NZPhotographer Issue 53, March 2022
As of December 2022, NZPhotographer magazine is only available when you purchase an annual or monthly subscription via the NZP website. Find out more: www.nzphotographer.nz As of December 2022, NZPhotographer magazine is only available when you purchase an annual or monthly subscription via the NZP website. Find out more: www.nzphotographer.nz
From the Road: Karachi by Susan Blick For this edition of From the Road I’m in Karachi, Pakistan’s biggest and most chaotic city. It’s dusty and dirty, it’s exciting and at times a little scary, but the message from the man on the street is overwhelmingly “welcome to Pakistan”. They call this coastal city in southern Pakistan the City of Lights, but I’d beg to differ and would call it the City of Food! In the 1960s and 70s Karachi was famed for its bustling nightlife and cosmopolitan club scene but today, most of that has disappeared. A street food scene has blossomed in its place with night vendors barbecuing and wok-frying a range of amazing dishes that you never knew originated in Pakistan. Without a doubt, Pakistan and Karachi in particular see very few tourists, the country receiving a bad wrap from western governments and media for a very long time, a lot of it warranted, but just as we don’t judge our people on the few bad apples in our countries we shouldn’t judge them. Pakistanis are very friendly and helpful and although they sometimes look quite serious, that is just their ‘proud face’. Pakistanis love having their photos taken so if you’re a street portrait specialist you should definitely consider coming to Pakistan as a passing ‘asalam aliekum’ (hello) soon turns into a gesture to please photograph me. If you’ve been to India then from a photography standpoint you’ll understand Pakistan, it’s all life being lived on the street in front of you. It’s a manic kind of mayhem just waiting for you to photograph it. It’s people lining up to get in your shots whether that be a selfie with you or a portrait. There are three distinct areas in which to get the most from your visit from a photographic standpoint – the markets, the Arabian Sea coastline, and Burns Road Food Street. Late afternoon produces long shadows along Burns Road as a rickshaw passes. Canon 6D Mk1, Canon 16-35mm F/2.8L III USM lens @ F4, 1/200s, ISO100, 23mm 58 March 2022 NZPhotographer
MARKETS There are several market areas from where to start your photographic adventure. Close to the city centre and Saddar Town is the best and easiest to access market built under the reign of Queen Victoria, a beautiful colonial building called Empress Market. Here you can find fruit and vegetable sellers, nuts, spices and grains, dry goods, in fact, all kinds of food products. The stallholders are very friendly, many speak some basic English and all are happy to be photographed. It’s really such a pleasure to be in cities or countries where a motion towards the camera always produces a yes, please photograph me, and his friend lines up and says, me too! A good walkabout lens is always handy in these predicaments, any focal range from 24-105mm will cover most situations. I put on my 50mm for something different and instead of using the zoom to frame my shot, moved my feet. It’s often good for the creative mind to put the onus on yourself to capture the composition you’re after instead of having the luxury of zooming in or out to fill the frame. I found this worked well and using my lens’ wide aperture created some nice background bokeh in my shots. ARABIAN SEA COASTLINE Blessed with a beautiful, but sadly neglected coastline Karachi has what has to be the craziest beach in all the world, Clifton Beach, Seaview! All day long and well into sunset the beach where the gentle waves of the Arabian Sea reach the shore is lined with all the excitement of a carnival. There are camels, horses, dune buggies, men selling chaat (snacks), drinks, balloons, and there are families and domestic tourists by the thousands all day and every evening long. Just being there is like participating in a show. As the sun sets across the Arabian Sea you can silhouette a passing camel, and photograph all the carnival happenings as you witness something that you’ll see nowhere else. Your best lens here is both a landscape lens with a wide focal length and a telephoto even up to 200mm so as to separate the subject from the foreground and compress the distance between your subject and the setting sun. My advice, go twice with a different set up on each occasion if you’re not lucky enough or comfortable carrying two bodies and lenses. Delicious chicken tikka on skewers for the evening diners at Burns Road. Canon 6D Mk1, Canon 16-35mm F/2.8L III USM lens @ F2.8, 1/160s, ISO500, 19mm NZPhotographer March 2022 59
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From the Road: Karachi<br />
by Susan Blick<br />
For this edition of From the Road I’m in Karachi,<br />
Pakistan’s biggest and most chaotic city. It’s dusty<br />
and dirty, it’s exciting and at times a little scary,<br />
but the message from the man on the street is<br />
overwhelmingly “welcome to Pakistan”.<br />
They call this coastal city in southern Pakistan the City<br />
of Lights, but I’d beg to differ and would call it the City<br />
of Food! In the 1960s and 70s Karachi was famed for<br />
its bustling nightlife and cosmopolitan club scene but<br />
today, most of that has disappeared. A street food<br />
scene has blossomed in its place with night vendors<br />
barbecuing and wok-frying a range of amazing dishes<br />
that you never knew originated in Pakistan.<br />
Without a doubt, Pakistan and Karachi in particular<br />
see very few tourists, the country receiving a bad<br />
wrap from western governments and media for a<br />
very long time, a lot of it warranted, but just as we<br />
don’t judge our people on the few bad apples in our<br />
countries we shouldn’t judge them. Pakistanis are very<br />
friendly and helpful and although they sometimes look<br />
quite serious, that is just their ‘proud face’. Pakistanis<br />
love having their photos taken so if you’re a street<br />
portrait specialist you should definitely consider<br />
coming to Pakistan as a passing ‘asalam aliekum’<br />
(hello) soon turns into a gesture to please photograph<br />
me.<br />
If you’ve been to India then from a photography<br />
standpoint you’ll understand Pakistan, it’s all life being<br />
lived on the street in front of you. It’s a manic kind<br />
of mayhem just waiting for you to photograph it. It’s<br />
people lining up to get in your shots whether that be<br />
a selfie with you or a portrait. There are three distinct<br />
areas in which to get the most from your visit from a<br />
photographic standpoint – the markets, the Arabian<br />
Sea coastline, and Burns Road Food Street.<br />
Late afternoon produces long shadows along Burns Road as a rickshaw passes.<br />
Canon 6D Mk1, Canon 16-35mm F/2.8L III USM lens @ F4, 1/200s, ISO100, 23mm<br />
58 <strong>March</strong> <strong>2022</strong> <strong>NZPhotographer</strong>
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