N. Sukumar, APSA
May 2024 - Elephant procession, Kerala
About the Image(s)
Welcoming the Elephant procession, Thrippatta Bhagavathi temple, Kerala
18 decorated elephants gathered in an open field and proceeded in a grand procession to the Thrippatta Bhagavathi temple, in the little village of Kulapully, Kerala, accompanied by dozens of musicians and drummers, several masked dancers and tens of thousands of people. The entire festival lasted over 7 hours. Each little temple in Kerala has its own special festival, on its own special dates - making it a year-round celebration across the communist-governed tropical state popularly known as God's Own Country (irony is dead!)
Canon EOS XTi with Tamron 10-24 mm lens @ 24 mm. f/22 @ 1/200 sec. ISO: 1600.
8 comments posted
Sukumar, your photographs are always so interesting and colorful. Your description is an elephant procession, and indeed I see a little of the front of the elephants, and the tops of of the musicians and dancers, but I would like to have seen a broader view, showing more of the people and the elephants. The idea of a procession is lost by such a close up image. With your wide angle lens you were obviously very close to the procession, so maybe you couldn't have backed up to show us more, but I think it would have told us more of the event. Posted: 05/11/2024 10:02:25
oh, I have probably 150+ images from the festival, which lasted 7+ hours. You'll get to see wide views, front views, side views (I'll spare you the rear views) in following months until you scream for mercy! But I find this compositionally the strongest. Perhaps the title is misleading, but I didn't expect folks to get distracted by the title. Titles aren't shown during PSA salons. Posted: 05/19/2024 09:28:39
I agree with Michael's comments. After reading your description I was disappointed that I couldn't see the elephants themselves and just got the tops of heads etc. Obviously it would have been nice to get a side position of the elephants instead of head on over so many people's heads. I'm sure there were lots and lots of people so these must be challenging to get good photos unless you are perched above. You are lucky to have so many colorful festivals to attend. Posted: 05/11/2024 11:33:02
oh, I have probably 150+ images from the festival, which lasted 7+ hours. You'll get to see wide views, front views, side views (I'll spare you the rear views) in following months until you scream for mercy! But I find this compositionally the strongest. Perhaps the title is misleading, but I didn't expect folks to get distracted by the title. Titles aren't shown during PSA salons. Posted: 05/19/2024 09:29:10
Great image of the procession. Everything is so colorful. Do the elephants like to do this? Posted: 05/14/2024 17:58:24
Probably not, but they have little choice. The videos (on my FB and IG pages) show it far worse, as you can hear the horrendous din. Every once in a while some elephants decide they've had enough, and literally freak out. Domesticated elephants killed 196 people in the state of Kerala, mainly at festival venues, between 2011 and 2023. Thechikottukavu Ramachandran alone has killed 13 people in the past two decades, but still remains popular: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/wild-or-captive-elephants-remain-major-killers-in-kerala/article67835645.ece Posted: 05/19/2024 09:20:11
Esther Steffens
What interesting festivals and processions you have in India and I like your descriptions! I also would like to see a wider view of the grand procession. What you show us is technically well done. I know it is not always possible to get the perfect view.
. Posted: 05/15/2024 21:27:51
. Posted: 05/15/2024 21:27:51
oh, I have probably 150+ images from the festival, which lasted 7+ hours. You'll get to see wide views, front views, side views (I'll spare you the rear views) in following months until you scream for mercy! But I find this compositionally the strongest. Perhaps the title is misleading, but I didn't expect folks to get distracted by the title. Titles aren't shown during PSA salons. Posted: 05/19/2024 09:29:27