Author: D. Scott Clark

Its been a while, ten days. Things are going well. I am preparing for a trip to Mumbai to meet with Ad Firms, photographers, and magazine editors, and possibly look for permanent housing. Mumbai in comparison to Hyderabad, is something like Indianapolis to NYC. Mumbai is where the action is, and that is where I need to be. There is a lot of great work coming out there. I am excited to be there.

I was working through my portfolio the other day to show an ad firm here in Hyderabad, and I discovered something: I am not happy with my portfolio. I know there is good work in there, but I am not happy with the consistency and style. A lot of work I had in the portfolio was work I had done for clients, where I enjoyed doing the work, the work for past clients is not what I want to be doing in the future. The only pieces I really do love are work that I have done for myself and no one else. I HAVE to do this to fuel myself and to get the type of work that I want to be doing. I cannot just trust that companies can see my potential and hire me on that. I have to do what I want to be doing.

I spend a lot of my time at my computer. Sometimes its like I never even left my apartment in Bloomington. I get frustrated that I’m not exploring more, that I spend so much time inside. So a week ago I put aside everything I could be doing for my portfolio and contacting people, and just explored the area surrounding my apartment. I stay in East Marredpally so I ventured into West Marredpally. I started on main streets then turned down the back alleys, where a troupe of 15-20 kids started following me demanding that I take their pictures, repeatedly. I practice what little Telugu and Hindi I know with the kids, mostly “My name is Scott. What is your name?”

As I returned a woman approaches me motioning to her necklace and repeating something in Telugu, grabbing my arm, pleading with me to do something of which I have no clue. A man on a scooter interjects telling her to get lost. He then tells me to get on his scooter he will take me from there so she will not bother me. He insists on taking me all the way home, telling me it is too dangerous for me to be walking around like that. With some persistence I get him to drop me at the road that leads to my place, but not take me all the way there.

It is funny to me that I feel more danger from the people telling me its dangerous than anyone on the street. Whenever I am out, someone will corner me and tell me how dangerous it is for me to have my camera out and such. Honestly, I feel very safe here, and the people I read seem uninterested in my camera. This is in stark contrast to living in Uganda where I constantly felt people eying my camera, and it and my bag would disappear if I left it for a second. I’ve been told by many people in many different places around the world that it is not safe. Thank you for your concern, but I know the risks involved in entering into the world. I could get hit by an auto, fall on a nail, get kidnapped by ruffians, I could even die….gasp. We all die. I willingly enter into the world despite the dangers. If I do not, what is the point of life?

Click on the image to see larger.

These boys waved me over across the street wanting their pictures taken. It seems they are part of some military type academy. The entire area on one side of me is a huge military complex.

Click on image to see larger

Click on image to see larger

I saw my first monkeys in Hyderabad. I had seen them all over New Delhi, but had not seen any here. I didn’t have my zoom lens on me, I was only carrying my 50mm f/1.4 so I couldn’t get close without the monkeys getting skittish.

Greetings.

I shouldn’t be awake right now, but once I get started doing something its hard for me to stop. I’ve spent the day updating my website. Also, I have a new web address. www.dscottclarkphoto.com. The old one will still work, but I have the new one because there are at least 4 other Scott Clarks that do or pretend to do professional photography. As far as I can tell there are no other D Scott Clarks that do professional photography. Hopefully this will make me easier to find. Also, I have uploaded a new video to my new Vimeo account. I hope to keep experimenting with the video on my Canon 5D Mark II and with Final Cut Express.

Karimnagar – Harvest Ministries from D Scott Clark on Vimeo.

I went with Harvest Ministries to the village of Karimnagar, Andhra Pradesh, India – about two hours outside of Hyderabad. They were handing out supplies and medication to victims of AIDS at a medical clinic. I already posted the photos from this day. And the girl crying…every time she saw me look at her she would start screaming. Her mother tried to make her understand I wasn’t going to hurt her. She even handed her off to me at one point. Boy did that make he scream. But at the end of the day the girl waved goodbye to me.

Here in Hyderabad I’ve been evaluating what I want to pursue. Above all I love photography. I love to shoot. Despite the massive digital display on my camera, I love the feeling the joy of seeing the images big on my screen for the first time.

