Photo: Old Delhi, 1972

In 1972, I was in India and fell in love with it. Tamil Nadu, Mysore, Kerala, Bangalore (before technology), and Dehli/Agra. For a photographer, it's rich, colorful, and exotic. Midway in my trip while changing film and idly checking my shutter, I noticed that the lens diaphram often, but not always, stuck or slowed dramatically. Holding it to the light, I saw some oil had gotten into the diaphram blades. I then realized that most of the photos already taken would be severly overexposed. Blown out. It was heartbreaking. I had an off-brand camera with no way of finding a lens replacement, but I continued taking photos anyway, hoping a few would be OK.

Later in Old Delhi, while sighting through the viewfinder, these three girls suddenly turned and smiled at me. It seemed like a Cartier-Bresson moment and I instinctively pressed the shutter. The viewfinder image stayed in my mind during the rest of the trip and I prayed that it would be viable when the film was developed. It was.