SEATTLE. Street photography. Downtown Seattle. Upon returning from almost six months in India, walking around the streets of downtown seattle is an interesting concept. Getting access to people in India is not even a consideration as people will generally walk up to you and either stare at you out of curiosity, or will stop and talk, and in some cases will look at you and get on with what they are doing. There was never any issue with my presence and if I asked 99% of the time people would be very happy to have their photograph taken.
Seattle however is radically different to this, mainly because of how we perceive ourselves let alone what we think of you the photographer.
It seems to me that in US individuality is championed and defended with great vigour, and the exact opposite is the case in India, where Indians generally see themselves as being part of a greater whole.
The construct as it seems to occur in the US is just that, a vague, preconceived, compartmentalisation of existence where everyone is happy in conviction that we are, in fact, individual, and yet confine ourselves in the routines we impose on ourselves and the things we do, places we go and the consumption patterns we cling to.
This is a thought that has been running around in my head for some years now, especially after having moved from one culture to another about a decade ago.
Im open to discussions on this.
SEATTLE. Street photography. Downtown Seattle. Upon returning from almost six months in India, walking around the streets of downtown seattle is an interesting concept. Getting access to people in India is not even a consideration as people will generally walk up to you and either stare at you out of curiosity, or will stop and talk, and in some cases will look at you and get on with what they are doing. There was never any issue with my presence and if I asked 99% of the time people would be very happy to have their photograph taken.
Seattle however is radically different to this, mainly because of how we perceive ourselves let alone what we think of you the photographer.
It seems to me that in US individuality is championed and defended with great vigour, and the exact opposite is the case in India, where Indians generally see themselves as being part of a greater whole.
The construct as it seems to occur in the US is just that, a vague, preconceived, compartmentalisation of existence where everyone is happy in conviction that we are, in fact, individual, and yet confine ourselves in the routines we impose on ourselves and the things we do, places we go and the consumption patterns we cling to.
This is a thought that has been running around in my head for some years now, especially after having moved from one culture to another about a decade ago.
Im open to discussions on this.
SEATTLE. Street photography. Downtown Seattle. Upon returning from almost six months in India, walking around the streets of downtown seattle is an interesting concept. Getting access to people in India is not even a consideration as people will generally walk up to you and either stare at you out of curiosity, or will stop and talk, and in some cases will look at you and get on with what they are doing. There was never any issue with my presence and if I asked 99% of the time people would be very happy to have their photograph taken.
Seattle however is radically different to this, mainly because of how we perceive ourselves let alone what we think of you the photographer.
It seems to me that in US individuality is championed and defended with great vigour, and the exact opposite is the case in India, where Indians generally see themselves as being part of a greater whole.
The construct as it seems to occur in the US is just that, a vague, preconceived, compartmentalisation of existence where everyone is happy in conviction that we are, in fact, individual, and yet confine ourselves in the routines we impose on ourselves and the things we do, places we go and the consumption patterns we cling to.
This is a thought that has been running around in my head for some years now, especially after having moved from one culture to another about a decade ago.
Im open to discussions on this.
SEATTLE. Street photography. Downtown Seattle. Upon returning from almost six months in India, walking around the streets of downtown seattle is an interesting concept. Getting access to people in India is not even a consideration as people will generally walk up to you and either stare at you out of curiosity, or will stop and talk, and in some cases will look at you and get on with what they are doing. There was never any issue with my presence and if I asked 99% of the time people would be very happy to have their photograph taken.
Seattle however is radically different to this, mainly because of how we perceive ourselves let alone what we think of you the photographer.
It seems to me that in US individuality is championed and defended with great vigour, and the exact opposite is the case in India, where Indians generally see themselves as being part of a greater whole.
The construct as it seems to occur in the US is just that, a vague, preconceived, compartmentalisation of existence where everyone is happy in conviction that we are, in fact, individual, and yet confine ourselves in the routines we impose on ourselves and the things we do, places we go and the consumption patterns we cling to.
This is a thought that has been running around in my head for some years now, especially after having moved from one culture to another about a decade ago.
Im open to discussions on this.
SEATTLE. Street photography. Downtown Seattle. Upon returning from almost six months in India, walking around the streets of downtown seattle is an interesting concept. Getting access to people in India is not even a consideration as people will generally walk up to you and either stare at you out of curiosity, or will stop and talk, and in some cases will look at you and get on with what they are doing. There was never any issue with my presence and if I asked 99% of the time people would be very happy to have their photograph taken.
Seattle however is radically different to this, mainly because of how we perceive ourselves let alone what we think of you the photographer.
It seems to me that in US individuality is championed and defended with great vigour, and the exact opposite is the case in India, where Indians generally see themselves as being part of a greater whole.
The construct as it seems to occur in the US is just that, a vague, preconceived, compartmentalisation of existence where everyone is happy in conviction that we are, in fact, individual, and yet confine ourselves in the routines we impose on ourselves and the things we do, places we go and the consumption patterns we cling to.
This is a thought that has been running around in my head for some years now, especially after having moved from one culture to another about a decade ago.
Im open to discussions on this.