The Tea Picker

[Manfred M]

We spent the day visiting one of the 17 tea factories in the area near Munnar. The one we visited, the Kolukkumalai Tea Estate might very well be the highest tea factory in the world. The estate has a vast range of tea bushes along the hills and mountains (the Western Ghats), and these are usually picked by women that are between 21 and 45 years old. The are required to pick at least 27kg / 60lbs of tea a day to receive payment of 300 Rupees (about $Cdn 6.00) per day. Many pick almost twice as much, and they receive a bonus payment for any amount picked above the minimum.

We happened to pass a group of pickers who were there as their morning bags of tea (max weight 40 kg / 88lbs) were received, weighed and logged in. I caught a few shots of the tea pickers. This is one of them.




High noon in relatively open areas is not the best for this type of photography....

[NorthernFocus]

You caught a great look on her face. I think it's the first photo I've seen of a female laborer there who's not dressed in bright colors.

[Shadowman]

Nicely captured.

[Manfred M]

You caught a great look on her face. I think it's the first photo I've seen of a female laborer there who's not dressed in bright colors.

The tea plantation workers in the area all come from the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu, rather than from Kerala. I'm not sure if their culture wears less bright clothing, but the pickers we saw today all seem to dress in these less bright colours.

[IzzieK]

I just googled Tamil Nadu culture/dress and they are not really simple as the one shown here but some are very colourful too (and beautiful women). This woman is very nice with high cheeks and straight nose. You did justice to her with this image. I like her connection to the camera.

[John 2]

............................. I like her connection to the camera.

So do I and it is what makes this for me. It's a shame about the elbow in the BG but there is nothing you could do about that in the moment. More good photography.

[Manfred M]

So do I and it is what makes this for me. It's a shame about the elbow in the BG but there is nothing you could do about that in the moment. More good photography.

Unfortunately there were about a dozen pickers, people weighing and handling bags of tea, etc. constantly milling around and moving around the whole time. Even getting a "cleanish" shot was challange.




This gives a partial picture of what was happening.