One vain of photography I have not thought about or put much effort towards is fashion photography. For some reason – I don’t know if being here is consequential – I now have a desire to pursue fashion photography, at least to some extent. There are some friends here that I would love to use as models. I’ve spent the last few days studying fashion photographers and today I went back through my old work to see what I had. I asked my friend Felicia if I could use her for a fashion shoot way back in 2007. I never used most of these images for anything, but today I re-edited them. I am pleased with the images I got two years back. I am excited to see what work comes of this new desire.

A week and some ago I went with my friend Forrest and his friend Ravi to Golconda Fort outside of Hyderabad. It is an impressively huge structure. Surrounded by a 10km long outer wall, the majority of the fort is built on a large rocky hill. Not far from the fort are tombs of several rulers, the Qutub Shahi Tombs. We explored these before heading to the fort.

Writing and vandalism cover almost every wall.

This image reminds me of a scene from the movie, “The Fall.” Beautiful movie. A must see.

Someone was filming a video for some movie or TV show on top of the embalming chambers. Ravi didn’t recognize the dancers so he thought it was a TV show.

Groups like this constantly as me to take their photos.

People “writt” all over this.

Near the top of the fort is a Hindu temple for a local god.

This woman was kissing the feet of the man dressed up religious garb. I think he was supposed to represent the local god.

Click on the picture to see it larger

Click on the photo to see it larger

A few days later after trying to get my phone fixed for the umpteenth time I walked around the backstreets on my way home. Here are a few images.

This little girl is the daughter of the maintenance man for the apartment complex I stay in. She is learning English and always greets me when I come into the towers. The next one is her brother.

This is her father. He doesn’t speak much English, but he always greets me with a huge smile.

This is Ty, the man I am staying with until August.

This week I am meeting with a couple Ad firms and a friend gave me an offer for some work. I’m making contacts in both Chennai and Mumbai. Things are going slow but going well. I’ve started looking into apartments. I can find a one bedroom flat for about 5,000rs, or roughly $100 per month. The problem is finding one that will let me rent month by month since I don’t know how long I’ll be here.Also finding a partially furnished apartment would be nice as well.

Tonight I played volleyball at a local park with some boys, most of them still in secondary school. I had a lot of fun, though I had no idea what was being said most of the time. They thought it was funny teaching me all the nicknames they go by. There’s Snake (Pum), Horse (Goal[di]), Monkey (chimpbwho), and so on. They seem like good guys.

I’ve been spending a lot of time walking around. Sometimes I take my big camera, sometimes I only stick my Canon G10 point and shoot in my bag. One reason is the food here is so amazing and its been doing quick work on my metabolism. In other words, I’m gaining weight. It is no wonder that obesity is a problem in the middle and upper classes here. The picture of the door was just one thing I snapped a photo of while walking. Nothing special, but trying to stay creative. I’ve been listening to lectures by a great commercial photographer, Chase Jarvis, who is a huge proponent of keeping active in creating personal work for no other reason than to create. He shoots a lot just on his iPhone.

Another reason I walk is to see everything up close. When I take an auto I get to see more, but I can’t study details. I really enjoy interacting with people. I think that someone could possibly find some of the people cold while walking down the street, but with a little bit of effort, they light up. I love this. One habit I learned in Uganda was to great people by raising your eyebrows. I started doing it here just out of old habits coming back when in a similar environment, and they respond to it. They’re faces light up and huge smiles greet me.

I’m considering buying a motor bike. Something small, 100cc. I can get a used one for around 20,000/. or about $400. It will be good to have my own transportation. There are, of course, things I need to check into like insurance, etc. Also, I found out today that I have to find a place to live for either about 2 weeks or a month in September. I can’t stay at the apartment I’m at since the family I’m staying with is going back to the States. Ah, well, something will work out.

I am looking into the possibility of moving my search for freelance work to Mumbai in the late fall or early winter. If anyone has good contacts there, let me know. I love being here in Hyderabad, but I’ve heard repeatedly the work I’m looking for is in Mumbai. I’m going to continue making contacts here and exploring options. I even sent out an resumé for teaching English, just so I could have some sort of income for right now.

Ah well, I love it here. I really do.

