Early Morning on the Ganges River

The Ghats are great stones steps lining the edge of the city of Varanasi, these steps take you down to the waters edge of the Ganges river. From our sunrise morning cruise you could see people praying, bathing, washing their clothes, practicing yoga and meditating. There seemed to be many Brahman set apart along the steps, while they went about their morning routines. (The Brahman are of the highest in the Hindu priestly caste system.) Many of these Brahman were meditating and soaking in the morning sun, except for this fellow. He seemed to have his sights set on something going on in the distance and was set in stone for a great while. I became a bit mesmerized myself and it took me a bit to bring up my camera and get the shot. He just looked so damn cool!

I really enjoyed the play of light, along with the diagonals created by the steps and shadows. I also love that this shot could almost look like I put an orange filter on it in post. This is all natural light, morning sunrise, orange wrap, ancient carved stone and his skin tone all start to blend together in a soft and warm texture.