Portraits of India: Capturing Faces That Reflected Myself
I recently came back from a trip to India. I left the UK with the intent of photographing a culture entirely different from mine. Searching for a new challenge, I looked at India in the eyes, and I faced myself.
India is a big land of contrasts; sometimes it strokes you with love, other times it slaps you firmly. Halfway my travel, someone stole my Nikon D610 DSLR camera and lenses.
Having lost my kit, all I had was a fixed-lens 35mm-equivalent camera (the Fuji X100T). The loss didn’t hold me back from the idea of making close portraits. Instead, the wider lens actually pushed me to approach every person I wanted to photograph and establish contact with them. This constraint increased my chances to get better photos and to touch different aspects of the culture.
Initially, I was aiming to capture the happiness of the people I met, but the truth is, it’s impossible to photograph happiness if you’re not happy yourself.
Afterwards, I realized that I tend to approach people who I feel could be the right subject and, subconsciously, capturing faces that were reflecting myself and what I was feeling inside.
Fear and confidence, happiness and sadness, curiosity, tension, appreciation. Here they are, part of the faces of my India.
About the author: Massimiliano Giorgeschi is a freelance portrait photographer from Italy who’s based in the UK. You can find more of his work on his website, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, 500px, and Flickr.
