This is a short day, as I slept most of it! Over to Homestay for an 8:30 shoot of breakfast being served, then back again. And by 10am I am out like a light, not rising til 3pm. My goodness. Fortunately lunch was saved for me.
We set up my staging area for the No Stitches shoot, and it is a good thing that I decided on a different fabric. Once washed and ironed, the muslin has weaving-induced stripes that are quite distracting. Soon, the new fabric, and then I will be photographing!
Not that my camera has been idle. Aside from the street photography that is inevitable here, I found some seed pods that are a real trip. Petra called them some kind of almond…what do I know?? The pods are evocative. Happily, I brought a piece of black velvet, and I am trying to capture thier sensuality. Pictures to come!!
My query for today is about self image. The women here mostly wear saris, which reveal their abdomens. It matters not about weight, or stretch marks, or tone. It is what they wear. But the saris are so stunning, and much (this is a question) thought must go into the choice of fabric. And these often bejeweled women seem to care very much about how they look. So is there a different beauty standard? Are Indians less concerned about aging? Or is there a class that is as youth oriented as we Westerners, and I just don’t see them? I know, I know: who cares!
Oh, I almost forgot about my day’s lesson. When crossing a very busy street, or any street, for that matter, DO NOT STOP, HESITATE, NOR REVERSE MOVEMENT. I alsmost got creamed today because I looked up and saw a bicycle bearing down on me and adjusted. WRONG! He was adept at traffic and had begun alter his course according to my predictive movement. He and I are now in the same place, at the same time. We somehow avoid pain, but contact was made. JUST KEEP GOING. The drivers here deal with what is in front of them and gauge by movement.