Doing the laundry in the Agastya Lake, Karnataka, India

[Manfred M]

Shane asked why I not had gotten any closeups of people doing their laundry in the lake, that I had posted in a previous thread. Indeed I had photographed them, but had not gotten around to posting them. These are the same steps and the same lake as the previous pictures were taken from.

Doing the laundry (#8)

These (in my opinion) are not of the same calibre as the previous posting, but are interesting, none the less. They do give a view of the daily life of people in this part of the world, where washing machines are virtually unheard of outside of the major centres. Our guide figured that 98% of the laundry would be done this way in this town.


Doing the laundry #1





Doing the laundry #2

[Shadowman]

I actually like these two better; although with the first the legs of the men at top spoil the composition a bit, these are a bit more personal where the first was more artistic.

[Manfred M]

I actually like these two better; although with the first the legs of the men at top spoil the composition a bit, these are a bit more personal where the first was more artistic.

If I had my tablet and large screen, I would clone out the legs of the men and possibly the woman with the top of her head cut off. Unfortunately, this type of precision editing is almost impossible with my mouse / laptop. Unfortunately we had to leave that site and I only got a few shots off (the ongoing problem with travel photography and schedules to meet). This is the type of area I like to hang around at and fire off shots over a 15 or 20 minute period to get a good image to work with.

[John 2]

I actually like these two better; although with the first the legs of the men at top spoil the composition a bit, these are a bit more personal where the first was more artistic.

Particularly the second shot which speaks of a social gathering as well as a work . Something you can't achieve (yet) with a washing machine. Two more nice shots Manfred.

[Manfred M]

Quite correct John. These washing sessions often seem to be a family affair with two or three family members working together.

What I found a bit interesting is if you enlarge the image in Lightbox, you can clearly see some streaking drops of water brought about by the vigorous beating the one woman is giving the laundry.

[Donald]

I think these two images complement that in 'Doing the Laundry #8' to which you have provided a link above. These are informative and interesting pics, but as you suggest yourself, Manfred, ar4e not of the same calibre as that previously posted. A simple test - If you were mounting an exhibition and were looking for artistic images to mount that captured the atmosphere of a place and still informed, which of the three would you choose. For me, it is, as they say, a 'no-brainer'.

[Shadowman]

A simple test - If you were mounting an exhibition and were looking for artistic images to mount that captured the atmosphere of a place and still informed, which of the three would you choose.

Would be interesting to see a poll of that question using the three images. I think responses should also contain reasoning for selection.

[Manfred M]

I think these two images complement that in 'Doing the Laundry #8' to which you have provided a link above. These are informative and interesting pics, but as you suggest yourself, Manfred, ar4e not of the same calibre as that previously posted. A simple test - If you were mounting an exhibition and were looking for artistic images to mount that captured the atmosphere of a place and still informed, which of the three would you choose. For me, it is, as they say, a 'no-brainer'.

I read the images very much in the same way you do Donald. These images would fall into more of a photojournalism or documentary style of photography. The image on the other thread would be more along the lines of something I could see in a fine art display.

These two images complement the other and help explain what we are seeing in it. For me it is a "no brainer" as well.

[IzzieK]

Both image has it own merits, Manfred. In many third world countries, it is the same where a washing machine is practically unheard of. Anyway, in the first one the woman has a connection with your camera and the in the second one, it is the way of pounding those clothes with the water drops from the clothes. I've seen these kind of washings before...I just wasn't into photography at the time.

[Mike Buckley]

These (in my opinion) are not of the same caliber

I disagree. The second image of this thread is just as good if not better than the image in your first thread. They are so different that they really aren't comparable in my mind, much like comparing a photo of a bird in flight to a studio portrait.

The action of the near woman with the clothing in the air behind her, the action of the middle woman reaching into her basket, and the action of the far woman pulling clothing out of her pile: the three possible points of clothing in the action are covered in one shot. Each woman has a different though intent look on her face. It's a remarkable combination making the image a remarkable achievement. The chances of capturing that image are a LOT slimmer than the chances of capturing either of the other two images, and that speaks volumes to me.

more of a photojournalism or documentary style of photography. The image on the other thread would be more along the lines of something I could see in a fine art display.

For me, fine art is not better than documentary photography nor vice versa. So, comparing the two genres doesn't help me decide which of the photos is better.

[Manfred M]

Thanks for the comments and thoughts Mike.

I like both of these shots well enough, but what I am not happy with are the final edited images. The tools I have with me are not good enough to do the edits these shots need. Once I get home and have my editing tools, I should be able to bring all three images along a bit further. My laptop is so position sensitive that changing the tilt angle by a few degree gives a totally different look. I use a tablet for precision edits so working with a mouse is tough.

We're half way home (waiting for a connecting flight in Paris right now) so I'll have another go at it in a day or two.

[Mike Buckley]

My laptop is so position sensitive that changing the tilt angle by a few degree gives a totally different look.

You might think the second photo in this thread is better than you realize once you view it on your desktop at home. However, that doesn't explain why Donald doesn't fully appreciate its quality.

By the way, the change in the display of the image that occurs with the slightest change in the angle of the laptop explains why I won't take the time to calibrate the laptop that I bought for use in my makeshift studio. There is no way to determine the proper viewing angle, so it makes no sense to me to bother with such a fine adjustment as would occur when calibrating the monitor.

[FootLoose]

I missed the earlier post on this subject, but I have to say the second image here is a cracker, because there is so much energy in it. Three women all performing the same task but each one at different stages of the job. And that energy comes from the horizontal lines: the first woman with the blue towel mid-flight (mid bash, perhaps) leading to the second with outstretched arm, and on to the third with ... well I don't know how that white material is horizontal, but it is and it all works together.

[Ndukes]

I especially like no.2.