Letter from Seoul - 5
Portraits of India
During my 18-day trip to India from November 13 to November 30, I captured over 40 unposed portraits that may not necessarily qualify as street photography. I never asked for anyone's permission to photograph them because I was carrying a camera. While a few people waved me away, nobody seemed to be uncomfortable with my presence. Anil Sharma, my guide, was always there to help me, and we never had any issues with people being photographed.
One day, Anil took me to a small farmer's market outside Varanasi, where locals were curious about me being a white man. However, the real issue was that they wanted to take photographs with me and their colleagues. I jokingly told Anil that we could make some money if we charged for me being photographed.
Kolkata - November 2023
New Delhi- November 2023
It appeared that the man and woman were a married couple, although we didn't actually have a conversation. Nevertheless, they gestured for me to take a photo of them together, so I obliged. After showing them the photo and receiving what seemed to be a positive reaction, they continued on their walk without asking for a copy of the photo. It struck me as strange, but that was the end of the encounter.
I came across a portrait of a man while walking in the Turkman Gate District of Old Delhi. The man was sitting in a way that seemed both posed and natural. Despite the language barrier, I felt drawn to him and his resemblance to Laurence Fishburne's character in the John Wick movies, the Bowery King. The location was run-down with a wall to the left covered in vomit, debris, and a trashed-out wooden pallet to the right. But the light was just right, so I couldn't resist taking three photographs of him. We had no form of communication, so I left after taking the photos.
