Indra Exhibition - Now Showing

I am very happy to present my latest exhibition of street/travel images. 'Indra' is a collection of photographs from a trip to India in 2009. Highlighing the wonderful people and presenting a unique vision of the fascinating country.

ilios gallery

The Gallery is located within Wilbur’s Cafe/Bar

Hackett Shops, Canberra, ACT Australia.

Open Tuesday to Saturday
8 am – 9 pm and Sunday 8 am – 4 pm.



An online gallery can be viewed at:
http://www.iliosgallery.com/

or on my site here:
http://www.mjhoodphoto.com

Workers of India

These images (also from my India 2009 collection) focus on local people at work. I like to capture candid moments when people are engrossed in a task, too busy to worry about my presence. The authentic raw reality of the unplanned moment usually makes a much more interesting photograph that a stiff pose. I feel that capturing this spontaneity is the best use of a camera and what makes photography so unique. It is also a lot more surprising and refreshing to never quite know what is going to happen next... 

Mindfulness of Sweeping, Sarnath

Street Butcher, Dharamsala

Needlework, Norbulingka Institute

Track worker, India

"Whitewash" Book Complete!

I am very happy to present my new book called "Whitewash". Whitewash is a collection of 65 monochrome photographs of Greece. This is a visual tour or photographic document of the people and places I encountered on my 2009 trip. A journey from the idyllic Cyclades islands to the Metropolis of Athens. Behind the superficial exterior lies the simple beauty of truth. Reality as it is, yet to be covered over with a fresh coat of whitewash. It really is a satisfying feeling to have created this.

To view the preview please click the image below.

Tools of the Trade - 35mm

While in Thailand I scoured every camera shop I came across looking to find something to replace my Canon G9 compact. While the G9 was an excellent travel camera, it was a little hard to use at times. When I wanted more manual control for focus it was a pain. The DSLR cameras available from Nikon, Sony and Canon were hard to pass up, offering every feature I needed and more. The price was good as well making it a simple choice of which manufacturer. That is until I found a shop in Bangkok called Camera Collection.

On entering the shop it was like a treasure trove of metal and polished glass. Hasselblad, Linhof, Leica, Alpa, vintage Canon and Nikon. A place lost in time... a very welcome alternative.
After having a look around and telling myself to think about the convenience of digital, I could not resist a Leica M3 and 50mm f/2.8 Elmar lens.


Built like a tank and a machined to perfection, the M3 has a legendary status. Eddie Siu, the owner was very helpful, understanding and was willing to do a good price. Many Thanks Mr Siu! I have since taken it traveling through Greece and India. A fantastic camera and so nice to use.

"May your wishes prosper like mine have"

Another scanned 35mm slide from India. This was shot near a small village of great importance to Buddhist pilgrims called Sujatagarh. It is said to be the site where the future Buddha received a gift of rice porridge from a local girl named Sujata. She offered it and said "May your wishes prosper like mine have". This meal saved him from starvation and he decided to take food to support his meditation and search for enlightainment. Follow this link for some alternative tellings of the story.

The people here were very kind and showed me around. There was a great school here set up to help local children who got by with very little and relied on donations. I will try to find more information about this so people can help them.