Yes, I missed publishing an image yesterday. Wickedly busy at work and with a young one at home, simply lacking the time or the energy to do when I got home. So do forgive me.
Caption: Weary feet, Delhi, © Tahir Amin
Please leave your feedback for Tahir Amin in the [comments] section of this post for this image.
Show & Tell: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.
Tahir Amin is a lawyer from the UK currently working with the Alternative Law Forum in Bangalore, India on intellectual property issues and its affect on the public domain. Following his departure from the corporate legal world he has been an activist in the U.K Stop the War Coalition, the International Solidarity Movement as an international peace activist/observer in the West Bank, Palestine and currently working on legal issues for the Affordable Medicine Treatment campaign in India.
Activism/protest or simply disseminating information for a cause can be done in many ways, though usually in the form of writing or actual physical protest. However, Tahir believes the power of visuals through photography are equally relevant forms of activism and protest, as images rarely fail to have at least some impact on the neutral observer. From images of the millions of people protesting in London, to the destruction and conflict in Palestine, to protests against patents and the right to medicine, the camera is not only able to tell a story, but it also acts as an instrument of awareness, protest and activism.
He is currently preparing to carry out photography projects around India, in particular, raising awareness about rural India's intersection of art and activism to empower local artists, a project for an NGO in Bombay working on placing homeless children in schools in order to raise funds, a look into the lives of refugees from Tibet living in one of the largest Tibetan settlements in India, as well as the Tsunami relief effort in the eyes of the dalits in Tamil Nadu. He is also planning to return to Palestine in the future.
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I like the image, but without the caption, it really doesn’t quite convery the story. May be it would have been better if it was shot with this man sitted, in a resting position. The shot is too “tight” and it can be interpreted in anyway the viewer wants.
Alyssa
I like the image, but without the caption, it really doesn’t quite convery the story. May be it would have been better if it was shot with this man sitted, in a resting position. The shot is too “tight” and it can be interpreted in anyway the viewer wants.
Alyssa
The juxtaposition of dhoti and running shoes is intriguing, but I have to agree with Alyssa, it is shot too tight and doesn’t really convey anything. I’m not sure if this is part of a series (I recall the old hands in the previous image), but if it’s not, then I’m not sure if this really belongs in a portfolio as a single image. You seem to have stronger single images than this one.
The juxtaposition of dhoti and running shoes is intriguing, but I have to agree with Alyssa, it is shot too tight and doesn’t really convey anything. I’m not sure if this is part of a series (I recall the old hands in the previous image), but if it’s not, then I’m not sure if this really belongs in a portfolio as a single image. You seem to have stronger single images than this one.
Not to beat up on Tahir, but this image is neither here nor there. As Adithya says it says very little and it’s rather literal. It doesn’t place these old weary feet in a bazaar or a rice paddy to give it some context. While you may have been attracted to the texture of the shoes, feet and dhoti, in the end your images must convey something beyond the obvious as well.
Here is what I tell photographers (including myself) – leave the telephoto lens at home. It’s much too comfortable to use. Grab a 35mm or a 50mm and shoot four to six rolls of film (or its equal in digital capture) and see how you do. You will be forced to step into people’s lives a lot more. Jimi Allen, a friend and a photog, once told me that you simply have to declare to your subjects that you are there on a mission. It is your first job to convince them that you are there for a purpose. Once you have access, work it like crazy. Unlike a fashion shoot where a model willingly is there in front of your camera, here you have to be a diplomat first, then a photographer.
Your proximity to your subjects – physically and emotionally – determines whether you have good images or great images.
Not to beat up on Tahir, but this image is neither here nor there. As Adithya says it says very little and it’s rather literal. It doesn’t place these old weary feet in a bazaar or a rice paddy to give it some context. While you may have been attracted to the texture of the shoes, feet and dhoti, in the end your images must convey something beyond the obvious as well.
Here is what I tell photographers (including myself) – leave the telephoto lens at home. It’s much too comfortable to use. Grab a 35mm or a 50mm and shoot four to six rolls of film (or its equal in digital capture) and see how you do. You will be forced to step into people’s lives a lot more. Jimi Allen, a friend and a photog, once told me that you simply have to declare to your subjects that you are there on a mission. It is your first job to convince them that you are there for a purpose. Once you have access, work it like crazy. Unlike a fashion shoot where a model willingly is there in front of your camera, here you have to be a diplomat first, then a photographer.
Your proximity to your subjects – physically and emotionally – determines whether you have good images or great images.