I am grateful to my friend Acsha who asked me to go with the ministry she works for out to a small village about two hours drive from Hyderabad. I leave my apartment about 7am and find an autoricksha that knows how to get to Lalbazaar. I wait in front of a hotel for my friend Joel to come pick me up on his motorcycle, and he takes me the rest of the way to Acsha’s place.

The team, Roger (the boss), Acsha, Joel, Anand, Sheryl, and the driver cram into two rows of a Chevy SUV, three in the front and four in back. The rear two seats are full of medicine, rice and dhal. Needless to say, a two hour trek stuffed into an SUV who’s AC doesn’t work is hard on a body. We stop for breakfast and get dosas, crepe like flatbread filled with spicy potatoes and onion. Earlier that morning my stomach had been quite uneasy so I was a bit worried that the trip in the car might make some things come up, but all went well.

In my previous trip to Hyderabad in 2007 I had not ventured outside the city; I had not seen what the countryside looked like. For the most part the land is flat, but there are huge boulders that seem to come from no where. And also out of no where single “mountains” (I don’t know what else to call them, maybe big hills?) rise up. There are some deciduous trees and a spattering of palm trees growing out of the reddish dirt which also supports much lower vegetation. It’s not exactly lush, but its far from arid.

We get to Karimnagar and the homely little white church. After waiting for some time and beginning to explore the surrounding area, patients start coming in to see the doctor. They are mostly women, but both young and old that come. The get checked on by the doctor then they gather in the small meeting room of the church. Roger gives a message in Telugu to those gathered; both Hindu and Muslim sat through it and seemed to sing with Joel and Anand as they led worship (Anand playing a sitar he found in the church).

We hand out the bags of rice and dhal and then sit down for a lunch of rice and chicken in a very spicy sauce. The color is red which means lots of chillies. My friends warn me about the spiciness, but despite the burning on my lips the spice is not unbearable. I have still yet to be out spiced here, which really surprises me. I don’t necessarily like spice in the States. Anand and Joel seem to be sweating quite a bit more than me because of it.

I enjoyed being here, outside the city. Its very peaceful. I always enjoy the people.

This kid would not smile.

The Doctor












Still No Smile

Roger giving a message.

And finally a smile. Might have been forced.

The basket was so lopsided.

On our way back we drove to the future location for a school owned by Harvest Ministries. Just off of the property are these amazing rocks that had peacocks and peahens perched majestically on them. When we got close they flew off.

An acquaintance from Bloomington, now a friend, and I went to a museum on Wednesday. It’s a very impressive personal art collection. For a personal collection it is massive. I’ve heard its the largest personal art collection in the world. There is Indian, Eastern Asian, Western and everything in between. After the museum we went to Lumbini Park, where they have this waterfall and kiddie pool. Kind of fun.

And sunset in an Auto.

Thanks for reading. If you’re not already, become a follower of the blog. If you’re reading on facebook, go to http://scottfoto.blogspot.com/ and click on the Follow button. Thank you for caring. I miss everyone, but I’m very thankful for technology that allows us to keep in touch.

Despite having a terribly slow connection I finally successfully uploaded a video. I was experimenting with the HD Video capabilities of my 5DMarkII. Canon recently updated the firmware which allows the user to have complete manual control over the video (before it was automatically exposed with a control of only ±1 stop. You couldn’t tell it what aperture, shutter speed or what ISO.) So having complete control I got to play around with my 50mm f/1.4. If you haven’t noticed I LOVE shallow depth of field.

Not very often does a client ask you to provide them with action blurred photographs, so when they showed me the types of photos they wanted, I got a little excited. I enjoy doing things differently and this provided me with some play time.

The hospital is a teaching hospital and they wanted to showcase this.

The EMTs from the hospital use a new technology for CPR that uses something like a toilet plunger. It was actually discovered by someone who used a toilet plunger to perform CPR.(This is a set up, the man is not actually dying. As with the woman being rushed through the hospital, she was a “model.”)

On May 30th I shot the beautiful wedding of Christina & Jonathan at Indiana University’s Memorial Union. Here are some highlights.

