Wearing Fancy Sunglasses

Sunglasses aka shades aka sunnies are ubiquitous: (i) part eye protectors, (ii) part disguise, (iii) part fashion statement.

(i) They offer protection against excessive exposure to light, including its visible (e.g. glare) and invisible components. The most widespread protection is against ultraviolet radiation, which can cause short-term and long-term ocular problems. For adequate UV protection, experts recommend sunglasses that reflect or filter out 99 % or more of UV light with wavelengths up to 400 nm.

(ii) Sunglasses can also be worn to hide one's eyes. They can make eye contact impossible, which can be irritating to those not wearing sunglasses. Eye contact can be avoided even more effectively by using mirrored sunglasses. Sunglasses can be used to hide eye movements and emotions since many facial expressions involve the eyes. In all cases, hiding one's eyes has implications for nonverbal communication: sunnies may slightly obscure our view of the world, but they also hide the world's view of how we are feeling.

(iii) Fashion trends can be another reason for wearing sunglasses, particularly designer sunglasses from high-end fashion brands. Sunglasses of particular shapes may be in vogue as a fashion accessory. Fashion trends can also draw on the association with a particular lifestyle. Worn equally by men and women, sunnies can simultaneously say we are funny, cool, trendy, mysterious, intimidating... Once more, the map isn’t the territory and human projection prevails.

For taking street portraits of people with sunglasses, aperture-priority mode (f/2.8 ... f/4.5) and single-point auto focus might be a practical beginning, before one decides to shoot in manual mode. If necessary, changing the angle/position of the subject and/or the camera might help to avoid unwanted reflections.

(iv) Mirrored sunglasses with a reflective optical coating on the outside of the lenses are also useful impromptu props for self portraits.

Portrait photographs with exif data, geotags and other specs in Matt Hahnewald's

Flickr Album 2015-03b Doubling Down on Doubles

Powdering the Face with Holy Ash

Vibhuti, also called bhasma, is the sacred ash which is used in Āgamic rituals as ceremonial make-up. It supposedly raises one’s spiritual power and is used as a constant reminder of the Shaivite sadhu’s or devotee’s own mortality. The most powerful sacred ash comes from cremation grounds. If this ash is not available, the next alternative is to use cow dung or rice husk. This is indicative that the body is not the core substance, it is just the husk.

Hindu devotees apply their vibhuti traditionally on their faces, their hair, their beards and all over their bodies, or as three horizontal lines across the forehead to honor Shiva. Three horizontal stripes of vibhuti smeared across the forehead to the end of both eyebrows is often called tripundra.

"Today’s ashes are tomorrow’s soil."

(acc. to Craig D. Lounsbrough)

High-res portrait photographs with full exif data, geotags and technical details in Matt Hahnewald's

Flickr Album 2017-02b Partying at Shivratri Mela

Flickr Album 2016-02b Rambling Around Arunachala Hill

Flickr Album 2016-02a Facing Lively Tamil Nadu

Flickr Album 2011-04a Depicting Tamil Nadu's Sadhus

Flickr Album 2014-12a Humanising India's Cow Belt

Circumambulating Arunachala Hill

The 814m-high Arunachala Hill aka Red Mountain is a holy hill at Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu. The hill is also known by the names Annamalai Hill, Arunachalam, Arunai, Sonagiri, and Sonachalam. It is one of the five main Shaivite holy places in South India. The Annamalaiyar Temple, a Shiva temple which is famous for its massive gopurams, some of which reach as high as 66 m, is located at the base of the hill.

Over the centuries, many devotees, pilgrims, saints, sages, and sadhus have been drawn to the Arunachala Hill. Throughout the year, they engage in the circumambulation of both Annamalaiyar Temple and Arunachala Hill, a sacred practise known as Giri Pradakshina in Sanskrit and Giri Valam in Tamil, considered to be beneficial in all ways, and an effective form of basic yoga. There are eight small shrines of lingams located in the 14 km circumference of the hill, each one associated with the twelve moon signs and manned by gangs of characterful sadhus in all shades of orange...

There are c. 5 million sadhus in India today and they are widely respected for their holiness. About 200 of them live in caves, shacks, shrines, and under the open sky at the foot of Arunachala Hill. It is thought that their austere practices help to burn off their karma and that of the community at large. Thus mostly seen as benefiting society, these sadhus are supported by donations from many devotees and pilgrims. However, sadhus have also often been viewed with a certain degree of suspicion since posing as a sadhu at popular pilgrimage sites can be a good means of acquiring income for non-devout beggars and charlatans. There are many shades of orange in India.

High-res portrait photographs with full exif data, geotags and technical details in Matt Hahnewald's
Flickr Album 2016-02b Rambling Around Arunachala Hill

Flickr Album 2016-02a Facing Lively Tamil Nadu

Flickr Album 2014-11a Bribing Sadhus from Nepal

Flickr Album 2011-04a Depicting Tamil Nadu's Sadhus

Flickr Album 2014-12a Humanising India's Cow Belt

Making Decisions in Tamil Nadu

There are two different types of environmental or street portraits, (i) interactive (aka "posed") street portraits, and (ii) so-called candid (aka "natural") street portraits. The vast majority of my portraits in Facing the World are interactive portraits, based on well-established rapport, mutual trust and respect, which includes the explicit permission from the subject to snap her or his portrait and upload it to the web, e.g. to Flickr.

(i) An interactive aka "posed" portrait is generally more than a (candid) snapshot, but a composed image of a person in a still position which includes a more or less meaningful background. It shows the subject looking directly at the photographer in order to most successfully engage the subject with the viewer. There is always eye contact between the subject and the viewer:

(ii) A so-called candid aka "natural" portrait tends to objectify the photographed, usually unaware subject, is often ethically questionable (e.g. paparazzi) and sometimes merely the symptom of a socially incompetent and/or insecure photographer.

At rare occasions, the shooting of such a portrait might be justified when the subject's eyes are busy with something other than the photographer (e.g. reading a newspaper, examining an object, interacting with third parties):

Reactions to candid photography differ between cultures and societies, and even where restrictions on photography are not covered by statute, code, or judicial precedent, there may be resistance to the taking of photographs by individuals. The breach of the social norms can result in opprobrium, danger, and violence, and as such should be noted and respected.

Portrait photographs of Hindu devotees from Tamil Nadu in Matt Hahnewald's

Flickr Album 2016-02a Facing Lively Tamil Nadu

Portrait photographs of sadhus from Nepal in Matt Hahnewald's

Flickr Album 2014-11a Bribing Sadhus from Nepal

Portrait photographs of sadhus from Tamil Nadu in Matt Hahnewald's

Flickr Album 2011-04a Depicting Tamil Nadu's Sadhus

Portrait photographs of sadhus from Varanasi in Matt Hahnewald's

Flickr Album 2014-12a Humanising India's Cow Belt

Even more ethnic street portraits from all over the world in Matt Hahnewald's

Flickr Albums Facing the World