Out of the Ordinary

Closeup of an old, textured wooden door with metal handles, locks and words painted in hindi

Black and white photographs focusing on ordinary sights in and around the heritage city of Jaipur, India.

Ordinary Photographs was the name Mayank gave to his photoblog when he began exploring his hometown with a camera, upon returning to Jaipur (Rajasthan, India) in 2005, after 14 years. While the city seemed to explode with a multitude of subjects, what caught his attention were ordinary or day-to-day sights. Kites stuck on wires, electricity poles, old doors, birds and streets — all became subjects in the larger context of a historical / heritage city.

The images were shot from an artistic viewpoint, using compact digital cameras. They were interpreted in black-and-white and posted on the blog (from 2006 to 2008). In March 2008, 21 selected images from the photoblog were showcased to the people of Jaipur at a solo show of photographs titled Out of the Ordinary. It was held at Jawahar Kala Kendra in the city.

These black and white photographs are available as limited edition digital prints on Epson or Hahnemühle archival fine art papers (Edition: 24). Print sizes: 22 × 16 / 20 x 15 / 16 × 12 inches for rectangular images and 16 × 16 / 15 x 15 / 12 × 12 inches for square format images.

Birds sitting on overhead wires in a dark, narrow lane with old buildings on both sides
Pigeons roosting for the night at Ram Lala-ji Ka Rasta
An electricity pole loaded with wires, a tube-light and some bulbs
Electrical profusion, near Johri Bazaar
Looking up at Ajmeri gate, with a kite stuck and pigeons sitting on wires above
Freshly painted Ajmeri Gate, pigeons and a kite!
A textured wooden door with metal handles, a chain, locks and words painted in hindi
Close-up of a charming, old wooden door at a walled city market
Silhouette of pigeons sitting on street lights incorporating traditional Jaipur architecture
Pigeons on street lights at Johri Bazaar, at dusk
Parked two wheelers in perspective, some street traffic behind them, and a market on both sides
A somewhat vacant road on a hot June afternoon, at Bapu Bazaar
Jal Mahal and its reflection in the still lake below, faintly visible through haze
Jal Mahal or Water Palace at Maan Sagar lake, on a misty morning
View of a street with shops on both sides and a barren hill in the background with the fort on top
Children playing on a street leading to Nahargarh Fort
Several wooden stools lying on top of one another, over a gunny sack
Wooden stools for repair, outside a shop in Aatish Market
Combined silhouettes of an electricity pole, overhead wires, a street lamp, a kite and a leafless tree
A street melange!
People walking below overhead wires lit-up by the sun, in an otherwise dark lane
Typical atmosphere at a narrow lane in the Jaipur walled city
A heavily textured, closed wooden door locked by a chain
A beautiful, centuries old wooden door in the walled city
Landscape photo of Amer with old temples in the foreground and ramparts on hills in the background
Part of the historic Amer town, in afternoon light
Fill-frame shot from a hill, of lots of houses below, and two poles connected by wires leading to them
Poles that carry electricity to the forts, against a backdrop of city dwellings
A temporary stove, charred and supported by stones on its sides
Makeshift stove assembled with pavement tiles, seen one evening near Rambagh crossing
Artistic silhouette of trees with intricate, intermingling vertical branches
Leafless ‘Dhok’ — Anogeissus pendula — trees in silhouette, near Nahargarh Fort
Silhouette of two children on the roof of a building, with electricity wires criss-crossing above
Children flying kites from a terrace in the Jaipur walled city, at dusk
High contrast photograph chock-a-block with parked motorbikes (in the foreground) and people
Bikes and people, at Gopal-ji Ka Rasta, one afternoon
Silhouette of many birds resting on top of thin-leaved tree branches
Rosy Starlings — Pastor roseus — at Central Park, one evening
Dark, grainy photo of a cycle rickshaw in the middle of a near empty road lit up by a street light
A quiet lane in Bapu Nagar on a winter evening

Posted in Categories: Black & White Photography, Jaipur and Urban Photography

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