Villages in Andhra Pradesh



Last week I worked on a project for HMRI in Hyderabad. There tagline is "Health For All", something I can appreciate. They provide a variety of service including a 911-like emergency ambulance service and a hotline to get medical advice, connecting you directly with an actual doctor. The hired me to take photographs of their mobile health clinic vans that go to every village in Andhra Pradesh that is further than 3kms from the nearest health clinic. I traveled non-stop from Friday night at 8pm till Wednesday morning at 6am. I would get off one train, get in a car, go to a location shoot, go back to train station, sleep on the train, get off and get in a car, go to a village and shoot. It was a long four and some days.

My assistant from Bombay that I planned on using missed the train from CST station, so I called my friend and great photographer, Shashi Khan, in Hyderabad to see if he could recommend any assistants. An hour before I left Hyderabad he confirmed that Suman, a young photo student, would meet us at the station. He warned me, though, that Suman doesn't speak much English. Madhu, my contact from HMRI, and I meet Suman and start our journey Saturday evening. Four in the morning comes and we exit the train to meet a driver who takes us to our first village. After a stop for breakfast we arrive around 9am. I told myself I would keep track of all the villages we went to, but I cannot even tell you one. (I really need to get better at recording details surrounding shots, like...the person's name.) Back in the car and back on the train. The days bled into one long experience that I can hardly differentiate between days and villages.

Fortunately, about an hour before I left Mumbai the package I had been waiting for came. The package contained replacement Cybersync radio slaves for my flashes which made most of these images possible. Also, my mom packed the box full of junk to make me sick and fat (I have a habit of eating all of something before I can move on to something else, which works fine for dinner, but bad for a big box of sweets).

Some of the images I used my Orbis ringflash to light the subject, but some others are bare flash. My assistant worked as my moving light stand. I prefer working this way. The light changes exposure, angle, and distance by voice command. It's great!


This is mostly what I was doing, showing the team in action. I bounced the flash off the big white van to the right.




More Photos after the Break!












I did not notice until one of the workers pointed it out that she did not have a foot on her right leg. She was walking on it like nothing was wrong.

































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I've worked all over her globe with a diverse set of clients that offer a diverse set of challenges; every one of them a learning opportunity. Whether I'm hanging off a frozen waterfall shooting ice climbing or in a studio working with a model I am adapting, learning, and improving. I've created a mobile studio in the middle of a wild adventure race in southern Patagonia and fought with monkeys to keep my grapes in southern India. Whatever the challenge I will get the shot.

With my photography background firmly formed in the commercial advertising arena, I bring that attention to detail and technical process to adventure photography. And I've spent my entire life adventuring, so I can get any angle you can imagine.

I feel very fortunate to live in such a beautiful place as Boulder, CO. When I'm not shooting for clients I'm out climbing rocks or frozen waterfalls, or cruising down in the backcountry on my skis.

www.dscottclarkphoto.com

3 comments:

  1. amazing.. i think everyone in HMRI will be very pleased.

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  2. These are some of my very favorites of yours, Scott.

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  3. I love your pictures. Makes me miss India. Hope you're well.

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