Eyes on Thaipusam 2011

ishafizan · Jan 23, 2011

date: 20th jan 2011
location: batu caves, selangor, malaysia

"On the Thaipusam day, most devotees of Lord Murugan offer him fruits and flowers of yellow or orange color - his favorite colors and also adorn dresses of the same color. Many devotees bear milk, water, fruits and floral tributes on pails hung from a yoke and carry them on their shoulders"
http://hinduism.about.com/od/pongal/a/thaipusam.htm

- i wore a yellow tshirt. good coincidence.
- my 1st time shooting the festival
- only spent 4 hrs there b4 i ran out of space. lesson learnt :blushing:

here are 10 of fav pics taken. will definitely repeat and enjoy the experience again

1

2011_01_20_9999_358 by ishafizan, on Flickr

2.

2011_01_20_9999_270 by ishafizan, on Flickr

3.

2011_01_20_9999_93 by ishafizan, on Flickr

4.

2011_01_20_9999_451 by ishafizan, on Flickr

5.

2011_01_20_9999_389 by ishafizan, on Flickr

6.

2011_01_20_9999_287 by ishafizan, on Flickr

7.

2011_01_20_9999_309 by ishafizan, on Flickr

8.

2011_01_20_9999_676 by ishafizan, on Flickr

9.

2011_01_20_9999_21 by ishafizan, on Flickr

10.

2011_01_20_9999_749 by ishafizan, on Flickr

LaFoto · Jan 23, 2011

Good capture of the overall atmosphere.
What is it about torturing oneself, or having/getting one's hair shaved off?
It seems to be happening against someone's will in Photo 9, or so it seems.
And 8 looks horrible ... shivers down my spine. Whoa :shock: !

peeper · Jan 23, 2011

these are rich with life and color....i especially like your detail shots....

Trever1t · Jan 23, 2011

these are exquisite! You've captured the action in such detail that it makes one feel (like mentioned above) as though I am there, witnessing the procession! These are award winners for me, outstanding!

ishafizan · Jan 24, 2011

LaFoto said:
Good capture of the overall atmosphere.
What is it about torturing oneself, or having/getting one's hair shaved off?
It seems to be happening against someone's will in Photo 9, or so it seems.
And 8 looks horrible ... shivers down my spine. Whoa :shock: !

- Devotees shave their heads bald as a sacrifice their God during Thaipusam. A sign of humility and devotion.
heh, took 4 people to hold the child steady. no worries, it was all smiles after that.
For some time when i looked at thaipusam pics on the web, i found it quite horrifying looking at the body mutilations, but after some research, i began to understand the tradition and culture. 4 hours being there physically changed my perseptions. My summary: It is abt finding your inner strength, self sacrifice, self reflect, great endurance, victory and most importantly the expression of love. Not my place to question how they express it

peeper said:
these are rich with life and color....i especially like your detail shots....

Thank you. I try not to overdo it

i'm experimenting with canon's Picture Style Editor for the colors/saturations/hue, viveza in cs4 and picasa for crop ... overkill, i know hehe had too much free time during the weekend

Trever1t said:
these are exquisite! You've captured the action in such detail that it makes one feel (like mentioned above) as though I am there, witnessing the procession! These are award winners for me, outstanding!

oh wow, U are very kind! :hug::