As the world passes you by...

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are needed to describe this haunting image. Well done on showing the despare without the desparation and the needing without the wanting.

hard to say "very nice" about this image - but in an awful way it's a gorgeous shot. I like the noise and dof in this a great deal. There seems to be some sort of halo effect around the woman though, and it's a bit distracting, and is the seemingly sharp pavement, when all else appears to have been softened... though in a way that can also add to the commentary of the shot. All nits aside though - Very nicely done.

Anupam, your folder has a wonderful collection of Kolkata street images. You should consider making a presentation with a textual narrative.

 

I like the blurred background and the focus on your main subject. The focus of course is clearly this poor woman's misery. The toning is well selected.

Great and moving documentary street photograph with everyday worlwide sad story :(

Biliana

Excellent documentary shot, Anupam.

 

Regards..

I love this shot. The way you have used slow shutter speed and grains to improve the effect is really wonderful. But I feel that this is just a little too grainy. Nevertheless, a GREAT picture in all respect.

Very moving image.Anupan,where was this shot? Check the the location,please.

Thanks for all the comments. I did not give details on the picture to begin with but let me add some now. The woman in the picture is Fatima bibi - "photima" in her drawl. She begs outside the Sovabazar metro railway station in Kolkata.

 

She had been a sex worker. Then when age ate into her livelihood, her daughter - also a sex worker - provided for her. But a few years ago her daughter apparently just "disappeared." She has no idea where she might be - but refuses to consider the possibility that she might be dead. She consoles herself with the image that her daughter got out of this rut but simply didn't manage to get her out as well. And so, she begs - arms outstretched, muttering incoherently at the busy office goers rushing to catch the 9:25 downtown. The trashbag and bottle of 7-up are her belongings. Where does she sleep, I had asked particularly because it was drizzling the day I met her. "Wherever I can. Even though I am a woman, there is nothing more they can take from me. So, I feel safe." What must she have gone through? I don't even presume to be able to imagine. It only seemed strange that at her age and in her condition she still imagines danger predominantly as a sexual threat.

 

It was strange photographing her. I had never done "street photography" seriously before this trip to Kolkata and I found it draining. The equipment I was pointing at her was perhaps more costly than her annual income! I managed to shoot 8 frames but most are blurred by the extremely long shutter. Only in two frames was her still form captured.

 

-Anupam

Sad story, great picture; both moving...

Wonderful image, I like the hand reflected in the water. Well done getting a usable shot handheld at 1/4s.

impressive, heartbreaking. thanks for sharing.

This photo made me speachless...

I am still looling at her hand... and the shadow of it....

I love the noise and texture of it. It is strangely unbalanced composition, but has a very strong message in the picture...

Great shot...

I am still looking at her hand...

Really comunicative picture, no words to say more. Great

Nice story, sad. This is perhaps my favorite photo in your portfolio. The grain, slight softness, shallow DOF, and motion blur from the slow shutter speed are all great. A terrific first street photography effort.

One of the powerful B/W album I have seen in PN from India.

Simply excellent ... there are many things to learn from ur works ... regards ...

Wonderful shot! (I think you needed to be focused a bit farther out, though.) In situations like these, there's nothing like a digital, because you can inspect each image and keep shooting until you've got it successfully. But sometimes you get what you get -- and it's quite good, despite technical problems. I have a shot of a Mexican man I took as a teenager that haunts me to this day. My lens had a horrible wobble to it, and so the image was flawed. Even so, the look of utter despair in the man's eyes made it a particularly poignant shot into which I invested a lot of retouching time. Your image inspires me to pull that photo out and work on it a bit more. There are some images regarding the human condition that are hard to look at but need to be seen. Yours is one of them. Great job!

This photo makes me sad, but it's such a great representation of her helplessness and despair that I can't help but wonder if the people that walked by her without even a glance everyday saw this picture than maybe they would be moved to pull out some change next time.

moving image.... love the toning, the light and shadows... street journalism...