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Girish Menon
India
Nominee
"Kerala"
I got interested in 'snake boat racing' in Kerala and decided to photograph the training and practice rather than the race itself. The race takes place in August but practice begins in June. I reached Kerala four days prior to the race and hired a small boat to take me through canals where I could closely photograph these teams going through their practice.
I found it difficult to communicate with local people and so never really got a clear idea of their timings, routes and rules & regulations. My every question was answered with a "Yes" irrespective of whether or not they understood the question. For all my efforts trying to chase snake boats, I got one photo that I liked but it was not of a snake boat!
On my last evening there, I sat on one of the temporary stands that had been set up (the race was scheduled for the following evening) and made this photograph.
It shows how I really felt… distant from the action that I wanted to photograph!
Biography: Girish Menon has been an editorial fine art photographer since 2002.
A solo-backpacking trip from Mumbai across the Southern tip of India way back in 2003, turned life around for Menon. Having set off with a camera and 30 rolls of film, this I.T. programmer discovered a world he didn�t know existed; an organic world � simple, pristine and beautiful.
As an explorer, Menon �saw strange places and met stranger people�. Life was never the same again. Formal training in photography immediately followed. The young lens man travelled through Maharashtra, publishing numerous photo essays...
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