Falsalama

Danny Griffin a.k.a. Falsalama - Photographer

Photographer, real ordained Nagpa (Tibetan Buddhist Tantric lay priest) and my vajra brother.
Quite possibly the realest, most honest human being I know.
He’ll try to tell you different but I taught him all he knows ;-)

Last night I spent a few hours in a darkened underpass with Falsalama, taking this photograph of which I am quietly rather proud.
It is part of a series of portraits I have been working on of talented friends of mine, of which there are many.Falsalama however, falls in to a special category due to the insane things we have done together over the past 10 or so years in multiple countries.
Everything from working for the Dali Lama, hanging out at Drolma La on the Mount Kailash kora at 5,800m, banging out Techno through the Dali lamas sound system in a hotel in Bodh Gaya on the eve of the millenium (even tho the soft b$%tard went to sleep at 10pm! on the millenium!!! I jest you not – That’s falsa lama not His Holiness ;-) , beating up rickshaw drivers who overstepped the line in Dehli, perusing the wares in various seedy areas of Bangkok and restoring Sting’s grade 2 listed building in London to list but a few of the exploits we have shared.
The only person I know who I can talk to about the Mahayana philosophy of emptiness in one breath and camels toes in the next.

I salute you brother.
And if you are reading this, don’t forget you are my vajra brother which means you can’t step off this f%^king wheel of birth and rebirth unless you take me with you…..Ha ha ;-)

This is NOT a composite shot (i.e. this is in camera one exposure, albeit with a little Photoshop after to lighten here and touch up there, its amazing what a well thought out lighting scheme and a clever camera angle can do :-)

Strobist info:-
SB28 1/4 power into 60cm Photek Softlighter camera left.
SB28 1/32 power 1/2 CTO 5cm grid aimed at subjects face camera right low.
SB24 and SB26 Full power 20ft behind subject aimed at end of the tunnel and the ceiling for backlight.
Camera on flourecent WB.

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