Blissful enlightenment, a photo from Himachal Pradesh, North

Photographer's Note

I lived for over a month in a very small ashram with three Babas. The ashram was located in a wonderful valley called Kali Kunt, somewhere half way between Haridwar and Gangotri (source of the ganges). And I don't have to mention how fortunate I was and well... blessed to had such an intimate insight in that extremely interesting world.
The sadhu on the picture was the Guru, a highly fascinating and powerful person. He devoted his life to higher purposes at the very age of 6 and since then lived a dedicated and strict life according to the Sadhu codex. There would be tonnes of stories to tell about the time with the Babas, but I'll let the picture do the storytelling.

P.s. I'm aware that this photo is over-saturated, and that was my intention. People who experienced the effects of a chillum or any marijuana related substances might know why I chose the intense colors. I wanted to relate the color of the photo to the intense color perception which one experiences under the influence of a chillum.
But of course I know, by doing so, I walk on the very edge of good taste photography.

yuo, miszka, joshack, amir2009m, AngelaIndigo, mostafameraji, azharhaz, awodwanrazc, dhananjay_sutar, DisAccount, mamcg has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

ajayrawat (676) 2010-09-08 7:58

Congratulations on capturing this shot, I am sure the guy is having time of his lifetime. Though the image is over saturated but the mood is very well captured.

bennyfunky (795) 2010-09-08 9:11

Nice and interesting picture, is it cannabis all around ? If yes I understand the smile of the sadhu...
Benoit

[2]

leo61 (0) 2010-09-08 13:31

Hi Steafn!
This could be me in the 8oth.......and this must be a wonderful valley indeed!!!
A great shot taken in a perfect enviroment.
I`m thinking about my travel plans now......
Regards,Leo

samratrayc (438) 2010-09-08 20:07

hello stefan

yes .. the blissful cannabis smile .. i understand what u wanted to portray
but the shot is very oversaturated giving it an artificial effect ..
samrat

[2]

mrichat (1755) 2010-09-08 23:01

over saturated photo.

Juzo (2151) 2010-09-09 5:25

Hi Stefan,
Well, what can I say hehe..the saturation works well for the effect on the mind..some will get it, some won't..the 'enlightened' may understand :)hehe. Great, classic bliss.
Cheers
Justin

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jonathan_hart (21276) 2010-09-09 12:16

saturation is too much even if i understand your intention
with reasonable saturation the picture would be very good, I mean the PHOTO is great and the post-produced picture is OK
jc

[3]

siolaw (38294) 2010-09-11 3:30

Hi Stefan
It looks a bit like posing (chilom looks empty, and there is no sign of smoke ;D) but if it is, then it's well posed! He has a nice, stoned expression and the surrounding "plants" make a great background. Colours are saturated.. but not bad, it fits the scene!
Greetings from Goa...
Laurent

iainsp (3298) 2010-09-15 4:58

Hi Stefan,

You mentioned summit meetings over a few beers and it reminded me of an interview I saw with the memebers of the Grateful Dead and their early meetings with the company execs the first few times they cut albums. The execs would arrive and not eat, drink or touch anything that was put in their hands, while the Dead would try to slip them a spiked micky-finn and try to put business deals on a whole new wavelength ... it seems a real shame that they never succeeded.

I can see why you have gone for super-saturation - but one thing I remember from my trip to India in the early nineties - it was really easy to get frustrated that the actual super-saturated colours of contemporary India were never going to make it properly on to your average western film. I especially remember wondering how the hell to get that amazing green of paddy fields on to camera and never coming even close to succeeding

[2]

yuo (1184) 2010-09-30 23:09

Hi Stefan,
it is so funny and interesting photo.
He seems to be really pleasant. you capture very well.
and i understand this over saturated green colors.
Best Regards,
Yuo

Nazar (48) 2010-12-18 9:37 [Comment]

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amir2009m (294) 2011-01-19 3:24

This picture with the concept of addiction with cannabis plants

vagabondtravels (6511) 2011-02-10 10:08

Hi Stefan

Great capture of this Bab and a great note.
Very vibrant colors. Way to catch him in the moment. Super chill. Good work.
Ben

Ryzler (0) 2011-02-19 0:41

I was going to say, This is a hemp plantation it is not a very good smoking, type plant. First of all where are the buds? If they were harvested then they did a very good job of it as there is not one single tiny bud or flower on these plants.
in this case if he is smoking that plant it is leaf and he is a lightweight and would probably go into a coma if he tried some real weed from Thailand or Hydro from the london underground.

selay22 (254) 2011-02-28 9:48

The grass so green
the smile so wide
the sun so bright
amazing pic
wish I was there:))

karsako (7) 2011-03-28 4:10 [Comment]

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aguilarjlr (288) 2011-04-23 19:03

Excelente combinaci髇 de tema y fotograf韆... bravo por los colores!!!

claudees (531) 2011-04-30 1:54 [Comment]

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ilDottore (5252) 2011-05-10 16:22

Hi Stefan,
Are you sure, this is not Jamaica? :)
Excellent portrait, full of joy and sunshine.
Perfect work, just iconic shot! :)
Greetings from Dublin!
Chris

MrochaM (84) 2011-05-15 17:57

The photo passes an excellent sensation. How much to the saturation I do not see as noise, it converges to the objective of its subject, very good

M醨cio M. Rocha

bestarns (198) 2011-06-16 14:45

Bonjour Stefan,

Tres chouette image,il est au paradis a mon avis ;)
Excellent composition et traitement naturel,j'aime ;)

mjw364 (1466) 2012-06-11 5:11

I like the humour of this picture. It's intersting how spirituality and use of marijuana go hand in hand yet is seen negatively by the powers that be! No need to explain why.

This truly is stress free living - I could dedicate my life to that at any age!! What is the Sadhu codex... man?!

mostafameraji (63) 2012-08-11 10:03

is very very beautiful...

nagual2 (1179) 2013-10-25 12:45

NICE PICTURE IT HAS SOUL.TFS

seb1lopez (187) 2013-12-03 9:51

2 times that I stop on this pic: of course absolutly not perfect, but catching this attitude in such a place is so unusual and full of atmosphere...

RGupta (12) 2014-02-14 0:31 [Comment]

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