Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON
When I was in India about three months ago, it was just a quick trip and I was in the country for less than a week. This was taken on my last day, en route from Dehra Dun to New Delhi, to catch my flight home in time for Christmas. We had stopped for breakfast on a cold morning and I made the most of a ten-minute opportunity to wander around and take some pictures of a country I love so dearly. I was concentrating on something by the side of the highway when I turned around and saw this cycle rickshaw go past.
I didn't even have time to change my focal length, so I just swung the camera up and fired off this shot. The cyclist had a thick jumper/pullover under his shirt and a cloth wrapped under his chin and over his head to protect his head and ears from the chill. The load of fresh vegetables was so heavy and took up so much space that the passenger had nowhere to sit. Instead, he stood precariously balanced on the back of the cycle.
The early morning haze on a North Indian winter morning can be a challenging equation for a photographer, but I would have missed the essence of this shot if I'd fiddled with the settings on my camera. Take a look at the long shadow behind the cycle rickshaw and you'll understand just how shallow the angle of the sun was at the time.
(The Odd Shots concept came from Katney. Say "G'day" to her.)
