HOME SWEET HOME

I'm back in the U.S. now after spending 24 hours in the air over two great oceans and countless countries. We watched the sun rise twice from the plane and gained half a day on the return. I can't say just whether I was ready to leave the great land of Mahabharata but I will say that its great to be home in beautiful California, USA.

My journey took me to places that I could not have created in my wildest dreams, I experienced sights, sounds, and smells that I never knew existed, and I met new friends that I hope to have for the rest of my life. On more than one occasion the conversation arose about what exactly I came to India to learn. Tarun and I both agreed that I didn't need to travel to the other side of the earth to learn how to set up a light stand or fill out an invoice. Don't get me wrong, the industry is not much different in India than my experience would have me know of the industry in the U.S. The same relationships exist between photographer and clients and art directors and other photographers, etc. As with all busy photo studios, there are exhausting shoots, constantly ringing phones, cds to be burned and delivered, and paperwork to be filed. My real lessons however, became about the Indian sensibility that is present in Tarun's work. It was in seeing the colors of which intensity we just don't have in the western world, the textures of buildings that can only be produced by centuries of exposure to a harsh environment, the craftmenship and artistry that has taken a thousand years to perfect, the way ice-cold, sweet lemonade tastes when your body really needs it to sustain in the heat. It is through experiencing these things that my real lessons were found. I am returning home with a new sense of spirituality and an altered perception of the world. I now know that I am not through with India, that this trip was only my maiden voyage into this exotic and challenging country. For now, I can't wait to get back to work, creating new images with a perception that has been permanently altered by the world that I found on the other side of the globe.

Here are a few more photos and tales to accompany from my last week in India.

CHANDNI CHOWK

My story would not be complete if I didn't mention Chandni Chowk. Chandni Chowk is a bustling marketplace and the pounding heart of Old Delhi. When I mentioned to Tarun that we had been spending some time there, the reply was "We don't even go there." The area is composed of a maze of narrow alley ways jam packed shoulder to shoulder with people, carts, bicycles, and various small critters. On more than one occasion I had to rely on my compass just to find my way out.













WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

One of my favorite things about being in India was all the wildlife that intermingles with society. I felt like a little boy the first time we passed a camel cart on the road.