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Entries in Store (4)

Thursday
Nov212013

The Daily School Bus: passing by the store

I shot this earlier, when the midday twilight was still strong, but held onto it to see what else I might come up with. As it turns out, this bus was the only one to drive into photographic range for me today, right after I snapped the jet and the skull. That's Stuaqpaq AC Value in the background, Barrow's main grocery store. Although I am told Barrow is out of milk right now, it is a reasonably well-stocked store, but very expensive - unless you come in from a village. Then Barrow might seem economical by comparison. Just about everything is flown in, that's why.

Wednesday
Apr182012

Return to India, Part 7-B: On the painted holiday of the final full moon of winter, Sujitha and Kruthika go back to get a necklace

 

 

 

The next day, Sujitha's cousin Kruthika came by and then the three walked about two blocks to this spot to catch a ric. Suji still did not have her necklace. She had to have it. Maybe with Kru's help, she could make her choice.

Right after we reached the place about two blocks away where the rics waited, two painted young men came strolling by. It was Holi - a religious holiday celebrated on the day of the last full moon in winter. To say goodbye to winter (such as winter be) and welcome spring, participants splatter each other with color in giant paint fights. Holi originated in the north and is most heavily celebrated there, but the numbers of people in the south who participate in south Indian is steadily growing.

Rising above us all is the unfinished Metro, being constructed to ease the congestion of Bangalore and speed up the flow of people. Although I heard complaints about the pace of construction, I was astounded see how far the Metro has advanced since I was here in 2009. Similar metro trains are being built, with federal help, across India. I saw them in all the major cities we visited. India is moving forward.

I now have a great urge to do some editorializing about the situation in the US, but I will refrain.

On the way back to the necklace store, we passed by a now-deserted Holi gathering.

Back at the store, Suji and Kru studied necklaces as they climbed the steps into the jewelry store.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Upstairs, Suji laid a necklace against the saree she would need to wear a necklace with to see how it matched. It didn't quite make it.

So they looked at another. Suji decided to try it on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kruthika studied the necklace on Suji as Suji checked it out in the mirror. I saw nothing but beauty.

Kruthika took a close look at the necklace itself.

They looked at another....

...then laid it down to compare with still another...

 

 

 

 

 

 

They stepped away from the necklaces to think about them for awhile and Kru found a set of huge earrings. The two cousins - who, in their cultural way, are sisters - tried to imagine what someone who dared to wear them would look like.

They took a look as this hair clip, but rejected it.

Next, they turned their attention to reasonably-sized ear rings.

A salesboy laid out a whole new selection of necklaces before them.

Suji did, in fact, settle on a necklace. I will post the wedding probably Friday... no, more likely Saturday. If you come back, you can see for yourself what necklace she chose. When I was the age the salesboy appears to be, I had a paper route. Once I saved up enough money to buy a surf board, I did. Then I said "to hell with work" and went surfing.

Then they went downstairs to buy make-up and such. I was glad to see women working in the makeup store.

Suji then treated Kru and me to mango milk drinks. They were cold, and good. And yes, I joined the toast, too - but I had to get my picture first.

 

 

 

 

 

Lavith Goletcha, son of Hemanth, came in from celebrating Holi to the same refreshment shop to get a cold drink of his own - but he never woke up to drink it. 

We caught a ric and returned to the house. Suji's henna appointment was scheduled for 6:00 AM at the house. I don't remember what time we all settled down and went to bed, but it wasn't early. I was still jet-lagged and did not want to get up that early, but there was no way I was going to miss the henna painting.

Not long after the henna was done, we would board the train to Pune.

 

 

 

Series index:

