india

Portraits of the Konyak ‘Headhunter’ Tribe in India

When we think of tribes, the first thing that comes to our mind is, “what did those tribesmen and women believe in?” “What were their customs and beliefs?” That’s what I asked about the Konyak tribe that was nestled in Nagaland, India, in regard to the famous headhunters.

The Ethics of Photographing Slums

My eyes are filled with tears because of the smoke. The plastic particles in the air are irritating my lungs. I'm climbing this mountain with my two friends.

Portraits of Rajasthan: Photographing Villagers in India

Driving through the cities and villages of Rajasthan provides for an intimate view of rural India. The sun-drenched countryside is dotted with a resilient vegetation common to drier, desert, climates. Villagers, mixed in with cows, herds of goats and the odd camel, walk the long stretches of roads between villages, pausing for rest under the sparse shade of Khejri trees. This is a part of the tourist trail that is rarely seen.

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.

Shooting the Holi Festival in India with a Fuji X-T2 and Underwater Housing

When packing your gear bag for a two-week street photography trip, the last thing you might think to bring is an underwater housing. Most of the time you would be completely right to leave that item at home. But if your trip happens to be going to India during the celebration of Holi, an underwater housing may just be the protection you need.

Street Photography in India Through a Wedding Photographer’s Lens

I miss India. The explosions of bold colour alongside subtle, pastel textures and hues. The juxtaposition lurking on every corner. The people—friendly, welcoming and warm. The insane city streets and the almost forgotten village walkways.

A Mothers Anguish: The Story Behind a Photo in India

Varanasi, India is an incredible place, a real eye opener and a step back in time. You witness events you may have never imagined, or have ever wanted to see. It's completely unavoidable and totally unpredictable. It's the kind of place that you shouldn't expect anything, but embrace every moment.

Eyes of the Afghan Girl: A Critical Take on the ‘Steve McCurry Scandal’

I will begin by saying that my intention is not to attack Steve McCurry or defame him in any manner. It is only an attempt to clear certain facts that have come to light regarding his work and to also raise certain questions on aspects that may or may not have been missed, but certainly have not been expressed till now... at least not publicly.

Review: Shooting the Sony RX1R II From Manila to India

If you want to see camera tests with pictures of walls, bokeh balls, resolving power lens charts or photos of cats and dogs, please leave now, you will be disappointed, I will only be sharing a working photographers perspective of my personal feelings towards the system with real photographs out on the streets.

Photo Essay: The Dog Savior

Dogs are said to be man's best friend. But they are often neglected and left to die by their owners in places around the world.

Photo Essay: The Longest Train in India

If all journeys are teachers, it may well be that a journey to India is the greatest teacher of all. As Kurt Vonnegut said, "Bizarre travel plans are dancing lessons from God," and it was in search of a new dance that I purchased a one-way ticket on the longest train in India.

A Look at One Woman’s Mission to #GivePhotos to the Impoverished

Given the utter ubiquity of photography in the USA, most Americans probably don’t view photography as special. But in impoverished areas around the world, personal photos can be rare. On visits to her birthplace of Kolkata, India, Bipasha Shom frequently took portraits of people she met, and she was struck by how many people lacked access to a camera and had no family photos of her own.

The Leica M3 That I Replaced in My Father’s Life

It's not often that one gets to narrate the story of their birth. Fortunately (or unfortunately) in my case, the story has been told to me and to others around me time and time again. It’s imprinted in memory, much like a photograph, due to its many renditions, and it's narrated more often whenever my birthday comes around each September. Thankfully, it is not one of those tales that changes and has details added or subtracted to it with every rendition.

Photos: The Beautiful Architecture of India’s Ancient Stepwells

Over the past several years, Chicago-based journalist Victoria Lautman has traveled through India numerous times, visiting over 120 ancient stepwells that were once used to access water during dry months. Lautman has been shooting photos to document the beautiful architecture of the sites, creating records of the structures as they're slowly being lost to decay.

How Much Do YOU Need to Earn to Do Photography Full Time?

How much would you need to earn to make photography a full-time job? On a recent visit to India, I was strolling through Mumbai's colonial-era neighborhoods when I was approached by a young man with a Nikon DSLR and a backpack. He offered to take my photo against the backdrop of two of the city's landmarks, the Taj Hotel and the Gateway of India.

Instant prints were available, and examples in a clear plastic file were offered for inspection.

Photo Series Pays Tribute to the Insane Burdens People Around the World Carry on Their Heads

Photographer Floriane de Lassée took a playful approach to the cultural trends of individuals carrying a plethora of objects, balanced on top of their heads. Titled How Much Can You Carry, the series is a tribute to those from remote communities in Bolivia, India and Indonesia who carry immense burdens on their heads as a means to efficiently get objects from one location to another.

Revealing Black and White Photographs of India by Josef Hoflehner

Austrian photographer Josef Hoflehner's portfolio is made up almost entirely of places. His work revolves around capturing cities or, in this case, entire countries in such a way as to bring out some unspoken quality of the place that makes it unique.

In his series on India, a place teeming with that mystical spiritual power often associated with the East, he uses black and white photography to portray tourist landmarks and natural oases alike as haunting, mysterious and solitary places of peace.

Indian Project Trains Muslim Women to be Photographers, Defies Fatwa

An educational project in India is encouraging Muslim women to take up photography, in defiance of a controversial fatwa issued earlier this year that said the practice was "unIslamic."

Woman's advocacy group Aawaaz-e-Niswaan -- which is based in the Mumbai suburb of Kurla -- has trained more than a dozen women in photography skills, going against of regional customs and, now, this particular fatwa.

Photography is a Sin, According to India’s Leading Islamic Seminary

Update: The rector of Darul Uloom came out to clarify some of the statements included in the original Hindustan Times article quoted in this post. We have included the significant portion of the update at the bottom.

In response to a question by an engineering graduate who wanted to follow his passion for photography, Darul Uloom, India's leading Islamic seminary, issued a fatwa declaring photography and that particular career path "unlawful and a sin."

Photos of India’s Endangered Professions

New York City-based photographer Supranav Dash is interested in India's occupations -- not the rich and glamorous ones, but the ones held by those who are lower in the society's Caste System.

For nearly 200 years, certain groups of people were not allowed to deviate far from their family's prescribed occupations. However, in recent years things have started changing. Many of the common age-old tradesmen jobs are rapidly disappearing, and Dash is using his photography to document them before they vanish completely.

Portraits of Wandering Ascetic Monks by Photographer Joey L

Brooklyn-based photographer Joey L has spent years working on an amazing set of portraits titled "Holy Men," which features religious ascetics from around the world.

Joey traveled to India (for the third time) in March 2011 and spent a month creating more photos of wandering monks in Varanasi, the holiest of the seven sacred cities in Hinduism and one of the oldest cities in the world. The subjects are men who have renounced all earthly possessions in their pursuit of spiritual liberation.