by Grryo Community | Aug 16, 2016 | Stories, You Are Grryo
My arrival in Kolkata, India was badly planned. Being dropped off at this huge intersection of highways, in the middle of rush hour, where no taxis or buses were stopping (as I had been told by the person who dropped me here) wasn’t part of the plan… Or was it?
It all started in the Maîtree-express: the train going from Dhaka (Bangladesh) to Kolkata (India). I had to leave Bangladesh on a visa run. The idea of travelling to India seemed like a good one, especially since I wouldn’t have to fly and India was an unknown country…a good excuse for new adventures!
So I was sitting on the train, riding along the fields and across the rivers on a 7 hour journey. The excitement was growing as much as the fear. There weren’t many white faces on the train; only five Europeans on board, and the rest were Indians and Bengalese, traveling for business or medical reasons.
I had noticed earlier a man, sitting a few seats behind me, who seemed to be from the French Caribbean Islands. I spotted him in the queue waiting to get stamped at the immigration crossing point. We engaged in a conversation that ended later in Kolkata. His name was Loïc, and he told me he was going to be picked up by a driver. His visit to India was related to his studies and he was to interview people in different places for a French Bengalese man who had offered him a little cash and places to stay in exchange.
The full story wasn’t very clear.
As for me, well, I had no plans other than to get a new visa and explore the area. While still in Dhaka I got advice from different people who had been to India on where to stay and what to do.…
Despite the advice I was given, I did not book a hotel, I did not even look at a map of Kolkata and I had no idea where or how far the centre was from the train station I had arrived in. Loïc kindly offered me a ride to the city and explained the situation to the driver, who said it wasn’t a problem.
We set off, travelling through the streets of Kolkata in a classic yellow ambassador cab, looking through the window, watching the street nightlife. We soon realised there had been a misunderstanding with the driver because we didn’t seem to be getting any closer to the city centre. When we queried it with the driver, his English suddenly became very bad and he didn’t seem to understand what we were saying.
What could we do?
Well, we started laughing about it for a bit, when the driver pulled over to the side of this multi-lane road that was intersected by four others; a huge junction with quite a bit of traffic.
So as I watched Loïc and the car driving away, I tried to figure out where I was and how to get a bus or a cab to reach the centre. The side of a huge highway intersection wasn’t the best place for that so I crossed over and started listening to what destination the guys in the buses were screaming, while at the same time waving at every cab. Thirty minutess passed, during which time I hadn’t figured out which buses were going where, and no cabs had stopped.
I was screwed! I had tried my best but nothing happened. I couldn’t even find someone who spoke English.
I was staring at the total emptiness in front of me, lost in my thoughts, restructuring all my plans, when a guy passed by on a scooter. My eyes rolling from right to left, I was looking at him riding his bike and he was looking at me. I think the expression on my face made him stop. The truth is he stopped partly for this but he was also picking up his wife. He came to me and asked if I needed any help. He kindly helped me to try to stop a cab but his efforts were helpless.
He asked me if I could wait a little longer there, explaining he would take his wife and child back home and come back to give me a lift to the city.
Of course I said yes. I was not going to refuse an offer like that in my situation. So I waited, hoping that in the middle of the unbelievable situation something good would happen.
But was he really going to come back?
Well, twenty five minutes later he finally showed up. I hopped on and off we went, riding toward the city, introducing ourselves, talking to each other about many different things; where I was coming from and what was I doing in India, to the gay marriage situation in India. He also asked me where I would be staying in Kolkata. I told him I hadn’t booked a hotel and asked him to drop me in Sudder Street (the only advice I could recall) which I understood was the tourist street with many hotels offering reasonable prices. He looked at me and said it was a nasty place; most of the hotels were dirty and the people staying in them were even dirtier. He said he knew some better places. As we reached our final destination, he took me to a church/chapel where I could stay for a reasonable price.
I wasn’t very confident about staying in God’s house. Nothing against religion – I respect people believing in something. I just believe in karma; and myself. Being here made me feel a little misplaced.
Anyway, I explained to Vishnu there was no Internet and I needed it for work. He kindly took me to another place, which was again a sort of chapel, but this time Internet was available.
Since it was getting late, I decided to check in and figure things out the next day. I dropped my bags and asked Vishnu if he could give me a ride to Sudder Street so I could see the place for myself. That was it, I was finally making it to this Sudder Street that everyone had been telling me about, whether good or bad!