India series, part 1: With a little help from the Indian Air Force, I begin my India series without actually beginning it
Return to India, Part 2: Pain beneath the fan, a sprawling tree, monkey on a string; those I would soon join on a train ride; the garland
Return to India, Part 3: My Facebook friend, Ramz, her mischievous brother, her nationally recognized achiever mom, her dad at the wheel
India series, Part 4: When you overtake an elephant on the highway, be sure to pass on the right; birthday remembrance; In Wasilla, pass "oversize" on the left
Return to India, Part 5: I wander the cold, empty, streets of Bangalore
Return to India, Part 6: A cow, blessed and safe; Suji takes me to lunch, then goes out with Bhanu to do some wedding shopping
Return to India, Part 7-A: A three-snack outing as mother and daughter shop for Suji's wedding
Return to India, Part 7-B: On the painted holiday of the final full moon of winter, Sujitha and Kruthika go back to get a necklace
A spacer only - the Buddha and the glamour poster ad
Return to India, Part 8: henna, to highlight her beauty and deepen the love between bride and groom; a moment on the way to the train
Return to India, Part 9: A prayer and a blessing for Suji; we head for the train; three calls to Manu
Time for another spacer - the green man who showed up at the railroad station
Return to India, Part 10: The train to Pune, part 2: Sujitha by the window as a thin thread of her India flows by
Return to India, Part 11: On the train, part 3: Ganesh Ravi - Photographer: how we discovered his hidden talent
Return to India, Part 12: On the train, part 4: After dark
Return to India, Part 13: train ride, part 5: we click and clatter into Pune, take a perilous walk and step into a world beyond imagination
Return to India, Part 14: The groom his wedding suit; me in mine
Return to India, Part 15: A function to mark the final night Sujitha would spend with her family before the wedding
Return to India, Part 16: Inside the Biradar house: portrait of an elder woman - portrait of a young girl
Return to India, Part 17: We dine in the home of the groom's parents, then join in the Puja of Kalasha
Return to India, Part 18: Slideshow: Sujitha and Manoj at the wedding hall - Engagement and Haldi Night
Return to India, Part 19: The wedding band, in the visual style of Sgt. Pepper's (10 image slide show)
Return to India, Part 20: The groom rides a white horse to the temple, there is dancing in the street; Sujitha and Manoj are wed
Return to India, Part 21 - Benediction: Sujitha takes me to the sacred waters; fish dine - a crow flies
Tuesday
Apr172012

Return to India, Part 7-A: A three-snack outing as mother and daughter shop for Suji's wedding

Sujitha, the bride-to-be and her mother, Bhanu, out on the streets of Bangalore as they shop for the upcoming wedding.

First, they stop at a tailor shop where one of the outfits Suji will wear during her wedding is being custom measured and fit just for her.

As she waits for the tailors, Suji and her mother look at more clothing being sold on the outside of the shop.

Snack break, #1:

After the she picks up the outfit, Suji knows her mother and Uncle Bill need a sweet snack. So she takes us to a nearby shop and orders one.

She feeds a bit of the snack to her mom. It was sweet to max - fruity, and juicy.

Then they shop for the bride and groom dolls that will stand on the wedding platform with Sujitha and Manoj as they get married.

They stop at a shop filled with the religious implements of Hindu faith. In addition to things like dolls, there will be many items on the wedding platform with them - many types of fruit, oil lamps, rice - many things. They will need small platforms upon which to perch many of these items.

Bhanu, inside the store so well stocked with representations of the Gods of her faith.

They will need a portrait of Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth and Prosperity for both spiritual and material matters. In my upcoming coverage of the wedding, the use of the Lakshmi portrait will become clear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Snack Break, #2: Suji buys a banana for each of us. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After our snack, we pass by a stairway enclave where where a young artist applies henna to a young woman. Two mornings from now, Suji will get her henna. Yes, it will be in this blog.

A fabric seller beckons Bhanu and Suji into his shop.

They went in, selected fabric they liked, and bought it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A portrait of Manoj looks up from Suji's pocket book as she pays for some of the items she will take to her wedding. Manoj waits for his bride in his hometown of Pune.

In one shop we visited, Suji picked out an outfit for the small daughter of some close friends who now live in California. 

Then she began to look at these suits, sized for baby boys. "There must be a little boy, too," I speculated. "Yes," Suji said. "There is a little boy. His name is Lynxton." And so I wound up bringing an India Indian suit home for my youngest Navajo-Apache Indian grandson.

She spent quite a bit of time examining bangles before she picked out the ones she wanted.

When I was a boy, Mom would take me shopping with her whenever she bought clothing or fabric. It was total misery. As I grew, clothing shopping with women remained total misery - even with Margie. The sales people were mostly all women - a man here and there, perhaps, but mostly women - women selling women's clothes to women.

In my three trips to India, each of which took me into clothing stores, I do not recall seeing a single clothing saleswoman - not for women's clothing or men's, either. All the clerks have been men. This seems unfair to me - both to the women who could be doing the sales but even more unfair to the poor men who are.

That said, I truly enjoyed myself on this shopping trip - because I had a camera in hand. When a person such as me holds a camera, nothing is boring. Everything is interesting. Suji and Bhanu made it all the more so.

I had a blast shooting Suji's wedding shopping spree.

I could have filled this entire post with pictures of Suji and Bhanu looking for just the right necklace for suji to wear at her wedding. She looked at many, but none were right. "I had always thought Soundu would be here to help me," she lamented. Soundarya had a highly-honed sense of style. Picking out just the right necklace would have been easy with Soundu along, Suji mused.

In the end, none suited her, so we left with no necklace. We would wait until the next evening, then Suji would try again - this time with her cousin, Kruthika, who will star with her in part 7-B. I will finish 7-B before I go to bed, then time it to post some time in the early morning hours.*

Snack #3:

Before we left for home, Suji treated us all to juice freshly squeezed at this juice bar.

