India (Robed Men)

This composition captures a street scene with five men draped in light-colored robes standing in the foreground. The cloth slides off the head of the right figure, revealing his bald, shaved crown. This may indicate that these men are a group of Brahmin priests, who are a common presence in the ritual center of Varanasi. While the priests look down or away from the camera, a figure sitting in a covered rickshaw gazes directly towards it, meeting the viewer's gaze. This photograph reveals Gedney's strong interest in capturing the play of light upon and bodies beneath drapery.