Okay, so this was the headquarters for the drunk and the ones who came for any spiritual voyage making them forget the invention of the shower and the importance of being careful (especially in India with malaria and other silly diseases). Needless to say, if I’d checked in to random hotel, I’d probably be sleeping in a shared room with one of these nasty friends.
The chapel did not seem like a bad idea – it was clean, they had a garden and it wasn’t that far away from most of the cool places. And of course, buses, trams and auto rickshaws were stopping by the chapel. I spent a week in this place, where I met interesting and weird people. How do you define weirdness? And who really is weird?
It spent a nice and interesting shared time with others, but I had trouble applying for a new visa in Kolkata. I got some information advising it was much easier to get it from Delhi.
I couldn’t spend more time hanging out in Kolkata knowing this wasn’t the place to get a visa for Bangladesh, so I booked a train for New Delhi and was on a 17 hour journey across North-Eastern India. The train was quite nice but the price of the travel including the food and water was a joke. You wouldn’t even get 2 meals in a European restaurant for the same price.
The plan was to spend the night on the train and arrive in New Delhi in the morning… next thing I know, I woke up on the train, supposedly thirty minutes away from our arrival, and the first thing I could hear was someone speaking in English saying we had been delayed. Nothing serious, only ten hours!
It’s India; you have to be very relaxed. I mean if a cow has decided to sleep on the rails, no one is going to touch it since it’s a holy animal. You just have to wait for the animal to move on!
This time, the good news was… I had booked a hotel in advance.
When I reached New Delhi I quickly understood the city had been wrongly named. It should have been called Scam-city since everyone seemed to be trying to rip you off. Despite this problem, the city is quite nice and I met some really interesting people; exploring the old Delhi was very nice. I applied for my new visa and during the processing time I decided to visit the Taj Mahal. Very touristy. It was interesting going on a cheap tourist bus (the one for tourists from India, not Europeans). Again, I was the only white person. I found it quite fun this way… just exploring, getting lost without marks.
When I got back to Delhi, I got to the embassy of Bangladesh to collect my passport. Denied of my multiple entry 6 months visa, I asked politely for a 2 single entry 2 months visa so I could go and get the stuff I left back in Bangladesh and visit the places I hadn’t been to yet.
A week and half later, I was back on board the Maîtree-express, departing from Kolkata to Dhaka. My bag was filled with 3 litres of Old Monk Rum hidden in two 1.5 litres coke bottles, ready to re enter Bangladesh. The Muslim country I left a few weeks ago where alcohol is not really permitted except at the duty free airport and the UN shop reserved only for the diplomats… I was ready for some new adventures, riding the bumpy road of a fun life full of memories.
All pictures were taken using a mobile phone and all edited using Snapseed. A professional tool to slide in your pocket with your camera and take it everywhere with you.
The best part of it… it’s free!
See more of Vince’s work on : Website | Facebook | Twitter | Behance
by Grryo Community | Aug 7, 2016 | Stories, You Are Grryo
The HongKongers Part II by Nicolas Petit
Photos by Nicolas Petit / Words by Gabriella Zanzanaini
The first part of the Hongkongers series can be found here.
It’s quiet in the late hours of the night, the early moments of the morning. The fluorescent lighting tubes go to bed as drunk zebras make their way home, imbued with cheap alcohol and Rugby Sevens frenzy. Fishermen untangle their nets and bring in their catch. The city’s markets wake up with a start, the dark night replaced by red lamps shining on pink meat and grey fish. Eggs are beaten into a bucket, cigarette ashes dangling just above, held together by moist flame. The breakfast crowd arrives through the thick damp air for their eggs over easy and their white bread toasted a minute no more. The hot sun pushes through the tight alleys and catches the sweat on the workmen’s bellies, taught hairless skin and mini salted pearls.
In the humid tropics, the basketball courts are full with old and young, some bouncing with their hands, others kicking with their feet. There is no time for nostalgia, only for rapid play.
With the evening the white light is back, illuminating subway compartments, braided hairdos and horse-betting odds. The race track comes to life and Happy Valley shines like a massive ship in the night. As the horses run in their colourful numbers, and bets are placed, the city’s people are ready to gamble once again, to gamble away the chance that nowhere is better than here.