We hailed an auto-ric and climbed inside. We put our heads together so that I could get a portrait of the three of us. Then we went home.

 

* It is now 12:50 AM Wednesday and I have finished 7-B, but I feel like I need to leave 7A up a little longer, so I will wait until late morning or early afternoon to post it.

 

 

 

Series index:

India series, part 1: With a little help from the Indian Air Force, I begin my India series without actually beginning it
Return to India, Part 2: Pain beneath the fan, a sprawling tree, monkey on a string; those I would soon join on a train ride; the garland
Return to India, Part 3: My Facebook friend, Ramz, her mischievous brother, her nationally recognized achiever mom, her dad at the wheel
India series, Part 4: When you overtake an elephant on the highway, be sure to pass on the right; birthday remembrance; In Wasilla, pass "oversize" on the left
Return to India, Part 5: I wander the cold, empty, streets of Bangalore
Return to India, Part 6: A cow, blessed and safe; Suji takes me to lunch, then goes out with Bhanu to do some wedding shopping
Return to India, Part 7-A: A three-snack outing as mother and daughter shop for Suji's wedding
Return to India, Part 7-B: On the painted holiday of the final full moon of winter, Sujitha and Kruthika go back to get a necklace
A spacer only - the Buddha and the glamour poster ad
Return to India, Part 8: henna, to highlight her beauty and deepen the love between bride and groom; a moment on the way to the train
Return to India, Part 9: A prayer and a blessing for Suji; we head for the train; three calls to Manu
Time for another spacer - the green man who showed up at the railroad station
Return to India, Part 10: The train to Pune, part 2: Sujitha by the window as a thin thread of her India flows by
Return to India, Part 11: On the train, part 3: Ganesh Ravi - Photographer: how we discovered his hidden talent
Return to India, Part 12: On the train, part 4: After dark
Return to India, Part 13: train ride, part 5: we click and clatter into Pune, take a perilous walk and step into a world beyond imagination
Return to India, Part 14: The groom his wedding suit; me in mine
Return to India, Part 15: A function to mark the final night Sujitha would spend with her family before the wedding
Return to India, Part 16: Inside the Biradar house: portrait of an elder woman - portrait of a young girl
Return to India, Part 17: We dine in the home of the groom's parents, then join in the Puja of Kalasha
Return to India, Part 18: Slideshow: Sujitha and Manoj at the wedding hall - Engagement and Haldi Night
Return to India, Part 19: The wedding band, in the visual style of Sgt. Pepper's (10 image slide show)
Return to India, Part 20: The groom rides a white horse to the temple, there is dancing in the street; Sujitha and Manoj are wed
Return to India, Part 21 - Benediction: Sujitha takes me to the sacred waters; fish dine - a crow flies
Monday
Apr162012

As an airplane flies overhead in Wasilla, I launch my Logbook Photo Store - with a blessing and a coin from India

Murthy and Vasanthi took me to see a certain Hindu temple in Ahmedabad where we crawled through a narrow, man-made cave built to replicate another in a temple built into a rock in another part of India. After passing through the cave, we came to place where a priest stood behind a countertop overlain with flowers. Incense burned and so did an oil lamp. As people stopped in front of him, he would say a short prayer in his language and would place a red mark on their forehead.

I was a little worried, because I knew I would be in front of him soon and the usual protocal called for congregants passing by to drop a little money into a box as an offering - kind of like passing the offering box through the congregation in a church. When I visit a church, even though I am not a member, I always drop some money into the box when it is passed in front of me.

I had no money on me. I did not know what to do. I was surprised when, instead of expecting me to give money to him, the priest handed me the coin in the photo above. With a smile and a gentle expression on his face, he said a short prayer, reached out, touched my forehead and left a red mark on me.

In his way, which is not my way but which I honor and respect, he had blessed me, but I had no idea what he said. When we stepped out of the temple into the glare of the hot sun, I asked Murthy what the priest had said in his blessing to me.

"God bless you," Murthy interpreted, and then explained that priest had also blessed me that I might find financial success. To me, financial success means to obtain the resources that I need to do my work... to take my pictures, write my stories, to put together the books that I still must get done in whatever time I have left. I decided to keep the coin for the rest of my life - as a good omen that, somehow, as challenging as the near future appears to be, everything will come together and I will obtain those resources and I will get my work done.

As regular readers know, I have two big goals right now, but no financial backing to do either one. There are books I must complete. For the most part, I have the material. I have the photos, I have the information, I have the experiences, what I need is the time to do the work. Then there is this blog. I'm not totally satisfied with the format, but I love the basic idea, the way a blog allows me to play words off photos.

