They stopped me on the road to the river, all laughing and smiling and asked for a photo, then stared intensely at the camera.

Woman in red dragged woman in green over, saying she was her mother and that i had to photograph them together…

The Red Barber

Local barber shop in a little yellow shed, the red interior gave off an intense red light, the barber was always very proud to have his photograph taken.

Green Balaclava

Don’t ask me why the balaclava in 35 degrees of heat with 100% humidity...

I was so glad when the mother asked for her photo to be taken, the child looked like a little hindu god…

Simple ask and shoot in Vijayawada at dusk, he then invited me inside to photograph the garland makers.

She asked for a picture and then was incredibly grateful after I had taken it.

On the road to Vijayawada, her sari matched her wares.

Lady in Blue

This lady went to a lot of trouble to open up her shed/stall so that I could get a better shot.

Imagine this place open since dawn (it is now 6 in the evening) with absolutely no refrigeration and a temperature that is always in the 30’s. Flies and mosquitoes everywhere, a stench so putrid it almost becomes a solid mass. Such a contrast, these huge, plump, beautiful, even healthy looking fish, the stench, the silver blue colours and the flies… and everyone very proud of their catch with many, many requests for photos…

Simple pose and shoot from a garbage collector, you can see his colleague in the background holding up the bags, I took her photo later.

Shanthi Sree

she was dressed as a peacock for a dance recital.

Simple pose and shoot in Gannavaram.

Soap

Golconda fort, just outside Hyderabad - an indian soap opera was being filmed. He was one of the actors.

She was sitting with a group of people by the road near the river in Buddavaram. The powder on her forehead was the most vivid fuchsia pink i have ever seen and it matched her sari.

A do at the orphanage in Buddavaram, they were dancing for the camera and wanted a thousand photos taken, in between, the boy on the right spent most of his time on my knee. Being orphans, these kids really relished human contact.

High school girls from Ibrahimpatnam who were fascinated by my hair, which they think is much more beautiful than theirs despite the fact that it is the same style of two braids and is dark brown rather than black. I was quickly surrounded and although they were lovely, I thought they were going to consume me with their curiosity…

Bhavani Deeksha

Hindu pilgrims on the banks of the krishna river in Vijayawada, they called me over asking for photos and begun singing and chanting. Kids look a bit sad in the photo, but that is not how I remember them being...

The Naughty Children

They may look angelic…they weren’t, but they were hugely photogenic and accomplished posers. They followed me for ages and I took a lot of pictures of them. They were on their way home from school to the village round the lake in Buddavaram.

Three girls on the way to school asked for this photo. They arranged themselves beautifully. The flower had just been given to me by a boy in the village who had also asked for his photo to be taken.