The Performer

She danced. She danced beautifully. This little village girl who may never have set foot in Colombo danced to a film song as well as the children in the original, or possibly even better. But she didn't dance alone. There were others in the group. Taller than her. She was small, danced so well but was put in a corner, in the back row, while those with fairer skin and long hair were given center-stage. But she didn't seem to mind. Didn't seem to even notice. She was immersed in the music, looked like the only one who was completely at ease on the stage and seemed to thoroughly enjoy the performance. There were other girls covering her presence but what mattered was that the audience noticed only her ! She was amazing and she stole my heart.

This shot was taken after she had changed her dance clothes. She blushed adorably when I told her how beautifully she danced.

At Thalaawa, Anuradhapura.

Little stranger at the Perahera

There's not much to say about this face except that she's the unknown little girl who tapped on my shoulder while I was super busy trying to compose a shot at the Sri Dalada Perahera this year. She was with her family, seated next to me and she was looking at me with this priceless expression on her face when I gave her my attention upon being interrupted. Well... how could I possibly say 'no' to this look on any child's face? Therefore, one quick shot, this one, and some words to her mischievous self and I was engrossed in the Perahera once again.

Portraits like this do not happen often. Only a child could smile with all this innocence in front of a camera (and perhaps a very old man or woman) and even then you cannot force it out of them. When moments like this happen, and when I get a portrait like this off my camera, I realize why I sometimes like to click faces even though I try to tell myself often (with arrogance of course) that I am beyond snapping faces and calling it photography. After all, my 10 year old niece takes really great portraits too !

As for the technicalities of it, this photograph is meant to be in colour. This is not a good candidate for black and white. The lighting, the mood, her expression...... everything requires this portrait to be in colour. That's something a photographer must be good at deciding.

Hope you like my little stranger as much as I do.

An entertaining healer

A dancer/performer in a discussion with an animated expression while waiting backstage for the show to begin. The performance is a traditional Sri Lankan dance ritual called 'Daha Ata Sanniya' which translates to 'eighteen kinds of ailments'. Most traditional rituals are connected to sicknesses and healing through spiritual beliefs. 'Daha Ata Sanniya' is a little different in that it is aimed at entertaining rather than healing. It keeps the spectator humoured throughout the entire show through satire although each performance talks of ailments and their related traditional spiritual beliefs. There are various devils connected to various illnesses similar to most other dance rituals.

In shows such as these, the best photographic opportunities come on backstage. You get to see these talented artists in a different light. These are age-old traditions and in most cases the tradition is passed on from father to son (or daughter). In Sri Lanka, there are entire families of traditional dancers and the students treat their teachers as gods. As such, it is important when you visit them backstage, to honour them and to remember they are highly honoured veteran artists of the country. If you want to photograph them, ask their permission. Almost always they will oblige willingly with a smile.

Anneka and her talking eyes

My dear friend and brilliant photographer Anoop Negi once wrote this about my photography at a time I did not think there was anything extraordinary in my portraits:
"What really is the definitive artist in Hiranya Malwatta is her heart stopping portraits. She captures these with a rare sensitivity that shows up in the image. Her portraits speak to you, eye to eye."

I still do not really know if I do any justice to my subjects. No matter how people always compliment the photographer, something I strongly believe when it comes to photographing faces (closeups) is that 90% of the work and credit belongs to the subject and it is very little that the photographer has to do in natural portraits. Identifying a good subject is mostly the tricky part and once you have this with you, rest is pretty easy for a photographer.

My subject here is a little girl who's blessed with a beautiful face and incredible talking eyes to go with.