Praying for a Busload of Tourists
Delhi, India 2009
Lately, I’ve been deleting some of my photos that are truly awful. I have plenty of them and it takes time to delete them and it is boring.
But yesterday, I finally paid attention to this shopkeeper with his colorful, handmade bags. I shoot in RAW. Before processing, the photo looked dull and uninspiring. The composition was there…3/5 and 2/5. (That is a rule that is as important as the rule of thirds. It means that the main subject takes up 3/5 of the image and the other 2/5 is either negative space or a different aspect of the view. In this case, the man is the 2/5 and the handbags are the 3/5.)
When I’m winnowing my photos, I look for negative space or other clues to whether the composition is good. If it is, I’ll zoom in and check out the subject. I liked this photo when I zoomed in. Then it was just a matter of increasing saturation and contrast.
A salesman has to have an optimistic outlook. He’s looking toward the boulevard. That is where his customers come from. And he is ready for them.