The articles on Children of the City shows numerous candid portraits of children & people in & around Kolkata. This article has travel photos from various places in & around the city.

Most of the photos here are within miles from the heart of the city. The popular places for great candid photos of people & children lie along the Ganges river. Early mornings or late afternoons are the best time to shoot, although in the afternoon the sun would be directly on your face, so having a good lens hood would help.

Nimtolla (also written as Neemtolla) & the way along Ahiritolla & Bagbajar extends all the way to the Howrah bridge & has several bathing ghats where interesting candid photographs of people could be taken. It is usually a good practice to ask for permission to avoid problems later on.

Personally I never pay anyone for taking their pictures, but I would often help out the families & sometimes the kids who I photograph with books they could use or something in kinds as a courtesy for their time.

Time permitting you could also make arrangements with the local fishermen at these ghats to board their fishing boats when they row out to the middle of the river & cast their nets. Some would willingly welcome you while some would ask for a small compensation for their time.

Either way, if this is your only opportunity to photograph the unique lifestyles of the people of Kolkata, this could be a great opportunity to get a glimpse of the lives of the fishermen.

There are several places just outside the main city of Kolkata that could provide professional travel photographers with a completely different view of the people & their lifestyles. Bantala & Rajarhat are 2 such places which has a lot of opportunities for off beat photo opportunities.

Although right within the ranges of the most hi-tech center of Kolkata, Bantala & Rajarhat has fast vanishing traces of what life around Kolkata used to be some 20 years ago. Fragmented farm lands, fishing ponds & poultry farms are abundant in these areas.

The city is expanding at lightning pace & very soon all the green around the city would be a matter of history & the traces of simple people who used to be the life & essence of this great city would be a matter of the past!

The temple was completed around 1855 and Goddess Kali was installed 31 May 1855. At the same time Ramkumar Chhattopadhyay, the elder brother of Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa, was appointed the head priest of the Dakshineswar Kali Temple.

This is one of the very early photos of the Dakshineshwar Kali Temple (from Wikimedia) taken by Samuel Bourne in the 1860s. The Kali Temples of Dakshineshwar were built on the typical Bengali architecture known as ‘Aat Chala’.

The compound of the Dakshineshwar Kali Temple has the main temple along with 12 smaller temples along the bank of the Ganges dedicated to Shiva. Later on new buildings were constructed for Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa & Sarada Ma.

There are plenty of spots around the Dakshineswar Kali Temple compound for some great photos. The temple has several water reservoirs around & the Ganges on one end also provide interesting human activities for photographers.

The first ruler of the Malla dynasty was Adi Malla (694 AD) and the last was 62nd ruler Kalipada Sinha Thakur, who ruled from 1930. Kalipada Sinha Thakur passed away on December 29th 1983 & with his death the Malla dynasty of Bishnupur came to an end.

Bishnupur today has the remains of over 28 temples including the more recent Chhinnamasta Temple as well as the Dalmadal cannon. Here are some interesting facts about the Terracotta art & the Malla Temples of Bishnupur.

Dalmadal Cannon of Bishnupur – this cannon was created in the 17th century during the Malla rule of Dhari Malla, Gopal Sinha & Bir Hambir & was used to fight the Maratha invasion by Sardar Bhaskar Pandit. The Dalmadal cannon measures approximately 12 feet in length & about a foot wide in diameter & is made out of 63 iron rings pressed together. The Dalmadal cannon was destroyed by the British but was recovered & established as a historical relic in 1919.

Chhinnamasta Temple of Bishnupur – this temple was constructed by businessman Krishnachandra Guin in 1973 & has the most unique sculpture of goddess Kali. The name of the temple comes from the fact that it houses Kali when she, out of anger, sheered her own head.

Jor Mandir Temples of Bishnupur – the 3 temples that form the Jor Mondir series of temples were constructed out of makra stones by Malla king Gopal Sinha in 1726 AD. The temples of Jor Mondir has elaborate terracotta art from the epics of Mahabharata, Ramayana & Krishna Leela.

Nandalal Temple of Bishnupur – this temple represents the most popular architecture of the Malla dynasty & the terracotta art of Bankura regions. The Nandalal temple stands with a single dome on an arched roof.

Radhamadhav Temple of Bishnupur – this temple was constructed in 1737 AD out of makra stones by Churamoni Devi, the daughter in law of the Malla ruler Gopal Sinha. The temple has elaborate terracotta sculptures of stories from Krishna Leela, Hindu Puranas & stories from the daily lives of common men of those times.

Jor Bangla Temples of Bishnupur – the terracotta temple of Jor Bangla was erected in 1655 AD by the Malla king Raghunath Sinha. The uniqueness of the Jor Bangla Temple lies in the architecture of a single dome constructed on a dual curved roof. This temple is also known as Krishnaroy Temple.

Bishnupur has over 28 such temples & monumental architectures mostly created out of makra stones & bear elaborate terracotta sculptures from the Mahabharata, Puranas & stories from the daily lives of the people of those times. The information on these temples of the Malla kingdom of Bishnupur is taken from the local historian Gunamoy Chakraborty.

These candid street portraits of the children of Kolkata are taken in various locations in the city, including the age old, traditional places of north Kolkata & along the river as well as the more modern landscapes of the affluent Salt Lake City.

