The Reality Behind Travel Photography – Cropping Changes Everything
“Broken India” shows the reality behind stylized Instagram photos of India. Launched by Limitless, a new Indian company in Singapore, the campaign challenges the rosy picture painted by “Beautiful India” and reveals the poverty and pollution that plague the country. Not all of the pictures are shocking, as only two out of the eight show real poverty, but the creators hope they are enough to start a national conversation.
“By bringing Broken India to light, we really wanted to strike a raw nerve,” Limitless told Buzzfeed. “Only when people realise the state of affairs and break out of their comfort zones, is when they can start to make a difference. A bit of negativity is essential for positive change.”
More info: lmt-lss.com | Facebook (h/t: designtaxi)
“We’ve always worked with the knowledge that India is a country that has two contrasting sides,” Limitless told Bored Panda
“Even our audience falls into one category or the other”
“One that’s happy with the way things are”
“One that’s adamant on change”
“This is something we use to define our work…[and] push for a better India”
“The Broken India series was inspired by a post we saw online on how Instagram only shows you one side of the story”
“This design idea fit well into our concept of two India’s that helped us take it to a new level”
“Good things happen when you’re fast and impulsive”
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Share on FacebookMost of these pictures in uncropped version don't actually show anything broken, maybe not as pretty as the crop, but definitely not really broken. I don't get what the point of this is. Every country in the world has it's darker side, that we don't necessarily want to advertise to the outside, it doesn't really detract from the beautiful side that's worth seeing. Wasted time.
Actually, I thought the whole pictures looked even better than the supposedly beautiful cropped pieces....
Load More Replies...as someone who has done charity work in india, i dont think these pictures even mildly grasp the disparity between the sort of "beautiful india" pictures that are circulated and reality. good idea, but it needs to be a little more real.
Is this #FalseReality??? It's often been said a pic says a 1000 words and so the validity to this statement would ring true if you actually got a chance to see the entire #BrokenIndia pic... check out the poverty stricken little girl...Cropped pics seem to be a wave of this new era which in my opinion it's shattering the authentic experience of what we've always loved most about photos at the same token beauty is in the eye of the beholder so if cutting a little bad out to reflect good brings joy in ones life...Why frown upon it??? #reality
Load More Replies...What does the photo with many cows on a beach mean/intend to show? Do they have a problem (starvation, annoying behaviour towards human beings etc.) or does it just show a reality that there are many cows in India? I visited India in 2008 and was shocked to see so many children begging or trying to get money by force.
The cows are considered sacred in India, so they don't eat them! :)
Load More Replies...The cow on the beach cannot be said to be broken. I think it is beautiful and good to see man and animal living in harmony. Many people point out the nuisance of animals on road but I am one of the few who thinks that they have equal right to live on the land/ lane as us....it is not only natural but very healthy too. It shows that people are kind in nature. About the water pollution, I can understand....
India will never be "Fixed" until the "Cast" system is banished. Don't hold your breathe.
I guess that's why we crop our facebook profile pics, too, showing only... an eye and the nose. :/
Yes this sooo india at some places..but it doesn't mean its brocken.i am india and i love my country which gave me every thing. And i am not ashamed of my country. Its true i want, every indian want it to be more devoloped and we are on the way. But still there are so many beautiful places and things in here too. We eat without forks and knives because we believe ghats why god gave us hands. Our formers did not eat with spoons either.
I am a newbie. I have been reading blogs and experiementing with my camera different tricks to capture great images. A professional photographer introduced me to Trick Photography and Special Effects E-Book + Video Course. It helped me developed stunning shots and provides a lot of tricks and tips. It's very enjoyable to read. You can check this site http://bestdigitalcameraoutlet.com/photographytricks/ for more information. Hope this helps.
Beauty is always in how you see things :) Most of these pics are not anything else than beautiful India in itself.
For some reason, we as a people have decided it is unacceptable to criticise a religious practice. It's okay people in Indian have an oppressive caste system and starve by the thousands, because that's their religion and we can't criticise that. We have to not judge. Well I'm sorry, but I totally judge. Anyone who hurts other people or subjugated an entire class of people because of an ancient book needs to pull their head out. You can extrapolate to any religion you want. It's wrong. When we all realize that religions aren't untouchable, then maybe we can help the suffering. In the meantime we can chat online about how pictures are cropped and do nothing. Whatevs.
