Humor in India

My Photo scholarship 2010 entry

India | Sunday, October 17, 2010 | 5 photos

I think it is the small details that make a place interesting; the moments in time that can't be repeated, that make you stop in the middle of a crowd and laugh or gasp or stand in awe and wonder. I try to capture these moments to excite, educate, and explain to others to lead to a better understanding of our world. I'm a teacher who is endlessly curious, and my goal in my job and my photography is to build a passion for the subject I'm focused on. These photos come from the first solo trip I've ever taken and are part of the first batch taken with my 'baby', a Nikon D90, by far the nicest camera I've ever owned. I have zero training in photography, but have tried to teach myself since high school when I would take my dog for walks in the woods and take pictures of the wildlife and changing seasons. After ten years of self-study, all I can say is I think a photo is good when it makes me feel the same emotion that made me take the picture in the first place. By that definition, I think these photos are the best I took while in India--they still make me laugh to look at them. I think they tell an important story that few people have heard after the Mumbai bombings, mistakes of the Commonwealth Games, and fighting with Pakistan, that Indians have smiles as big as anyone and laugh just as loudly. I saw their lives were short of many things, but joy was rarely one of them. None of these pictures were planned and I often had to scramble to get my camera out in time, but this is why I love them and besides, everyone knows the best comedy is live and unscripted. Enjoy.