chiragdshah

Essence

My favorite photo from our St. John trip. More than any pretty photo I shot that week, more than any beautiful sunset, I feel that this photo tells a story and captures the essence of this man at this moment in time. I was extremely lucky and I’m not afraid to admit it was a complete accident that I was able to even get this. Driving to the airport on our way back home, my camera was set to manual and set for a dark photo I had just taken inside the car.

We stop at a light and I see this wonderful scene in front of my eyes. A man resting. Who is he? What is he looking at? What is he thinking? What does he do? Is he taking a break from his job? If so, why is he sitting out on the pier in the hot afternoon Caribbean sun? Is there a breeze coming off the water? Why is he shirtless? Is he homeless? Why did he take off his shoes? All of these and probably a dozen more questions race through my mind in that instant. I know I don’t have much time. I quickly reach for my camera and snap a shot, but when I look at the LCD on the back, all I see is white. I go to readjust the settings for the bright exterior, but I suddenly feel the car moving. It’s too late. I missed my chance.

I review the shot I did take again. ISO 800, F/5.6, 1/250s. Ugh. It’s hopeless. A few days later, back at home in front of my computer, I pull in the shots from this day and again I see the almost all-white photo. But through some magic in Adobe Lightroom, I’m somehow able to salvage it and get what you see above. And you know what? I love how it came out. The stark, washed out palette, the white pier, even the blue tint that magically appeared in the corner after my adjustments. Somehow it all works and makes me happy that I was able to get something, anything from what I saw that day. Otherwise it might have joined the collection of what must be millions now of photos that I didn’t take or missed just floating around in my head.

Now back to the questions. Who is he?

St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands: Days 5 & 6

The vacation winds down and while an amazing time was had, I have to admit there is the tiniest part of me looking forward to getting back. And while it’s always difficult saying goodbye to a place I’ve called home for a week and grown quite fond of, the truth is I’m refreshed, recharged and raring to get back to work at full capacity. Also, it’s still nice coming home.

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Day 4
Day 3
Day 2
Day 1

St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands: Day 4

By day 4 of an island vacation, you’ve invariably settled into a routine. Wake up, food, beach, drinks, food, nap, beach, drinks, drinks, food, drinks, sleep. Almost to the point that it feels like this is your life. Of course this feeling is instantly shattered by any moment of reflection. Close your eyes and you soon realize what’s coming. A return flight straight back to reality. But reflection is necessary. That’s one of the reasons I go on vacation after all. Assess where I am in my life and where I’m going. It’s also a time for relaxation and I love me some relaxation.

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Day 3
Day 2
Day 1

St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands: Day 3

My busiest photo day of the trip. 2 different beach visits, a smoothie truck atop a mountain and one gorgeous prolonged sunset.

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Day 2
Day 1 

St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands: Day 2

Driving around this island is really like driving around in paradise. So far away from home and work and responsibilities, you begin to think this is a life you could get used to.  But of course, it’s unattainable for all but the super rich or the sufficiently bohemian, which by the way is what you see a lot of on this island.  The super rich due to the posh surroundings and the sufficiently bohemian given the no-passport-required status and enough lower-cost housing options.

Day 2 consisted of sleeping in until 11am, having a quick breakfast, heading out to Maho Bay Beach with some sandwiches for lunch, and then not much of anything else. Really, what do you do at the beach anyway. Reaching the beach, you’re immediately struck by how few people there actually are.  We’re able to easily find a spot, and this is mid-day at peak beach-going time on one of the island’s biggest beaches.

You think seeing that clear blue water is something to behold from above, try getting in and floating around in it for a while. Even in the shallowest parts, you’re surrounded by fish and other marine life (I saw a stingray not 3 feet away!) and your stress, your worries, everything just melts away, and again, you begin to think, maybe…

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Day 1

St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands: Day 1

After a surprisingly short 4-hour flight from JFK (probably because I had a good book and some good tunes to keep me company), we first started noticing them. Houses dotted the hills all around us. I had a feeling I would be coveting owning one by the end of the trip. And then we had one of those memorable landings you can only have on an island; a gentle glide seemingly into the ocean towards an imminent watery death followed by the sudden appearance of dry land at the last possible moment. We had arrived in St. Thomas, the more industrialized and larger big brother of St. John. Kanika and I were more than ready to begin our vacation.

We were met almost immediately by our friends, the Chaturvedis, who had began their vacation 2 days earlier.  First Dihan and little Avinash in his stroller, followed by Amit with our rented minivan. The first thought that occurred to me getting out of the airport was the heat. Having come from 40-degree temperatures, in my long sleeve shirt and jeans, I was ill prepared for the 85-degree temps and the hot Caribbean sun beating down on us.

So we quickly loaded our luggage and ourselves into the beat up, blue Dodge Caravan and made our way first to buy the groceries for the week and then to the ferry to St. John. The 1/2-hour ferry ride was refreshing with an Atlantic breeze cooling us down very quickly. Our villa at the Westin awaited us and it was nice to finally get freshened up and changed into more appropriate clothing, namely shorts, a t-shirt and flip flops, which would incidentally be my uniform for the remainder of the week.

Finally ready to take on the island, we took a nice long dusk drive along the island’s main northern coastal road along the many beaches we would be visiting. Coming up on the first hill, we were greeted with the breathtakingly-beautiful view you see above. Most of the beaches are like this one; small, but clean and stunningly beautiful.

As we got back to the villa and prepared to retire, I reflected on the fact that I was about to be happily sleeping off the past few months of weariness (quite a bit since we slept in until 11 the next morning) and be ready to take on the island for the next 5 days.

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