The word ‘curious’ has been floating around in my head for a few days now, so I think it’s finally time for me to blog it out.

As you all know from reading my blogs, India has been both a great and an eye-opening experience. It’s not for all the first-world comforts that I miss, rather, the civil liberties to blend in and be relatively anonymous on the street. The need to be anonymous is a huge driver of my travel photography. I prefer to be a ‘watcher’ not a smiles photographer.

As photographers also, we know that a big part of coming to these countries for photography is a boon because we get to see scenes that we don’t in our home country. It’s the very nature of travel. But when you look at it from the perspective of an image-creator, the details are in your approach to it. You can’t always use a long lens and spy on people, sometimes you have to get into their faces and be rather persistent. It’s about capturing that ‘reality’ not the augmented one.

You’re telling a story, not making one up.

To be good at this caper, I think, one needs to be curious but also a little callous. You need to, of course, know when to use what skill. Actions transcend languages, so many people forget this simple concept. A smile is always a smile, a hand flicking at you is always ‘go away’, a thumbs up is always a good thing and I’m certain we could all find a toilet with a crossed-legs-panicked expression.

When the curiosity dies, as does your emotional connection to creation.

Since my curious shooting here has ended, I’m going to take the opportunity to share my favourite images from the India that I witnessed.

These are all preliminary edits, my finals will be done one I am back home with my bigger processing capabilities.