My mission is to create an album from the pictures of our trip to India last year. Personal projects have taken a backseat and I finally got inspired to work on them for the blog carousel with some talented photographer friends this month. The theme is “texture” and with my love of all things old I thought I would work on one of the images from this series. The series was photographed at Cafe Britannia in Mumbai. Britannia is a popular Irani restaurant located in an charming business neighborhood in the city. I loved this place with its paint-peeling walls, vaulted ceilings, homey atmosphere, and most of all the adorable 88 year old owner Boman Irani that came around to chat with the patrons at the restaurant. He had a story to tell and share pictures from the days of the British in India to a letter from Queen Elizabeth. And his son, Afshin was kind enough to let me take photos thanks to my brother Abodh’s connection with him.

Only the top image has a texture play (as it takes some time to manipulate the image). The image is compiled with a couple of textures I photographed in India as well and manipulated in Photoshop. I thought the story wouldn’t be complete if I only posted a single image and the images are so rich with texture even without my play on it. Besides it got me working on the rest of the images for the album. At the bottom of the post I will share the textures used for the image above. Back the carousel entries…be sure to journey on to the next carousel entry by Corey, Atlanta children’s photographer.

Boman Irani holding paper with Queen Elizabeth story

Below are the two textures used in creating the first image in this post. If you would like to play with them yourself, drop me a line with your email and I will send them your way! One of my favorites textured images is this holiday card from last year.

A few impromptu photos of the cousins with my little man during our recent visit to the Marin Headlands after a stop at Muir Woods. The kids spent a little time being silly, laughing, and letting me take a few photos in this lovely meadow. These photos are a mix of digital and film that I have been exploring for personal work. Brings back memories of my good old days of shooting film back in college and through art school when there was no digital camera. The last image is a cameo appearance of me with my family that my sister-in-law was kind enough to take after setting up my camera for her.

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This blog carousel is about hope. Just a little over two weeks ago Jen Burgess Thompson, a photographer friend and mom to two boys was diagnosed with Stage 3 Ovarian Cancer. She has touched so many lives by sharing her story publicly before and after her surgery. She has motivated so many to take charge of their health and aptly so in the Ovarian Cancer Awareness month. You can read about her journey so far on her blog Am I Still A Girl and also watch this incredible video we won’t be defeated. The video contains beautiful images of Jen and her family captured by three amazing photographers Kevin Kubota, Benjamin Edwards and Craig Strong. Also, in my thoughts is my friend Kerry. Her husband Noel was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer in April 2011 which has metastasized to the liver. It is  too late for life saving surgery but Kerry and Noel along with their two beautiful kids are making the best of their time together. They renewed their vows in a beautiful ceremony on their anniversary date of August 18th. Jen and Kerry could use your thoughts, prayers and support. If you would like to donate please visit Jen’s blog and Kerry’s webpage.

For this post of hope I chose to share some images that celebrate Kerry and Jen’s faith in Christianity. Most of my family practices Hinduism, my sister-in-law Christianity and I follow the Buddhist faith which indicates how various religions coexist in India. These photos are from my last year’s trip to India with my son. The first set of images were taken at Basilica of Bom Jesus, a popular church in Old Goa. As one of the oldest churches in India it is also a World Heritage Monument. It symbolizes the spirit of hope that is offered to thousands that walk through the doors and light candles. The hand you see holding the candle is my son’s as we made our own offerings during our visit. The second set of images were taken at a tiny church called St. Joseph’s in Panchgani. It was a beautiful, serene church that my brother took us too. The church was closed when we stopped by yet the groundskeeper was kind enough to open it for us. As you can imagine, it was a perfect opportunity for me to take a few photos

Please be sure to make your way around the blog carousel to check out various interpretations of hope by amazing photographers around the globe. Next up is Julie Tauro, Kitchener Waterloo Child, Family, and high school senior photographer.