Think I agree with sentiments of a couple of other comments... these photos don't really show anything broken, and it's all subjective anyway - the wider pics don't show anything that appears 'bad' to me, apart from perhaps the shanties in one pic and debris next to the river. But I'm guessing it would either be more difficult or impossible to capture the real difference between what tourists see and the brutality of poverty, in photos - if it gets people thinking then fair enough, but something harder-hitting and real would have more of an impact.
I like the concept. Was the intent successful? Motivating people to move toward change is difficult at best.
I fail to understand what is broken about the 'broken' crops. This post does not make any sense.
I see photography as a technical act looking for an aesthetic; it is a second rate process at best. Images are great for documentation but just let them be, forget the bother of cropping/ shopping... for the perfect image.
I've been to India and these photos do portray a reality. I didn't enjoy sharing the beach with cows and their "presents", as muh as I love and protect animals!
My friend who came to Canada as a refugee with her family from the Congo said the pictures of her country show only the worst of Africa but that there is a beautiful side as well. Not every place is filled with poverty and starvation as most pictures show.
I 'get it'!!! I like it!!!! Quite obvious! You more than adequately made your point. <3
Oh my gosh the wires just hanging off the corner of the buildings. Can you say fire hazard? I feel for people that are forced to live in these conditions, dirt, squalor, fire traps, falling and dilapidated buildings. So sad.
i also think that whole pictures look better, but apparently their format is not correct...
Broken implies there is something that needs fixing, the background shows the ture india with it's culture and the dark side. If every country were the same and "unbroken" then there would be no reason to travel. It is these differences that make every part of the world unique. Don't label a problem as broken when really it just doesn't fit with the artists idea of beautiful.
There is no broken india in any of these photos. Broken assumes there is something to fix and mostly the crop cuts out parts of indian culture not the parts that need fixing like death, child labour and poverty. What a waste of a decent idea.
Did you not see the bundles of electrical wires (very unsafe) hanging off the buildings in picture 4?
Load More Replies...I see two sides to this story. We can look at it in the negative way and call it vanity for cropping out only the pretty parts and ignoring the struggle of poor people, but we can also look at it in a positive way - what a talent to notice those small beautiful details worth the shot among depressing things. It's beautiful even when it's broken.
Pictures taken strategically to show as broken , beauty lies in the eyes of beholder
Photography is a compromise onto itself... thats why you people need to stop giving it too much thought, stop giving it matter... photo is a media, and like all medias, its prone to show only part of reality... the masses believe in the media that you present them, from popular sayings to courts, videos and photos makes lies from real facts... its like believing in a virgin mary, coz the bible said so... its like seeing a fragment of the whole...
Most of these pictures in uncropped version don't actually show anything broken, maybe not as pretty as the crop, but definitely not really broken. I don't get what the point of this is. Every country in the world has it's darker side, that we don't necessarily want to advertise to the outside, it doesn't really detract from the beautiful side that's worth seeing. Wasted time.
Actually, I thought the whole pictures looked even better than the supposedly beautiful cropped pieces....
Load More Replies...as someone who has done charity work in india, i dont think these pictures even mildly grasp the disparity between the sort of "beautiful india" pictures that are circulated and reality. good idea, but it needs to be a little more real.
Is this #FalseReality??? It's often been said a pic says a 1000 words and so the validity to this statement would ring true if you actually got a chance to see the entire #BrokenIndia pic... check out the poverty stricken little girl...Cropped pics seem to be a wave of this new era which in my opinion it's shattering the authentic experience of what we've always loved most about photos at the same token beauty is in the eye of the beholder so if cutting a little bad out to reflect good brings joy in ones life...Why frown upon it??? #reality
Load More Replies...What does the photo with many cows on a beach mean/intend to show? Do they have a problem (starvation, annoying behaviour towards human beings etc.) or does it just show a reality that there are many cows in India? I visited India in 2008 and was shocked to see so many children begging or trying to get money by force.
The cows are considered sacred in India, so they don't eat them! :)
Load More Replies...The cow on the beach cannot be said to be broken. I think it is beautiful and good to see man and animal living in harmony. Many people point out the nuisance of animals on road but I am one of the few who thinks that they have equal right to live on the land/ lane as us....it is not only natural but very healthy too. It shows that people are kind in nature. About the water pollution, I can understand....
