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Nirbhay Kuppu's picture

Dalit Woman

Shot this with an Apurture Mini 20 & Gold reflector on the Gh5.

I was in a remote part of India shooting a documentary about the Devadasi temple maidens. While I was out there I encountered this woman.

Her family had died a few years before the encounter, she is part of a caste that is considered poor or untouchable. They were so lowly that a cemetery for the cremation of these bodies wasn't available to her. She had to bury her family in her own house where this image was shot.

This really got to her, she decided to fight the government and eventually managed to get a graveyard for all the Dalit people in her village.

It's always a pleasure meeting people of strength like her.

Let me know what i can improve.

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3 Comments

Thank you for sharing her story. In general I like the strong light, it fits the upward look and her resolute expression. Ideally perhaps a bit more light into her left (image right) eye socket to see the other eye a bit more. Depending on the RAW, even just a touch of editing might make it less of a dark socket. I think the choice of the gold reflector was perfect here, I love the color feel of it.

She doesnt have an eye in that socket I thought filling it up might be in poor taste you know?

You know, I wondered because of the shaping, but didn't want to jump to that conclusion. I could see it going either way - a further sign of her strength in what she has overcome, or a distraction away from the theme.