There is a name for those who have chosen this place as home. The Hong Kongers.
My name is Nicolas Petit and I am a freelance photographer currently based in Hong Kong. The above text was written by Gabriella Zanzanaini.
The HongKongers Project aims to go beyond Hong Kong’s skyline and tells a contemporary tale of the city through its people. All photos here were shot between October 2015 and June 2016.
Find out more : Instagram / Facebook / Website.
by Grryo Community | Jul 29, 2016 | Stories, You Are Grryo
My name is Tiphaine and I invite you to cross the Atlantic to Europa and travel with me in Brittany, on the west coast of France, where I live. In Saint-Malo, there is a very long beach of 3 kilometers. At high tide as much as low tide, the journey is always wonderful.
I love wandering on the beach.
To feel the wind and sea. To hear the sound of waves. To watch people who are walking, like me.
Seascapes bring beauty, poetry, feelings to the moment. They also run through our memories; they prompt an emotion, they imprint an atmosphere, and this is perhaps why I try to pass them on by taking photos.
It’s possible, I guess, to have different view of the seascape just like street photography. Walkers, fishermen, dogs, seagulls, kite surfers, boats… in all weather: sunny days, cloudy days, rainy days; there are many subjects to photograph if you take the time. The sea gives rise to a very strong imagination, you just have to sit and to contemplate it while your thoughts float away.
Lovers, Saint-Malo, Brittany
At high tide, alone, entwined, these two lovers enjoyed a quiet moment and the beautiful view of the horizon. By the sea, solo, as a couple, in family or just among friends, we look and allow our mind to wander.
Three Pirates, Saint-Malo, Brittany
I was sitting on the beach when three children appeared. These three little conquerors reminded me of my childhood, stories of adventures and trips we imagined, on the rocks with my cousins and my sibling.
“Walk in the Moonlight”, Dinard, Brittany
This couple takes the romantic stroll, a “walk in the moonlight”. I liked these two figures who were walking side by side, at a leisurely pace, dressed in raincoats of the same color. Together, happy, blended in with the landscape, out of time.
The umbrella, Saint-Malo, Brittany
That day, the wind was blowing hard on the beach and moving sand clouds. The sky was lowering with rain. This young woman suddenly opened her umbrella to brave the elements. An umbrella on the beach in Brittany; this is anecdotal. A funny and graceful time.
Contemplation, Saint-Briac, Brittany
Facing the immensity of sea, it suddenly plunges us into great daydreams, as with this man. These are precious moments.
A man on the way, Saint-Malo, Brittany
By the sea, street photography is a topic not broached enough. Life by the sea is not only landscapes, there are also people who are as interesting as in the big cities like New York or Paris.
The trio on the beach, Saint-Malo, Brittany
On the beach, you can also have a look that is inspired by street photography. Here, these walkers and their dogs have made a triangle pointed at the horizon, amazing!
The lady and her dogs, Saint-Malo, Brittany
I meet lots of dogs and owners on the beach. I found this trio amusing, legs and feet at the same pace: the perfect match!
The couple on the beach, Saint-Malo, Brittany
This elderly couple, hand in hand, were walking together to the sea, to the same horizon. A single moment of great beauty and complicity.
« La Hoguette », Saint-Malo, Brittany
When I was a child, I used this passage very carefully. I sat on the rock and I spent many hours to contemplate the sea, watching the horizon, to dream. The poetry of the sea.
I warmly thank Grryo for letting me share some of my Brittany here with you. Thank you for this great adventure!
Instagram: @tiphdiadel
French version:
Bretagne, balade en bord de mer par Tiphaine Diadel
Je m’appelle Tiphaine et je vous invite à traverser l’Atlantique et à voyager en Europe, sur la côte ouest de la France, en Bretagne, où je vis. À Saint-Malo, il y a une longue plage de 3 kilomètres. À marée haute et à marée basse, la balade est toujours merveilleuse, le regard porte loin, et les sujets à photographier sont nombreux. J’adore marcher sur la plage. Sentir le vent et la mer. Écouter la musique de la mer, le son des vagues. Observer les gens qui se baladent comme moi. Les paysages marins apportent leur beauté, leur poésie, sensations à l’instant. Ils imprègnent aussi nos souvenirs, ils provoquent une émotion, ils impriment une ambiance et c’est peut-être cela que j’essaie de transmettre en prenant des photographies. La mer donne naissance à un imaginaire très fort, il suffit de s’asseoir et de la contempler pour que les pensées s’échappent.
