1960 December - India. At the annual Sri Sevagiri fair in Pusegaon, Maharashtra state, India. A travelling photographer, his camera and backround for portraits. My diary and photographs help me recall the crowded scene. Pusegaon was a village of about 2,500 people and the fair attracted upwards of 50,000 visitors. The difference between my camera and the one you see here was both monumental and basic. My camera was tiny and I would have to wait to see the pictures. The photographer in the picture could produce his portraits on the spot.

Camera Leica lll F with a collapsible Leitz f 5 cm 1:3.5 lens. Film Kodak Tri X Pan at F5.6 - 1/100 second. The camera was on loan and my film was cut from bulk rolls and loaded in a re-loadable leica cassette. It was a convenient low cost way of carrying film but not ideal. The film had to be loaded in the dark and static electricity always attracted dust which shows on the negative. Developed by hand in Koregaon using May and Baker Promicrol at normal dilution with water from the village well.

Negative India 60/43-13 © Tony Morrison