Best places for photographing (exotic) people?

[cathyscholl]

I am currently in India, my 9th visit here. India has been my

favorite place for people photography but after the hassles of this

trip I'[m wondering if there exists a place...

1- Where there are colorful interesting people to photograph

2-You are not asked for money each time you want to take a photo

3-You are not hassled every second by scammers and beggers and

salespeople wanting to sell you chess sets and shoe horns ad nauseum

4-The air is at least somewhat clean, unlike the respiratory disaster

of India

If anyone has any suggestions I'd like to hear them.

Thanks,

Cathy

[Jerry_]

You just 'missed' the annual 3-5-7 day in Japan. Young girls, age 3 and 7, and young boys, age 5, dress in full kimono for a family day at the local shrine. Tokyo, and many areas of Japan, have lots of color and if the skies are clear, many photo opportunities. (Spent five years there in the U.S. Air Force, can't say I was ever in a bad situation for taking photos or asked for a 'contribution.'

[will_perlis]

Around the Beverly Center Mall in West Hollywood. I can't say much for the air but the people are certainly exotic.

 

For example, you can get on an elevator with seven people and five of them will be staring into their cellphones trying to make that "No Service" indicator vanish through some telepathic power or religious incantation.

 

Then, there are the walking marvels of silicone engineering, the sight and sounds of Ferraris choking in heavy traffic, and kids with more metal and tattoos in their skin than any conventional NatGeo "exotic".

 

Also, see the effects of the conjunction of super-low jeans with super-sized fast food. I'm reminded of a NASA display of O-rings.

 

A visual feast, indeed.

[ranong]

thailand, laos, burma, and cambodia. many of these people even like to be photographed. plenty of colors. good air. the food is awesome in thailands.

have fun

eddie

[nevilleb]

Hello,

 

I'm from India, so maybe I may sound biased. :)

 

You are right on the front about the "respiratory disaster", but imho, that is restricted to the major cities. The air is still very clean and fresh in the interiors, where the real images are to "be made".

 

Indians, as a rule, love to be photographed. As a rule, Indians WILL NOT hassle you for money, handouts, or press you to buy things. Mind you , I said "as a rule". Yes, the activity that you describe does occur, but it is to be found in the cities and the "tourist honeypots" where commercialisation is king.

 

As a rule, I avoid paying for photographing people. A sincere promise to send them their photo is good enough for the average Indian who loves to be photographed.

 

Out of curiosity, which places in India have you visited, Cathy? Just curious so that I can know which places to avoid myself.

 

Cheers,

Neville Bulsara

[jim schwaiger]

I ahve to agree with the guys above, get out of the cities and touristy areas. Find a vehicle (even a motorcycle) and get out to the countryside or smaller towns where tourists seldom venture. Often exotic people are far less interesting than the common man going about his regular routine.

[steve_rasmussen]

I love Fiji for people shots. They are so friendly and you have a mix of the indiginous people and Indian. Nadi and Suva are good cities to photograph people but Nadi can contain a bit of hype at times with people trying to sell products. Many Indian women wear traditional clothes.

[joey]

Why not try to get to know your subjects? Showing up in their home and just snapping away is rather impersonal, and it'll result in mediocre photos, at best. Getting to know the people you're photographing (either through a translator or with English) will help put them at ease, and your photos will show it.

 

Also, don't look like a moneyed tourist, because people WILL notice and they will try to exploit you.

[vandit]

Africa. You can go live with San (bushment) tribes in Botswana, you can go visit several tribes in Namibia, you can camp in a Masai village in Kenya, etc.

 

These are, however, not your Abercrombie&Fitch type vacations - you'll have to rough it quite a bit. Still, a sacrifice worth making for Art, or some such twaddle :)

 

Cheers,

Vandit

[msoskil]

St. Marks Place - The Village - Manhatten, NYC. It doesn't get any more colorful than that.

[patrickconnolly]

New York City. Central Park on the first warm Sunday in the spring ...

[cathyscholl]

As I'm traveling I don't have time to answer all of you personally but thanks for the great advice. As far as the comment about getting to know the people personally, I've been visiting the same small town in South India for 8 years so I know the people VERY personally. So personally that yesterday I was asked to finance the marriages of one man's 2 daughters and/or adopt his son. Even in small towns, or at least this one, there is pollution galore and too much exposure to Western money which makes everyone stand with their hands out. I'm beginning to get tired of it. I stay out of big cities as much as possible and know India pretty well. This particular trip has been a huge hassle, perhaps cause i started in Rajasthan (first time there) with the usual visits to Jodhpur and Jaipur as well as the Pushkar Fair (hassle to end all hassles) but as I said, even the small towns off the beaten path are getting overexposed to Western Culture in my opinion.

[nevilleb]

Don't tell me it's Pondicherry!

 

Sorry to hear about your experiences. Yeah, I guess the tourist influx making everybody jump onta the bandwagon.

[raj_gj]

Cathy,

 

Sorry to hear your experiences in India. Please try to visit Binsar, RaniKhet area in North of Utter Pradesh, and Kalimpong, Darjiling, and Gangtok in the north-eastern part. You may also consider to visit Jaisalmair and Mounth Aabu at the western side. There's a place called Dwarika in Gajarat. I believe you would find lots of interesting subjects to shoot, without much hassle.

 

Please write me back, if you need more information.

 

Raj

[frank_bunnik]

In my experience, I have been several times to India, about 10 times, including a stay of 9 months, it's all a matter of how to approach your subject. If you pop up in front of him/her with a 2.8 80-200 zoom, yes, he wants some money. If you walk up, smile, and use a 90 or 135mm lens I never have a problem. I am almost never ever asked for money. If they do, I sometimes refuse and somtimes pay a few rupees. It depends on the subject (a saddhu yes, a child no). What I sometimes do is hand out polaroids (always a huge succes), I sometimes play a bit with children, or hand out a cigarette, of in Tibetan buddhist places, pictures I took of the Dalai Lama.

 

Considering the hassles, isn't that the big charm of India?

 

You might try northern Laos by the way. Very friendly, no hassles and very exotic.

[cathyscholl]

HI again everyone. Just for clarity...I still think India is the greatest place I've ever been for photography. Visiting India is what got me interested in photography in the first place. I have no doubt (at least I seriously hope) that this trip with all its hassles will still provide some great shots. No question about India and photography. I was just wondering if travel NEEDS to be so difficult to get good shots. I guess it it were easy everyone would be here and Indian shots would be even more common than they are.I will hopefully get to try some of your suggestions and take it from there.

also...yes, the Bev Center is great for people. Never tried photographing there however.

..no, I'm not in Pondy but will be there in December. A nice place for a croissant!

...and the longest focal length I have used on this trip is 70mm, maybe 100 a few weeks ago in Jodhpur, so I try to keep as low a profile as possible. There were sure some big guns at Pushkar fair though! Also something funny (kind of) a guy jumping in and shooting and running over the shoulder of my friend who had set up the shot and paid the gypsy girl.

Thanks all

Cathy

[steviewander]

Hey Cathy,

Since I've talked to you last, Ethiopia has slipped it's way into my

top 10 list. What do you think? Are you game??

Steve T.