"Behind The Photo" competition: Holi Boy - A Photo Story

in #behindthephoto5 years ago (edited)

This is my entry into the "Behind The Photo" competition. I call it "Holi Boy".

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I travelled to India in 2015 for a month, and one of the highlights of my trip was the chance to photograph the Hindu Holi festival. This colourful festival celebrates the arrival of Spring, and sees pretty much every Hindu covering each other in kilograms of colourful powder and water.

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Kids absolutely love it, as you can imagine, and they provide the perfect subjects for a photographic essay.

I chose to venture to Vrindavan and Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, famous centers for the Holi festival. A common photograph from these towns is a scene of iridescent revelers inside a tightly packed temple amongst a cloud of colourful powder. Without a proper cover for my camera, I chose to avoid the temples for fear of wrecking my camera.

However, another photographic subject presented itself in the main street - kids up on the rooftops throwing colourful water over the revelers below.

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I'd heard it said that tourists weren't allowed on the rooftops, but I thought I'd chance it and try and find my way up there. Heading into a maze of buildings and stair cases I passed friendly locals who directed me up to the roof. The kids up there were more than happy to have me up there taking pictures of them.

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I spent about 15 minutes up there photographing the kids and some of the scene below. The height offered a good vantage point for some of the goings on below, and also meant I wasn't the one getting drenched with colourful water. :)

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On leaving I got the kids to pose for some photos in front of a striking yellow wall.

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And this is where I got the shot that this post is in honour of.

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And before leaving, the young fellow wanted to take a picture of me. Nothing tests the nerves more than letting a small kid hold $4000 worth of camera equipment on a rooftop. :)

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On leaving the town, there were a couple of more shots. A tired kid... who could blame him with all that excitement? And the ubiquitous Indian cow. :)

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Settings and equipment for the main image:
Camera: Nikon D810
Lens: Tamron 24-70mm f2.8
Focal Length: 65mm
Aperture: f2.8
Post Processing: Lightroom & Photoshop, particularly to boost the colour of the yellow wall

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What a great event! It must have been so much fun to see such a spectacle. Your photos are stunning and I like the story behind, so I hope that you will win the contest :)

Thank you for sharing!

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Thank you

So beautiful pictures from a moment of a world letting go. I am trying to imagine such event in clean Swizerland or Germany.

Thank you @johano. Yes, it's a totally different world in India.

Hi revo,

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Thanks curie!

Excellent entry! It made me wish to be a kid playing with the paint and getting colorsplashed at the Hindu Holi festival! @revo

Hi!

What an impression the photos give me, they are colorful and the children look happy, thanks for sharing wonderful work

Greetings from Venezuela

Woah, nice shots dude... those pictures are really amazing and easily caught my eyes... thanks for sharing @revo

Thanks for your kind words @markjason

Thanks for your entry @revo, nice to read the story behind. Best of luck in the contest!

Hi @revo
I could feel the emotion of the children.
When I was a child, I also threw water, but at other children, and it is a custom that takes place in my country in carnivals.
You captured the essence of the occasion and I admire you for being the one who shared his camera with a child on the rooftop.
By the way the picture was very good. :-)
Congratulations on a Curie vote!

Thanks for your kind words, @mariita52

Thank you so much for taking part in our contest! We wish you the best of luck :)