Kite's Eye View: India Between Earth and Sky
Nicolas Chorier’s brilliant new collection of kite-perspective photographs presents an illuminating aerial picture-puzzle of India old and ever-new.
You may think you know India, but I’ll wager you’ve never seen it from the perspective of Nicolas Chorier, whose specialty is taking photographs with a camera held aloft by a kite. He utilizes this innovative art to illuminating and enchanting effect in this wonderful new book, presenting an aerial picture-puzzle of India with images of everything from historic monuments to everyday scenes.
The product of 10 years of traveling and photographing India’s length and breadth, Chorier’s portfolio opens with a stunning spread of photos of the lotus-like Bahai Temple in Delhi, followed by striking shots of the tower of Qutub Minar, the Jama Masjid mosque, Humayun’s Tomb and the Amber Fort. These popular Delhi tourist sights all take on an entirely different aspect when viewed from above.
Subsequent chapters present kite’s-eye views of Jaipur, Jodhpur (including some intricately thrilling shots of Ahhichatragarh Fort), and Udaipur. From forts and monuments, we then move to Pushkar and the fabled camel fair, presented here with an expansive, horizon-widening dynamism I’ve never seen before.
Other highlights of the book include a striking series of shots of Varanasi, graced with an otherworldly order and calm from this angle; the ruins of Mamallapuram and Hampi, which I’d never seen before; and some exquisite seaside shots of Kerala. The collection ends with a triumphant, timeless set of photos of two students practicing the ancient martial art of kalaripayattu on a beach in Kozhikode.
This extraordinarily beautiful and beguiling book is an achievement to honor and cherish, bestowing a soaring new appreciation of India’s ancient sites and its everyday treasures.
[Kite’s Eye View: India Between Earth and Sky, by Nicolas Chorier, with a Foreword by Zubin Mehta, published by Lustre Press, a division of Roli Books; copyright 2007 by Roli & Janssen BV; hardcover, 192 pages, $49.95.]
Here is a selection of Adventure Collection member trips to India:
Bushtracks Expeditions: North India and Rajasthan Air Safari
Geographic Expeditions: From Taj to Tiger
Natural Habitat Adventures: Wild India
NOLS: Semester in India