1. Les amoureux, Saint-Malo, Bretagne. À marée haute, seuls, enlacés face à l’horizon, ces deux amoureux profitaient d’un instant paisible et de la vue magnifique sur l’horizon. En bord de mer, seul, en couple, en famille, entre amis, on regarde et on laisse son imagination voguer vers tous les horizons.
2. Trois corsaires, Saint-Malo, Bretagne. J’étais assise sur la plage quand ces trois enfants sont apparus. Ces trois petits corsaires conquérants m’ont rappelé mon enfance, les histoires d’aventures et de voyages que nous imaginions sur les rochers avec mes cousins, ma sœur et mon frère.
3. Promenade au Clair de Lune, Dinard, Bretagne. Ce couple emprunte une promenade au nom très romantique « Promenade au Clair de Lune ». J’ai aimé ces deux silhouettes marchant côte à côte, s’éloignant d’un pas tranquille, vêtus d’imperméables de la même couleur. Ensemble, heureux, se fondant dans ce paysage hors du temps.
4. Le parapluie sur la plage, Saint-Malo, Bretagne. Ce jour-là, le vent soufflait fort sur la plage et déplacait des nuages de sable, le ciel était chargé de pluie. Cette jeune femme a soudain ouvert son parapluie pour braver les intempéries. Un parapluie sur la plage en Bretagne, c’est anecdotique. Un moment amusant et gracieux.
5. Contemplation, Saint-Briac, Bretagne. Face à l’immensité de la mer, on plonge soudainement dans une grande rêverie, comme cet homme seul. Ce sont des instants précieux.
6. Un homme en chemin, Saint-Malo, Bretagne. En bord de mer, l’esprit streetphotography est un thème qui n’est pas assez abordé. La mer, le littoral maritime, ce ne sont pas que des paysages à photographier, les gens qui y vivent sont tout aussi intéressants que dans les grandes villes. Il suffit de les regarder.
7. Le trio sur la plage, Saint-Malo, Bretagne. Sur la plage, on peut tenter aussi de s’inspirer de la streetphotography. Ici, ces promeneurs et leurs chiens ont composé un triangle pointé sur l’horizon, étonnant.
8. La dame et ses chiens, Saint-Malo, Bretagne. Je croise beaucoup de chiens et leurs maîtres en promenade sur la plage. Ce trio m’a beaucoup amusé, jambes et pattes au même rythme : l’accord parfait !
9. Le couple sur la plage, Saint-Malo, Bretagne. Ce couple âgé, silencieux, main dans la main, marchait d’un pas égal vers la mer, vers le même horizon. Un instant simple d’une grande complicité et beauté.
10 La Hoguette, Saint-Malo, Bretagne. Quand j’étais enfant, j’empruntais ce passage avec beaucoup de précaution, le vide de chaque côté semblait immense. Je m’asseyais sur le rocher tout au bout et je passais de longues heures à contempler la mer, regarder l’horizon, rêver. Contempler, c’est toute la poésie du bord de mer.
Un immense merci à toute l’équipe de Grryo de m’accueillir sur ce très beau site dédié à la photo et aux histoires en photos !
Sur Instagram, je suis @tiphdiadel, à bientôt !
by Grryo Community | Jul 19, 2016 | Stories, You Are Grryo
MOBILE STREET PHOTOGRAPHY
“Martina”
Mobile photography has meant a real revolution in my life, both at a personal and a professional level. Since I started mobile photography almost six years ago, I have watched and enjoyed the world in a different way from before I bought my first iPhone. I’ve always said that, before, I used to wander around the streets like an automaton, looking in front of me but not paying attention to whatever happened around me. However, since I’ve had my iPhone and, above all, since I fell in love with mobile photography, my perception of the world has been totally different.
Backlit smoke
Love is in the air
I´m an architect, not a photographer, but I feel myself as such. Maybe I had the soul of a photographer and I wasn’t aware of it; maybe it is something I have developed, thanks to my phone. I don´t know, but the truth is that I wander now with my eyes wide open, phone in my hand, camera turned on, alert to whatever happens around me, making sure not to miss any scene worth being captured.
