All images by Ken Herrmann. Used with permission.

“When I first visited Calcutta and flower market, I was fascinated by the flower sellers and the way they wear the flowers on – as big robes.” says photographer Ken Herrmann.  “Also the way they treat the flowers, cuddling them and caress them, I think was interesting.”

That’s part of the idea of Ken’s Flower Man project. Ken is the man behind Hollywood Characters, and has an eye for creating telling and revealing portraits.

In an email, Ken tells us that he was inspired to convey the contrast between the masculine yet “dirty” flower sellers and the colorful sacred flowers they sell. To do this, he worked with a simple and neutral background. Ken’s aim was to highlight the aesthetics among chaos and poverty in Calcutta. “I love that you can still find an authentic, old-school version of an Indian city here. In a way, time has been made, the old Victorian buildings have been preserved and you can still experience the human-pulled rickshaws. The city lives in many ways up to its characteristics – city of joy.”

The Flower Man portraits are after the jump.