Portraits with secondary subjects

A commonly said rule on photography is to isolate your subject; such that your subject stands out and there are no other distracting elements.

I personally feel that there are no rules on photography although few of them could be used to take better photographs (as long as you know the rule and why you are bending or breaking the rule).

Adding subjects of secondary interest could give a different dimension to portrait photography. This is slowly catching up and several advertisement photography uses this to a larger extend. Though in advertising photography, the difference being secondary subject is as prominent as the primary subject.

Depending upon the location, you can choose suitable secondary subjects. It could be a flower, a veil, a hair drier, balloons or even cityscape.

Try what you are comfortable with. You may even use a larger aperture of F/10 or F/12 for portraits with cityscape.

India and its road side sales

Woman selling coconut, flowers and other pooja offerings to devotees of Nimishamba Temple, Mysore.

People who are from India, and people who have visited India will know for sure that the places for shopping are quite numerous here. Collecting a souvenir from India is the most easiest part; as it can be made possible from every nuke and corner of the cities.

Undoubtedly, India is a country with lot of road-side sales.

Adjoining each and every tourist place, there will be hundreds and thousands of these small shops; selling artifacts, consumables, eateries, and other items that are of interest to the tourists. This post is to show few photographs of our Indian Road-Side Sales. All the photographs were taken during my visit to Mysore, Karnataka in the month of April 2010.

Looking at one of these road-side temporary establishments is real fun. It has the energy of a 'sunday market'; yet it has a huge diversity depending on the locale / tourist spot. The photograph of the left hand side is such a crowd seen near Gumbaz, tomb of Tipu Sultan and Haider Ali at Mysore, Karnataka.

There is everything for sale here: post cards showing excellent photographs of tourist interest in and around Mysore, gift articles, ladies favourites such as comb, bangles; to even stalls selling tender coconut to quench your thirst.

If you are a person who is fond of capturing these moments as a souvenir itself, I am sure you would enjoy each and every trip that you make within any Indian tourist destination.

The photograph of the boy cutting tender coconut is also taken near Gumbaz, Mysore.


In May 2010, sale of peacock feathers were banned in India. Following excerpt indicates the same.

Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh on Monday announced a proposal to ban trade of peacock feathers to protect the national bird from illegal poaching and killing.

Inviting comments before imposing 'a comprehensive ban on the sale, transfer and trade of peacock feathers,' the environment and forests minister said this is in response to numerous requests from various stakeholders.

"It has been brought to the ministry's attention that the demand for the feathers outstrips the supply leading to the rampant poaching and killing of the birds for the purpose of their feathers," Ramesh said.

It said the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, shall be amended to remove exemption granted to the peacock owners under Sections 43(3)(a) and 44 for transfer and sell of the tail feathers and articles or trophies made from them.

While the act already prohibits killing of peacocks as well as export of tail feathers or articles made from them, it allowed domestic trade in them so far under the assumption that these are naturally shed, the ministry said.

If you had been lucky enough to buy one peacock feather, keep it as a valuable possession. This photo of a man selling peacock feathers were taken on April 2010, just one month before the ban was imposed.

One last photograph in this post is that of a man selling papaya outside Mysore Palace.