Morning leisure
Fixing the world
A tough day
The natural evolution from architecture to photography, starting with capturing deep perspectives of streets, sun lit façades, buildings from an impossible point of view, has turned into an uncontrollable passion for people, capturing peoples’ faces, for gestures, glances, or in a few words, for what is called “street photography”. It has been like adding a zoom lens to the way I look, going from focusing on wide urban spaces, to the people who are part of that scene, to making those people the main characters of my photographs, where now, the city is now the background: the stage where people play out their lives. It has been a switching of roles.
Matching yellow
Reading mates
Despite everything…
I believe it has been a natural evolution, without forcing. It has been the result of an inner meditation that has given birth to more intimate photography; less focused on huge frames, on great light/shadow contrasts, but rather, a focus on the character, on their eyes, on their hands, on their wrinkles. I´m not that interested in the place, as much as I´m interested in the human being. To me, the greatest compliment I may receive when somebody views one of my photographs is when the observer tells me they can imagine the story of the person captured; their life, their circumstances.
My iPhone has played the main role in this evolution. I must confess that what interests me most is “candid” photography; in which the person captured is not aware of being photographed, thus transmitting a naturalness that a portrait doesn´t transmit, in my opinion. And I love to shoot at a close distance; I need to get close to people, in order to capture them properly, but also for a certain excitement I feel when I´m close to the people I capture. And I can only have that sensation with my iPhone. It would be easy to use a big camera, with a good zoom, stay at a certain distance and then shoot. But I´m not interested in that. I believe there´s a certain magic in closeness that I don´t feel when using the zoom. I have already shot with my phone for a certain period of time, and I have already developed an ability for camouflage, pretending to do something else, which helps me to be unnoticed. I think it is more difficult to slip past with a camera, whereas in the end, I am nothing else but a citizen with a phone in my hands, something very common nowadays; which allows me to get close to people without raising suspicion.
A distressed face
Such a proud woman
A concentrated face
This is why I´m so grateful and happy to have found a new passion thanks to a mobile device. A passion that has to do with life, with people, with making beautiful scenes last forever. A passion that makes me have my eyes wide open every time I go to the street, longing to witness new scenes. A passion that makes me analyze people just by looking at them, that boosts me to photograph them, to share those images, that wakens peoples’ imagination and figure out what the life of the people photographed is like. A passion, in a few words, that makes me feel alive.
My parents
Candela
“Courageous, despite age” My humble tribute to my friend Óscar. R.I.P.
Find Luison on :
Blog | Instagram: Luison & Luison_street | EyeEm | Facebook | | Flickr | Twitter | Google+
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(Spanish) FOTOGRAFÍA CALLEJERA MÓVIL
La fotografía móvil ha supuesto una auténtica revolución en mi vida, tanto a nivel personal, como profesional. Desde que empecé en esto hace casi seis años, veo y disfruto el mundo de manera diferente a como lo hacía antes de la compra de mi primer IPhone. Siempre comento que antes solía ir por las calles como un autómata, mirando continuamente frente a mí, sin prestar atención a lo que ocurría a mi alrededor. Sin embargo, desde que compré mi IPhone, y sobre todo, desde que me enamoré de la fotografía móvil, mi percepción del mundo es totalmente diferente.
Yo soy arquitecto, no fotógrafo, pero me siento como tal. Quizás tenía alma de fotógrafo y lo desconocía, quizás es una faceta que he desarrollado gracias a mi teléfono móvil. No lo sé, pero lo cierto es que ahora camino con los ojos abiertos, teléfono en mano, cámara encendida, atento a todo lo que ocurre a mi alrededor, dispuesto a que no se me escape ninguna escena digna de ser capturada.
Lo que inicialmente fue un evolución natural de la arquitectura a la fotografía, capturando calles en perspectiva, fachadas en luz, edificios desde ángulos imposibles, se ha convertido en una pasión incontrolable por las personas, por los rostros de la gente, por los gestos, las miradas, en definitiva, por la llamada “fotografía de calle”. Ha sido como hacer “zoom” en mi forma de mirar, pasando de centrarme en grandes espacios urbanos, en el que las personas formaban parte de ese escenario, a hacer que esas personas se conviertan en los protagonistas de mis fotografías, pasando la ciudad a ser el escenario, invirtiendo los papeles.