India will never be "Fixed" until the "Cast" system is banished. Don't hold your breathe.
I guess that's why we crop our facebook profile pics, too, showing only... an eye and the nose. :/
Yes this sooo india at some places..but it doesn't mean its brocken.i am india and i love my country which gave me every thing. And i am not ashamed of my country. Its true i want, every indian want it to be more devoloped and we are on the way. But still there are so many beautiful places and things in here too. We eat without forks and knives because we believe ghats why god gave us hands. Our formers did not eat with spoons either.
I am a newbie. I have been reading blogs and experiementing with my camera different tricks to capture great images. A professional photographer introduced me to Trick Photography and Special Effects E-Book + Video Course. It helped me developed stunning shots and provides a lot of tricks and tips. It's very enjoyable to read. You can check this site http://bestdigitalcameraoutlet.com/photographytricks/ for more information. Hope this helps.
Beauty is always in how you see things :) Most of these pics are not anything else than beautiful India in itself.
For some reason, we as a people have decided it is unacceptable to criticise a religious practice. It's okay people in Indian have an oppressive caste system and starve by the thousands, because that's their religion and we can't criticise that. We have to not judge. Well I'm sorry, but I totally judge. Anyone who hurts other people or subjugated an entire class of people because of an ancient book needs to pull their head out. You can extrapolate to any religion you want. It's wrong. When we all realize that religions aren't untouchable, then maybe we can help the suffering. In the meantime we can chat online about how pictures are cropped and do nothing. Whatevs.
Think I agree with sentiments of a couple of other comments... these photos don't really show anything broken, and it's all subjective anyway - the wider pics don't show anything that appears 'bad' to me, apart from perhaps the shanties in one pic and debris next to the river. But I'm guessing it would either be more difficult or impossible to capture the real difference between what tourists see and the brutality of poverty, in photos - if it gets people thinking then fair enough, but something harder-hitting and real would have more of an impact.
I like the concept. Was the intent successful? Motivating people to move toward change is difficult at best.
I fail to understand what is broken about the 'broken' crops. This post does not make any sense.
I see photography as a technical act looking for an aesthetic; it is a second rate process at best. Images are great for documentation but just let them be, forget the bother of cropping/ shopping... for the perfect image.
I've been to India and these photos do portray a reality. I didn't enjoy sharing the beach with cows and their "presents", as muh as I love and protect animals!
My friend who came to Canada as a refugee with her family from the Congo said the pictures of her country show only the worst of Africa but that there is a beautiful side as well. Not every place is filled with poverty and starvation as most pictures show.
I 'get it'!!! I like it!!!! Quite obvious! You more than adequately made your point. <3
Oh my gosh the wires just hanging off the corner of the buildings. Can you say fire hazard? I feel for people that are forced to live in these conditions, dirt, squalor, fire traps, falling and dilapidated buildings. So sad.
i also think that whole pictures look better, but apparently their format is not correct...
Broken implies there is something that needs fixing, the background shows the ture india with it's culture and the dark side. If every country were the same and "unbroken" then there would be no reason to travel. It is these differences that make every part of the world unique. Don't label a problem as broken when really it just doesn't fit with the artists idea of beautiful.
There is no broken india in any of these photos. Broken assumes there is something to fix and mostly the crop cuts out parts of indian culture not the parts that need fixing like death, child labour and poverty. What a waste of a decent idea.
Did you not see the bundles of electrical wires (very unsafe) hanging off the buildings in picture 4?
Load More Replies...I see two sides to this story. We can look at it in the negative way and call it vanity for cropping out only the pretty parts and ignoring the struggle of poor people, but we can also look at it in a positive way - what a talent to notice those small beautiful details worth the shot among depressing things. It's beautiful even when it's broken.
Pictures taken strategically to show as broken , beauty lies in the eyes of beholder
Photography is a compromise onto itself... thats why you people need to stop giving it too much thought, stop giving it matter... photo is a media, and like all medias, its prone to show only part of reality... the masses believe in the media that you present them, from popular sayings to courts, videos and photos makes lies from real facts... its like believing in a virgin mary, coz the bible said so... its like seeing a fragment of the whole...
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