Legend has it that a group of sages on the island of Divar in Goa undertook penance to propitiate Shiva. It took seven crore (sapta-kot) years for the Great Yogi to take notice of their exertions. When He finally showed up, the sages petitioned Him to take up residence in the village of Naroa (also called Narve). Thus came about the great temple of Saptakoteshwar in Naroa-Divar, one that enjoys a special place in the Goan psyche for its singular role in our land’s turbulent history.

Saptakoteshwar weathered intrusions first by the Bahmani sultans, and later by the Portuguese who destroyed it. The first mass conversion of Goan Hindus to Christianity took place here on August 15, 1560, cleverly engineered by the Portuguese on the day of Gokulashtami, traditionally the most important celebration at the temple. The provenance of one of Goa‘s popular folk tunes, Hanv Saiba poltodi vaita, can be traced to this event.

At the original temple site in Naroa-Divar today stands the Chapel of Our Lady of Candelaria, and nearby lie the remains of the temple tank. The ancient linga has its own tale of woes to tell, even serving as a pulley for a nearby well. Finally it made its way across the river to be reinstalled at a new site which came to be known as New Naroa, today’s Narve in Bicholim taluka. The temple was restored by Shivaji in 1668.

Saptakoteshwar Temple at Narve, Goa
5D, 24-105L

Saptakoteshwar
5D, 24-105L

Saptakoteshwar Temple by Mario Miranda
(Reproduced with permission of the Mario Gallery)

Temple musician Dattaram Ramkrishna Narvekar
5D, 24-105L

The renowned Goan cartoonist and illustrator Mario Miranda passed away today in his village of Loutulim, Goa.

Mario-bab was an old world Goan and had in him that inestimable quality of graciousness. He was known best for his brilliant depiction of Goa and his political satire. His canvas was often ‘busy’ but insofar as Goa is concerned, it reflected Mario‘s deep love for his Goan homeland, his insight into its culture, and his attention to detail.

One morning in 2007 when my wife and I dropped by unannounced at his house in Loutolim, he was kind enough to spend time with us, and presented us a signed copy of his book, GOA with love.

Mario Miranda
5D, 70-200L f/2.8 IS

Mario Miranda in his study at Loutolim, Goa
5D, 70-200L f/2.8 IS

GOA with love (our signed copy)

Rao re! Rao re! (Stop! Stop!)

Silicon Valley legend Steve Wozniak (“Woz”) is one of the pioneers of the personal computer revolution. He co-founded Apple Computer in 1976 along with Steve Jobs. It was Woz, the engineering genius, who designed and built the company’s first products, the Apple I and Apple II.

I met Woz and his charming wife Janet last evening for a photo session in Los Gatos, California.

Steve Wozniak
5D Mark II, 85L II

Woz
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 100 f/2 Makro Planar

Steve and Janet Wozniak
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 50 f/2 Makro Planar

Added: The following shot is my favourite. However, it was taken at f/1.8, resulting in a very shallow depth of field that throws the nose distractingly out of focus.

Woz
5D Mark II, 85L II

An assistant ferryman on the job on the Mandovi river in Goa.

Caetano Sapeco of St Cruz, Goa
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 100 f/2 Makro Planar

These are images of Nirmalabai Jadhav made one late evening in Korgaon in north Goa. She was crossing the village square when I first noticed her. When I went up and asked if she would agree to a portrait, she was moved to tears.

Nirmala Jadhav of Korgaon, Goa
5D Mark II, 135L

Crossing the street
5D Mark II, 135L

Nirmalabai
5D Mark II, 135L

For over 1000 years, the Icelandic sheep has remained a pure breed. Raised wholly on natural mountain grass and without hormones, the quality of Icelandic wool and lamb meat is rated to be the finest in the world. The annual sheep roundup in September, known as réttir, is an important cultural tradition, an occasion for both work and celebration, where families and friends gather on farms all over the country to participate in the ritual to track down, corral and sort the animals.

Traffic jam on the Ring Road near Höfn
5D Mark II, 24-105L

Herding sheep on the Ring Road near Höfn
5D Mark II, 24-105L

Curious - at Núpsstaður
5D Mark II, 24-105L

Icelandic lamb - at Gerði
5D Mark II, 85L II

The annual autumn roundup - at Skaftartungur
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

As soon as I saw the figure of Mahadeo Bali one evening in Korgaon, I knew that I had a great subject for a portrait. The first image below is a candid, moments before he saw me with the lens pointed at him. There is something very Goan about him. Men of this manner and look won’t be around for long.

Mahadeo Bali of Korgaon, Goa
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 50 f/2 Makro Planar

Mahadeo Bali
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 100 f/2 Makro Planar

We had a close shave with the barber of Korgaon sometime ago. Today we meet Suresh Hiroji, the tailor of Korgaon, an enchanting village in north Goa. Once the staple of all, rich and poor, bespoke has now gone out of fashion. Hiroji and his tribe are on their last legs but the perpetual grin on his visage is eternal.

The first two images below were taken in July this year. In the first, a candid seen from the street, the logo of the Merritt sewing machine invented by Isaac Singer is visible. The final image was made in 2009, at a shutter speed of 1/20s, a demonstration of the excellent image stabilization capabilities of Canon’s EF 24-105L lens.

Suresh Hiroji, the tailor of Korgaon
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 100 f/2 Makro Planar

Suresh Hiroji
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 100 f/2 Makro Planar

The Art of Bespoke
5D Mark II, 24-105L

I must have accrued a small credit of positive karma when we got to Látrabjarg, for we were fortunate to spend some glorious moments in the company of the midnight sun. Látrabjarg is Iceland‘s (and Europe’s) westernmost point and one of the world’s great bird cliffs.

In the summer months at these high latitudes, the sun lingers over the horizon for quite a while around midnight, showering upon the landscape an ethereal stream of honey-dipped photons. It makes for a scene that is pure manna to just about anyone with a soul.

The photographs in this post summarize our magical night out in Látrabjarg earlier this June.

Puffins in the light of the midnight sun
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

Up close in Látrabjarg
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

Bathed in the magic light
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

Puffin love (Note: the golden light got switched off temporarily)
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

A fellow photographer
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

Future steaks on a midnight stroll
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

Börkur Hrólfsson
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

View from Látrabjarg
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

I am a recent convert to the religion of Zeiss, and my initial experience suggests that I will be keeping the faith for a long time to come.

The two Zeiss lenses currently in my bag are the ZE 50mm f/2 Makro Planar and the ZE 100mm f/2 Makro Planar, both manual focus lenses designed for the Canon EF mount. This glass is versatile and delivers exceptional image quality across a variety of regimes – Portraiture, Macro, as well as Landscape. Making photographs with such precision crafted tools is a great pleasure.

My entry into the Zeiss fold may be laid at the door of Diglloyd (aka Lloyd Chambers) and his definitive guide to Zeiss lenses (thanks Lloyd!).

My niece Saraswati (@ f/2)
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 100 f/2 Makro Planar

Wide open at f/2, nailing the focus is critical to a successful image.

My nephew Yash and niece Saraswati in Quitala, Goa (@ f/5.6)
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 50 f/2 Makro Planar

The dark patch at the top edge of the frame is a heavy monsoon cloud, not an artifact of lens vignetting.