Raj Lalwani reviews The Middle of Somewhere for Better Photography Magazine, India.
“This is a photobook that consistently leaves you surprised. Considering that the subject matter itself is rather limited in its range, this is an astounding feat.”
“This is a photobook that consistently leaves you surprised. Considering that the subject matter itself is rather limited in its range, this is an astounding feat.”
I am happy to announce that I’ll be running a 10 day workshop in India, January 2015. We’ll be photographing at some classic locations across the south as well as some personal favorite spots, well off the beaten track…
This will be my most adventurous workshop to date. So if you’ve been dreaming of visiting India this could be your chance to make it happen! India is a photographer’s paradise… a place I have many years experience with. I lived there with my family and we birthed our daughter Yali in a small village. India is my home away form home…
I’ll be sharing my passion and experience with the group and this will be a fantastic chance to get one-on one mentoring in the field. We’ve also worked hard to make this the most affordable India workshop out there!!
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When visiting India you can always expect a few surprises along the way. Something unexpected will happen, guaranteed! Usually there’s a valuable lesson to take away from the experience…
We arrived in Old Manali, Himachal Pradesh after a long, twisty turny and bumpy night on the sleeper bus from Delhi. Of course this was a small price to pay for the cool air and beauty of The Himalayas that greeted us. We’d taken over a secluded guesthouse a few k’s out of town. With views of snow-capped mountains, the valley below and the sound of the river rumbling below, what could be better… Tomorrow the students would arrive…
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I awoke to wonderful views and an odd feeling. I was coming down with Flu. What to do… the show must go on, right?! Soon the workshop would begin… 13 eager students were arriving from across India as well as 1 from Slovakia and 1 from Australia…So with black tea, lemon, ginger & honey and paracetamol, feeling pretty rough, the workshop begun… However as soon as i started engaging with the students, thinking and talking photography, everything seemed fine, whether mind over mater or a sheer obsession with photography (probably both) we completed the first morning session. The students all went out to begin their projects and i took antibiotics and slept…
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Ismail from Bangladesh showed the class his excellent work on climate change in the Sundarbans and spoke about working on long-term projects. He also gave a fascinating presentation about assisting Magnum photographer Jonas Bendiksen on assignment for National Geographic. Ismail joined us for the rest of the workshop, his input was most welcome.
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Kashish Parpiani © from the essay “Sons in Exile – Little Lamas of the Von Ngari Monastery.’ – India 2012
Kashish Parpiani © from the essay “Sons in Exile – Little Lamas of the Von Ngari Monastery.’ – India 2012
Kashish Parpiani © from the essay “Sons in Exile – Little Lamas of the Von Ngari Monastery.’ – India 2012
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Jana took this shot one evening on a regional bus. I liked it the instant i saw it and thought it would be a nice way to end the blog post…
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PIX is a photographic quarterly based in Delhi. Each issue is based on a theme with poetry to accompany the photography (as well as photographers text). This issue’s theme is Freedom. I really enjoyed the design and layout, content and feel of this magazine/catalogue, nice paper… texture and weight… something i miss with digital… also of course some very nice photography… I think it’s well worth downloading yourself a free copy of the PDF version from this link: http://www.pixquarterly.in/PIX%20Freedom_ALL%20mail.pdf
To accompany the magazine there was an exhibition and magazine launch at the Goethe Institute in Delhi.
I was asked to contribute some of my early diary work (2003-04) from my family travels in India and Australia. Photographically this was a period of transition for me, a time when i began turning my camera inwards and challenging myself to move away from the habits and formulas i’d developed over the years…
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I also had the opportunity to write about these experiences further when i was asked by Better Photography Magazine (India) to write an article about my experiences in India. If you’d like to read it please click on the image.
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To read the article below just click on the image to open and enlarge.