Tuesday, Ganesh met me in the morning and took me to buy a cell phone. He took me to a place where he knew the owner’s brother, so he would give me a good deal and wouldn’t ask questions. For some reason buying a phone here as a Westerner they ask all kinds of questions and get immigration involved. I ended up paying around $125 US for the phone, but its a nice one. I was hoping for a smart phone, but those ran anywhere from $500-750 US. I thought they may be cheaper there, but no. I had to provide them with a copy of my passport and copy of the electric bill for where I am staying. They also needed passport photos of me, which I got around the corner in a very hot photo studio. 50rs for 8 photos.

I wanted to explore the city, so I hailed an auto and told him to go to the one place I know, Charminar. It is a large structure built in the 16th century to honor Allah for curing the city of black plague. Of course, it was about as far across the city as I could get. The cost for Indians to go up, 5rs. For foreigners? 100rs. Rippoff. hehe. I went up and took some photos (and HD Video!!!! 🙂 ) then walked around the area for a while, taking back streets and alleys. It is a largely Muslim area, but as I walked the 4.5km up toward Hussain Sagar (lake), it progressively got more Hindu influence. I was planning on walking all the way to the lake, but it was 6pm and I needed to be back at the apartment by 7 to go to dinner with Ty and Gorgene.

I took a lot of portraits along the way. India is unlike anywhere else I have been in that the people ASK me to take pictures of them. I have to turn people down. Walking down the street, being the only Westerner that they’ve seen in some time, I get a lot of attention. People wave, yell, and smile. Its a very enjoyable time for me, I love the people here.

I am a bit behind on some work that I have done. Here is one of the last two weddings I shot before I left the States. It’s been one of my favorites so far. I knew Whitney from our four months in Uganda together with the Uganda Studies Program in 2006. I was honored when she asked me to shoot her wedding. The site she picked, Talon Winery, outside of Lexington, Ky, was a beautiful location. Her husband, Christian, and I were quickly friends soon after we met. What a great guy.

Enjoy.

For this special wedding I broke out a special camera, my Holga, a plastic medium format toy camera that is known to have focus and light leak problems creating very unique images. None of these markings can be exactly repeated.

I am writing this entry from the office of the CEO of the marketing firm that sponsored my business visa. I don’t think I can fully describe what a blessing he has been. I have been in this country for only four days now, and I’m meeting with heads of companies and departments, he’s introducing me to one of the top photographers in Hyderabad in an hour, he’s connecting me with magazines.

The power of networking is an understatement. I could do none of this on my own. If it were by my own strengths and talents I would still be living at home taking pictures of flowers. Only through networking have I been able to work for myself in Indianapolis and now enter a completely new environment and have prospects of work. It does not matter how good I am at what I do if I cannot connect with people. Everyone knows somebody.

Ganesh picked me up from my apartment and took me to his office, the office of an IT company that deals with a lot of health care issues. He brought a childhood friend with him who has been working in Sudan in public health. This fellow is truly interesting to talk to. He has been working in NGO’s first in India, then in Sub-Saharan Africa. He is a wealth of knowledge and ideas on how to bring the masses out of absolute poverty and malnutrition.

Ganesh asked us both to talk to the management of the IT company. Manohar, Ganesh’s friend, did most of the talking, and rightfully so. He implored the management to think about how this company can help raise the Indian people out of poverty using IT as a means. How can the company take what they have learned from working in the corporate world and apply it to the social? He told them that a company can make a positive difference with the underprivileged, and they will find themselves better off as a company. These people can truly make a difference, and they want to, but they need the ideas and the means to make the difference. Manohar has the ideas. Now the action must happen. It will be truly interesting watch. This mindset seems to be rampant in the youth of India. They want to make a difference.

Today has excited me for the future possibilities. Manohar has invited me to work with him on documentaries, using imagery to make a difference. I do not know if I will work with Ganesh on any projects, but he will do anything in his power to help me get connected with the right people. Truly incredible.

I arrived. Thankfully my friends graciously waited at the airport for over an hour for me. After some 25+ hours in transit was with friends and excited to get settled. I still don’t think my mind has caught up with my body. I’m still unsure of what to think of everything. Even today when walking around the streets outside the apartment it was hard to think that this is real. Any way, here are some quick snaps of the apartment and some design stuff I captured in the New Delhi airport while I waited with my little canon G10 point and shoot.

All 200+ pounds of luggage. Its one heck of a haul to carry that by one’s self.

