BIJ On Tour: The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere (and other nearby lands)

Schoolgirls in a bicycle rickshaw, Qutb Rd., New Delhi, India. Seth Rosenblatt (c) 2006

These two schoolgirls don't look too happy about the rickshaw ride, and it's hard to blame them. Cheap but invariably dusty, even in paved Delhi, riding a rickshaw was never a dull experience. Although sometimes it seemed that they were called "rickshaws" because they were so damn rickety, I was surprised at how few rickshaw horror stories I heard. This family, I can only assume, got home safely.

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Danielle and Michael's wedding, September 3rd. Seth Rosenblatt (c) 2006

I'm not sure when the term "bridezilla" entered into the pop culture lexicon, but I was glad to see that although she was indeed wearing a white dress, my good friend Danielle avoided turning her wedding into an attack of cliche, lace, bad speeches and not enough alcohol. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised to see that both her and new hubby Michael had a genuine, honestly happy nupitual ceremony that was devoid of pretension.

The open bar didn't hurt, either.

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Arjuna from a Kathakali performance, Fort Cochin, India. Seth Rosenblatt (c) 2006

While I would've been very appreciative at the time for a more detailed explanation of the Kathakali show that the FMA and I saw in Kerala, it remains one of my strongest memories about India. The strange costumes with their hoop skirts and elaborate make-up were certainly the foundation of that, but since it's performed nowhere else, it also served to remind me of just how utterly different people and their culture can be, even within the same country.

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Weaving fabric for saris, Madurai, India. Seth Rosenblatt (c) 2006

No big message today, just thought I'd take a break from my China obsession and show a bit more from India. Despite not liking India as much as I'd hoped, the way that Indians really do live their lives on the street, and not behind closed doors, makes for excellent photography.

The FMA and I came across these men hand-weaving fabric for saris by accident. We were stumbling around, just about as lost and confused as current U.S. foreign policy, turned a corner and came smack into 30 meters of thread - this was probably the best thing about Madurai, for us.

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Rice terraces on the Dragon's Backbone, Ping'An Village, China. Seth Rosenblatt (c) 2006

When I wrote about the Dragon's Backbone rice terraces in Guanxi Province, I probably waxed a bit too poetic about how impressed I was with the scenery. I honestly expected my photos to be able to say what I wanted to about the landscape in a stronger, more emotionally convincing way.

Boy, was I wrong.

Continue reading "A Weak Showing on the Dragon's Spine (20060505)" »

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Grandmother and baby, Ping'An, China. Seth Rosenblatt (c) 2006

Children are built cute, obviously, but have you ever wondered why? I've figured it out: it's a survival technique.

Continue reading "Kid Potential (20060504)" »

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Looking south from Moon Hill, near Yangshuo, China. Seth Rosenblatt (c) 2006

The bottomless treasure chest of images ripe for the plucking in Yangshuo had my camera drooling. Everywhere I went, something was worth photographing, and in no small part because of the breathtaking karsts that framed the background of nearly every shot I took. The town pictured is Ma Ling, about five kilometers east of Yangshuo. (At least, I think it is: my notes are a bit unclear, so it could be Gaotian, not Ma Ling, and it could be west of Yangshuo, not east. But you get the idea.)

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