Y creo que ha sido una evolución natural, sin forzar, fruto de una reflexión interior que ha dado paso a una fotografía quizás más intimista, menos centrada en grandes encuadres, grandes contrastes luz-sombra, sino más bien centrada en el personaje, en sus ojos, sus manos, sus arrugas. No me interesa tanto el lugar como el ser humano. Para mí, el mayor cumplido cuando alguien contempla una fotografía mía es que imagine la historia del personaje fotografiado, su vida, sus circunstancias.
Y en esta evolución ha jugado un papel principal mi IPhone. Debo mencionar que a lo que a mí me interesa de verdad es la llamada fotografía “cándida”, aquella en la que la persona no es consciente que está siendo fotografiada, transmitiendo una naturalidad que el retrato,creo, no tiene. Y a mí me gusta capturar de cerca, necesito acercarme a la gente, tanto para poder fotografiarlas bien, como por una cierta excitación que experimento al estar próximo a la persona que capturo. Y esa sensación sólo puedo tenerla con mi teléfono móvil. Sería fácil usar una cámara fotográfica grande, con un buen zoom, situarme a una cierta distancia y luego disparar. Pero no me interesa. Creo que hay cierta magia en la proximidad que no siento tirando de zoom. Tras ya un cierto tiempo disparando con mi teléfono, he desarrollado ya ciertas técnicas de camuflaje, de disimulo, que me ayudan a pasar desapercibido Creo que una cámara es más difícil que pase desapercibida, mientras que yo, al final, no dejo de ser un ciudadano más con un teléfono en la mano, algo totalmente habitual hoy en día, lo cual me permite aproximarme a la gente sin levantar suspicacia.
Es por todo esto que estoy tan agradecido y feliz de haber encontrado una pasión gracias a un teléfono móvil. Una pasión que tiene que ver con la vida, con la gente, con hacer que escenas bellas sean eternas. Un pasión que hace que cada vez que salgo a la calle, salga con los ojos abiertos, con la ilusión de ser testigo de nuevas escenas. Una pasión que me hace analizar a la gente con solo mirarla, que me impulsa a retratarlos, a compartir esas imágenes, a despertar la imaginación de la gente, a imaginar la vida de aquel que retrato. Una pasión, en definitiva, que hace que me sienta vivo.
Find Luison on :
Blog | Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/luison & http://www.instagram.com/luison_street | EyeEm | Facebook | | Flickr | Twitter | Google+
by Grryo Community | Jul 13, 2016 | Stories, You Are Grryo
Like many Americans, both my mind and news feed have been filled with thoughts and images related to the events that occurred in Dallas this past Thursday. I was moved by photos I saw by
Richard Hill the following day, many which were titled “…before the peace broke”, because for the most part, what I had seen was only video footage of people running in terror. I asked Richard to answer a few questions and share his images here.
Why did you decide to attend the rally in Dallas?
I attended the rally because I think we’re in the middle of a big moment right now. I’m not sure if it is as big as what was going on in the Civil Rights Era but I haven’t seen anything like this in my adult years. Also, I wanted my son to be a part of something that means a great deal. It’s one thing to sit around the dinner table and talk about race and prejudice but it’s quite another to put feet to your words. I thought this was the perfect opportunity to make that happen for both of us.
Tell me a bit about the atmosphere there when you arrived.
When we arrived I noticed very quickly that we were among a heterogeneous mix of America. Everybody was there: black folks and white folks and Asian folks, etc. I felt right at home. We never felt in danger even when the rhetoric got heated. People spoke their minds but no one that I could see felt offended. We all know that something is wrong. It’s hard, especially for white folks like me, to really feel what is happening. I don’t pretend to fathom what my black brothers and sisters are going through and have been going through. I just saw people that were hurting and I wanted to be close them. I would want the same thing if I were in their shoes.
What struck you most about the experience?
I realize that in many ways I’m outsider here. But I’m also a human being and a man and the differences that we may have are certainly eclipsed by what we have in common. Before the rally and march I thought it was optional for me to either be a part of this or stay home. After all, I have been going about my business for all these years and I have been just fine. Or so I thought. After the March was over and the shootings and particularly after I attended a black church the following Sunday, it has been easy to see how wrong I have been.