My overstuffed luggage. Can’t tell but my 20″ iMac is burried in there. Friggin heavy.

My room. Already is a mess. (I’ll clean it, I promise, once I get some hangers)

The high heat drier.

The dining room.

The huge kitchen.

The bathroom with a western toilet.

And the shower parked up next to it.

The view from the balcony.

It’s been a while since I’ve updated. Sorry to anyone that actually reads this. The last month has been a bit of a blur. I’ve been busy finishing up projects and preparing myself to move out of the country. Wednesday, June 17th, I fly out of O’Hare airport on an Air India jet and I arrive in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India around 2am (if I make all my connections). I will be leaving with 5 bags (way too many). A backpack that will carry my lights. A rolling suitcase that will carry my 20″ iMac desktop computer (I wish I could afford to buy a new Macbook Pro, but paying the $150 to have the extra bag is much cheaper). A bag that will only hold my light stands and tripods. [These will be checked luggage]. My photo bag with my camera and lenses. And finally, a backpack with whatever random stuff I want with my on the plane. [These as my carry on].

I will be met at the airport by a missionary couple, Ty and Georgene Lunberry, who are allowing me to stay in the extra room in their apartment until I get settled and figure out what the heck I’m doing in India. I’ve been friends with Lunberry’s since I was roughly four, their son I considered my best friend for years. They spent 14 years serving in East Africa and just last year were sent to Hyderabad. This is an incredible blessing. Hyderabad works. It’s not ideal. It’s not where I would have chosen for myself. But it works. I couldn’t have planned it better myself. I traveled to Hyderabad in 2007 and met with some incredible people. I am excited to reconnect with these friends. I have business contacts in the city as well.

My loosely planned out goal is to work in the advertising industry doing my freelance photography. A marketing firm sponsored my five year multiple entry business visa. I have no great expectations of, well, anything, but I will spend the first few months exploring the city and establishing relationships with the marketing and advertising firms in the city, as well as established photographers.

Why am I doing this? Why am I leaving behind the business I have only started to build which promised to grow at a significant rate? I do not want to get stuck. I feel I need to break off now while I have the freedom and lack of responsibility enough to do so. I have nothing holding me here. If I do not break free now, I feel I never will.

I have always wanted to live overseas, especially after my experience living in Uganda for four months in 2006. Those four months were far to short (and the two weeks in India were incredibly painful. It is not right to leave after only two weeks, let alone four months). In my time in Uganda I heard something from the people that I will not forget. They said, “Come, be with us. Come and live and work among us, beside us. Do not come to change us, do not come to convert us, but come and be.” So I am going to be, simply to live among another people. I have no great expectations except to experience. I have no long term goal. I am on a journey and I do not want a destination. I do not even think I want to know where the journey is taking me. I want to experience the journey.

Last night I spent my last Friday in the United States, the last in the foreseeable future, spending time with select friends. I finished the night with my friends from Saudi Arabia. After a time at our usual bar we headed back to their apartment with “Kapsa” on everyone’s lips. It was almost 3am and everyone was hungry, so we would share in their favorite meal, Kapsa. This delectable fellowship of a meal, all seated on the floor covered in newspaper or plastic, tearing into a platter of rice and chicken that had boiled together, both mutually flavoring the other. We get back to the apartment and the others decide to go swimming. I, having woken up at 5am the morning before, decided to sleep until they came back. I was awakened around 6:30am to finally eat Kapsa. We sit on the floor around the platter placed on newspaper and dig in with our hands, squeezing the rice and vegetables and delivering the ball precariously to our mouths. The Saudi’s laugh at me for not being able to pull the chicken from the bone with my right hand (mainly because the chicken was scalding me). It is improper to use your left hand while eating with your hands. I love the experience of kapsa. This is not my first time, I have shared with my Saudi friends few times, but I first experienced it in the basement of a hotel in Hyderabad around 3am two years before.

Three more nights in my apartment before setting off on this new adventure. I am excited to see where it takes me….nervous, mainly about where I’m going to store all of my things and actually cleaning my room.

I recently have been working on a project for a town starting a major redevelopment. The pictures will be used to try and attract investors, businesses, and people.

A month ago I shot a beautiful wedding for a beautiful couple right here in Bloomington. Here are some of the highlights.