Kerala fishing boats

The gradual transition from industrial photographer (at what used to be British Steel)

to cameraman and back to photographer (as of now) has enabled me to live a

somewhat privileged existence where I got to go to a lot of places that others might

only dream of visiting, and where I was able - mainly thanks to the efforts of others

- to get, if only in a small way, under the skin of places and not be just another

tourist. India is a case in point, where my first visit was to film diamond polishing

factories in Bombay (Mumbai), amid the squalor of the old and the promise of the

new, and my second was to see the best and the worst of India - via Delhi to

Bhutan, where issues of abject poverty and poor health were evident daily, even as

we flew in rich man's toys, the hot air balloons of our King-sanctioned expedition.

Without the help of local knowledge, few if any of my overseas trips would have

resulted in a film, but these generous people are rarely credited as having been

instrumental in making them happen. I mention this here only because this picture,

like many on this site, only came about because of being taken to an interesting spot

by a local. Unfortunately, my own camera had expired, and I didn't want to

presume too much upon the generosity of my friend by yet more 'Can I borrow

your camera for a minute' pleadings. So the village we went to is now unrecorded,

only their gaily-coloured, but idle, fishing boats serve as a reminder of that particular

day in Kerala.

The gradual transition from industrial photographer (at what used to be British Steel) to

cameraman and back to photographer (as of now) has enabled me to live a somewhat

privileged existence where I got to go to a lot of places that others might only dream of visiting,

and where I was able - mainly thanks to the efforts of others - to get, if only in a small way,

under the skin of places and not be just another tourist. India is a case in point, where my first

visit was to film diamond polishing factories in Bombay (Mumbai), amid the squalor of the old

and the promise of the new, and my second was to see the best and the worst of India - via

Delhi to Bhutan, where issues of abject poverty and poor health were evident daily, even as we

flew in rich man's toys, the hot air balloons of our King-sanctioned expedition. Without the help

of local knowledge, few if any of my overseas trips would have resulted in a film, but these

generous people are rarely credited as having been instrumental in making them happen. I

mention this here only because this picture, like many on this site, only came about because of

being taken to an interesting spot by a local. Unfortunately, my own camera had expired, and I

didn't want to presume too much upon the generosity of my friend by yet more 'Can I borrow

your camera for a minute' pleadings. So the village we went to is now unrecorded, only their

gaily-coloured, but idle, fishing boats serve as a reminder of that particular day in Kerala.