And now, as of this week, I have no money and no income and no promise of income, but lots of bills ahead of me. 2011 was actually a very good year for me but it has passed. Uiñiq magazine and the other sources of support I had been relying on are gone. Uiñiq is over. I do not believe it is coming back. My inquiries to the new powers that be as to whether we could keep it going have generated no response - but I think this is how it is supposed to be, because if I get too comfortable doing Uiñiq and I rely too heavily upon it, then I won't get my books done.

I won't push this blog to where it needs to go.

Uiñiq was good for me and I loved it and many Iñupiat people continually tell me they loved it, but everything has its season and the season has come for me to move beyond Uiñiq. I am afraid to say this for certain, because if the offer came, it is hard for me to imagine that I would not take it. But I do know that there is a certain, major, book I have been working on for decades and I must finish it, at least to electronic form, before the end of August.

How will I do that, if I am doing a Uiñiq?

So, somehow I must make this blog the foundation of my income, so I can be free to do what I need to do.

It feels impossible. Yet, I know it can be done. Somehow, it can be done - but not if I just spend hours working on this blog every day without any kind of mechanism at all to bring in some coins. So, finally, now that we are solidly broke, I start my store.

The store alone won't do it. I don't really think the store is the answer - but I will start with this store, see if anything happens, and see what else it will lead to. There is a link to the store near the top of the right hand column, but it doesn't stand out at all, so I must make a button that does - but the button can't stand out too much, or it will diminish the impact of the photographs.

This is also why I am trying to stay away from ads. Ads make a blog ugly, and they can be so damned annoying. So I am trying to stay away from them. David Alan Harvey has succeeded in doing so with Burn. David is truly famous and has a huge following and features scores and scores of superb and innovative photographers and so pulls in a level of support and contribution that I cannot hope to match.

He is not getting rich at it, but he is succeeding and he is doing good, creative, fulfilling work that he loves and no one else is doing. If he can, somehow, I can.

I don't know how, so I start with this store. The store alone is not going to do it, but it is a statement that I am serious and I am looking for the way.

I don't have much in the store - just a few prints for now, and two prototype covers of some very simple iPad books I hope to make in the near future. I believe one week's worth of work would be all that would be required to finish the first book - because I have already completed it. I just have to revise it and adapt it to the iPad. I have zero experience and know-how at this, but I undertand there are simple ways to do it.

The second book will take a little more work, but the material is all at my finger tips. I just need to keep it simple.

As to the prints, I have been at a loss as to what to charge. For now, I have chosen $50 for an 8.5 by 11, $150 for 11 x 14 and $300 for 13 x 19 on Velvet Fine Art Paper. I fear very few people will be willing to pay $300, but so far I have not been able to talk myself into going any lower. I have never sold prints except on the rarest of occasions. About 20 years ago, ASMP sponsored a show I wanted to participate in but all those who hung a print had to put a price tag on it.

I did not want anybody to buy my print, so I priced it at $300. It sold anyway. A few years back, I had a major museum exhibition. The museum also bought a large selection of 13 x 19 Velvet Fine Art prints for their permanent collection and paid me $500 each, as I recall. They apologized for this price, as they said it was not enough and the prints were worth more, but they didn't have the budget for it.

So, as hard as I have been trying to, I cannot make myself go below $300, because it feels like I would be insulting my own work. Yet, I think hardly anyone will pay that.

But anyone who wants to surprise me - please do.

I am certain that anybody who has been following this blog lately will recognize Sujitha. Those who read part 2 of my return to India series might also recognize Natarajan's little green boy bank. The other hands in this frame are those of her mother, Bhanu.

I don' think anybody can make a worthwhile picture every day, but just the same, I decided to devote one section of my store to "The Daily Take." On every day that I can manage the time, I will put one image I took that day in the store. I will leave it there for two weeks, then remove it. I don't think many of these Daily Take images will sell. Maybe none of them. But I like the idea so I am going to do it.

This the first image in the Daily Take section - a plane that flew over me on my walk this morning. Anyone familiar with my work and history will understand the significance, whether I sell a single print or not.

Regular readers are also familiar with my Young Writer studies, focused upon Shoshana Hausmann, barista at Metro cafe. You will find one section of my store devoted entirely to the Young Writer. These 11 x 14 prints will include a sampling of her writing along with one of my pictures of her. I am not certain how often I will add a new one - at least once a month. I am not satisfied with the design on it just yet, so I will tweak it a bit.

If anyone has any suggestions or questions, please contact me at:

runningdog@ak.net

Now I just hope the damn robots don't jump on my email address. 

 

The Logbook Photo Store