NZPhotographer Issue 53, March 2022

A man selling dates on Burns Road.
Canon 6D Mk1, Canon 16-35mm F/2.8L III USM lens @ F4, 1/200s, ISO100, 35mm
BURNS ROAD FOOD STREET
The street here is lined one after the other with
outdoor eateries. Grills upon grills and lines of woks
frying up all kinds of concoctions are right there in
front of you. Chicken tikka kebabs glisten orange
with marinade, burnt just perfectly with the right
amount of char to make your mouth water. Happy
chefs abound, keen to be photographed and proud
of their nightly dishes. It’s a lovely spot to indulge in
some authentic Pakistani cuisine and there’s a jovial
feeling at all the stalls. The place doesn’t really get
happening until just after sunset, so come right before
the light vanishes to get your best shots. A lens with a
wide aperture will be very helpful as night falls and a
focal length from 24-105mm always works a charm in
these situations.
CREATING A PHOTO STORY
Out of all the other places I’ve visited in the world, it
was here in Karachi that I found it very easy to put
together a series of shots from the one stallholder to
create a photo story.
With some inside information from a contact on
Instagram, I travelled across the city to a simple
streetside stall where peanut brittle has been made
for generations. There is no factory, no office, no
room, just a stall on the street with a hydraulic mixing
machine. I watched while the ‘cook’ made a batch
and I photographed the process using both my 16-
35mm and 50mm lens for this shoot.
Peanut brittle is a very popular snack in Pakistan in
the winter months. The caramel is melted down from
cane sugar, fresh peanuts are added, mixed, and
heated vigorously, then placed on a tray, rolled and
cut as it cools before being packaged into little bags
ready for sale. You can order to taste with regards to
the caramel v nut consistency, and they also offer 6
different nut or seed choices. It was quite therapeutic
watching the process, snacking on the off-cuts, and
having the opportunity to shoot batch on batch.
You can find stories such as this all over Pakistan as
stalls and businesses are still passed down through
generations, much more so than in other countries.
CONCLUSION
As the ol’ ‘rona virus continues to drag on it’s hard
to predict where you might find me next. I’m hoping
in a few months to move back towards SE Asia to
warmer climes and sunnier days. We’ll just have to
see how everything pans out. In the mean time, you
can find me on Instagram or Youtube. My Instagram
stories are great for keeping you all up to date on my
travels, and of course Youtube is where you’ll find my
travel adventures. Currently, I’m releasing my Pakistan
series of vlogs over there, so please watch, like and
subscribe, every little bit helps keep me afloat during
these most uncertain times.
www.youtube.com/c/GirlsontheLoose1/videos
@phomadic