Night Market #2

Dry fish store, Aliya Giya Mawatha, Kandy. January 2024.

^{• 14mm • f/4 • 1/100 • ISO500 • Canon R6 & RF14-35/4L •}

Night Market

Grocery Store, Aliya Giya Mawatha, Kandy. January 2024.

^{• 35mm • f/4 • 1/125 • ISO2500 • Canon R6 & RF14-35/4L •}

On the Nose, and on the Tongue

Fragrance and flavour mix in the morning air in Pettah. A spice store worker on 4th Cross Street purifies the premises with incense before beginning the business day. The ritual, repeated in the evening, is both practical – to keep away insects – and symbolic – to ward off evil and invoke spiritual blessings. Colombo, November 2023.

^{• 28mm • f/2 • 1/500 • ISO100 • Canon R6, with an RF28-70/2L from Canon/Metropolitan •}

Closing Ceremonies in the Gold District

As evening falls, a jeweller’s salesman goes through the ritual of fumigating the premises with burning incense. This is done twice daily; at the beginning of the working day, and at its close, to ward off evil spirits (as well as flying insects). Sea Street, in the Pettah, is Colombo’s major gold-trading district, both sides of the narrow mile-long strip lined with bullion exchanges, jewellers, and goldsmiths. September 2023.

^{• 35mm • f/4 • 1/200 • ISO500 • Canon R6 & RF14-35/4L •}

Prayer Wear

Kufi caps (most often worn by Muslim men at prayer, but also on some formal occasions) for sale outside the Jami Ul-Alfar Mosque, on 2nd Cross Street, in the Pettah. Colombo, Sri Lanka. April 2021.

^{5DMkIV & EF 16-35mm/2.8L courtesy Canon/Metropolitan.}

Businesswomen, Maharagama, Sri Lanka

Vendors with their wares in the Maharagama textile bazaar, south of Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo. April 2018.

Shopkeeper, Maharagama, Sri Lanka #15

Sri Lanka, April 2018.

The Shoe Salesman

Prince Street, Pettah, in Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo. January 2020.

Shopkeeper, Maharagama, Sri Lanka #12

Sri Lanka, April 2018.

Sales Across the Tracks

Stalls selling clothes and textiles sprawl along the Pamunuwa Road in Maharagama; even spilling onto the railway tracks of the busy Kelani Valley Line which runs from Colombo to Avissawella. The massive textile bazaar that stretches from Maharagama to Pamunuwa is one of Sri Lanka’s biggest centers for cheap clothes and, during the run up to religious festivals, sees a huge number of retail shoppers, in addition to the regular wholesale customers. During these times, space is at a premium, and many small businessmen just run out of space. Sri Lanka, April 2018.