaps it is time to give a little something to those in need – maybe you already have and if so thank you. Many aid agencies, retail chains, iTunes and banks are taking collections for the people of Nepal. I’ll list some of the Australian ones but you can use those in your own country if you’d rather.

 

Chitwan National Park
Sam, Ewan, and Mark the local guide on our illicit elephant safari in Chitwan National Park, Nepal. Olympus OM4 with Sigma 75-210 lens. Illfochrome 200.

 UNHCR

Oxfam

World Vision Australia

Red Cross

Hanuman Dhoka
Hanuman Dhoka is a complex of structures with the Royal Palace of the Malla kings and also of the Shah dynasty in the Durbar Square of central Kathmandu, Nepal. Olympus OM4 with Sigma 75-210 lens, Kodak Ektachrome 100.

 

Waiting
A cycle rickshaw operator waiting for a fare. Kathmandu, Nepal. Olumpus OM4 with Sigma 75-210 Kodak Ektachrome 100.

 

Stuppa
One of the many stupas in Kathmandu. Olympus OM40 with Zuiko 35-105 lens Kodak Ektachrome 100.

 

On the steps
Watching the world go by from from the temple steps in Durbar Square, Kathmandu. Olympus OM4 with 75-210 lens Kodak Ektachrome 100.

 

Hopscotch
Nepali children playing on hopscotch on the temple steps in Durbar Square, Kathmandu. Olympus OM4 with Sigma 75-210 lens Kodak Ektachrome 100.

 

Smoko
A Nepali man sitting on the temple steps in Durbar Square, Kathmandu. Olympus OM4 Sigma 75-210 Kodak Ektachrome 100.

 

The Flute Seller
Flute seller, Freak Street, Kathmandu. Olympus OM4 with Sigma 75-210 lens Kodak Ektachrome 100.

 

Swayambhunath
The Swayambhunath Stuppa, Kathmandu. Olympus OM4 with Sigma 75-210 lens Kodak Ektachrome 100.

 

Just as an aside – all these photos were taken in 1987 on E6 slide film, mostly Kodak Ektachrome 100 and some on Ilford Ilfochrome 200. The slides have been stored in archival binders ever since. When I got them out to scan them for this post all had started to fade, and some the dyes had perished badly leaving just a magenta cast – hence that is why some are black and white. So if you have any valuable slides scan them now before they disappear for ever.