All these portraits are taken with the permission of the people and those of the parents in case the subject is a minor. As a photographer from the city, it is important for me respect their privacy as I do in any other part of the world.

These candid street portraits of the children of Kolkata are taken with the professional Nikon gears in my camera bag. These images are displayed as they were shot without any digital alterations.

It’s said that the city Kolkata never says no to anyone looking to live and thousands have fallen in love with the city. It’s home to the rich and the poor alike. In this trip I wanted to photograph the children of Kolkata living their daily life. I wanted to see hope and will to live in their eyes.

Most of these candid street photographs of the children of Kolkata are done during the first 2 weeks of April 2012. These children portraits are done in various parts of the city, including a few suburban areas around Kolkata.

These candid street portraits of the children of Kolkata were taken using the Nikon D200 & Nikon 35mm 1.4 AFS & the Nikon 50mm 1.8 AFS Portrait & Street Photography lenses. These images are displayed as they were shot without any digital alterations.

The final image, when done right, will give you a sense of your subject’s motion in a certain direction, as well as abstract the finer details & make the photograph appear like a brush stroke painting.

I have done natural impressionistic photography for over 15 years now. The final image is very similar to what I would get from a well done natural impression of a flower or a landscape. Except that in the streets, there is nothing in my control!

These motion photos are done on various streets in New York City while the subjects were in motion and apparently oblivious of my camera! With a little practice you would learn how to use the zoning system on your camera to keep an acceptable focus but the main challenge comes with getting the right exposure.

I found that while photographing people in motion, it is more difficult to shoot in Black & White than in color. Black & white images tend to give extremes of exposures so you either get an acceptable image or you get none at all (either washed off or too dark to even correct the exposure in photo software).

These motion photographs are displayed as they were shot with minor changes to their dimensions & file sizes done in Apple’s iPhoto software.

The New York City street musicians are gone from the Central Park. Well at least most of them but there are a few musicians still playing in Manhattan. The frequent bouts of rain cause them to take shelters under the shop yawning or in the buildings nearby.

These black & white candid people photography in New York City is done with the usual professional photography gears in my camera bag. The photos are displayed as they were shot with minor changes to the contrast ratio & file size & resolution done in basic iPhoto.

It was a little chilli this weekend with forecast of thunder showers. But that hardly dampens the mood in the city & the Times Square was bustling as usual with tourists & couples. With all the big sale going around in the city stores, most of the people were busy tugging handbags & their prized purchases to the hotels or the train stations.

The Wollman Ice Rink is still active – more with tourists this time than the regular skaters. With the sun brightly shining down on Central Park, the rink will close very soon. The Wollman Rink is now called the Trump Wollman Skating Rink.

Most of my Central Park photography was centered around the Wollman Ice Skating Rink. It is always a challenge to photograph popular places that have been photographed millions of times, seen through millions of professional photographers’ eyes & yet find that tiny spec of opportunity that you think could be a “unique view”.

I met Benjamin who was still coming to play the Saxophone in the Central Park but not for long. He is getting back to his work this summer.

Marty’s story stands out as one sad example. For the most part of his four years life, Marty has moved from one shelter to another & had a very close call when he was brought back to the Mt Pleasant Animal Shelter from a Florida kill shelter after his adopted parent passed away!

Finally all the paper work was cleared and Karen could take Marty home. And she did that in style. A big white limousine rolled up in front of the Mount Pleasant Animal Shelter around noon and an hour later Marty was in it – going home with Karen.

The volunteers and staff at the shelter had mixed reactions – mostly happiness and a big sign of relief since Marty was scheduled to be sent over to a high kill shelter within a week if he was not adopted.

These photos were taken at the animal shelter & shows the final moments of Marty leaving the shelter, where he was for the past 2 years. Now he has a place he could call home & be with Karen who has come to love him more than ever.

Many images also has other volunteers from the Mt Pleasant Animal Shelter, including Jennifer & others, Greg Di Sessa & his daughter who had come to support the event & Carlos.

Marty now desperately needs a home and his time is running out fast. He has had a tough luck & even though he has the blessings of a lot of well wishers & sponsors, he is possibly getting a little depressed from all the time he has been at the shelter.

I sat down with Karen DAlessandro, a volunteer & ex-board member of the society, to talk about Marty for this article. Like many others, we too were drawn to his kind eyes & playful nature into sponsoring his stay at the shelter.

Marty came to the Mt Pleasant animal shelter through the Rescue Waggin’ Program which relocates dogs in need. He was adopted by an elderly family & flown to Florida. As luck would have it, his adopted parents passed away in about 4 months & Marty ended up in a high kill shelter in Florida.

The volunteers at the Mt Pleasant animal shelter raised funds to get Marty back from the jaws of death. During that time Marty had a torn ACL. It required extensive treatment & a costly operation. The staff at the Mt Pleasant animal shelter were soon at it again, tirelessly raising money for the operations.

No matter what, Marty has a strong zest for life. With so much misfortune falling on this young dog, he still remains as fond of people and as energetic as I had seen him almost 6 months back! He has recovered from the operations and could walk & run again.

Marty is now desperately waiting for a home, a family that would adopt him & give him all the love & care he needs to live his life happily. To adopt Marty or to read more of the Mount Pleasant Animal Shelter, visit their website http://www.njshelter.org/ or get in touch with the pet coordinators at info@njshelter.org.