Photographing in India

When I first started photographing in India it was overwhelming. I was often with other people or in situations that I had little control over. There seemed to be so many crowds and so much confusion. This motivated me to change my working style of photographing. I decided to focus on whatever came to me effortlessly.

I stopped all planning and seeking.

This way of working kept me alert and present, allowing me to focus more on the in-between moments of the day, and to utilize times when there were interruptions in my schedule. I became especially attentive to that illusive "down time" which I had often ignored. Many photographs were taken while stopping by the side of the road to accommodate carsickness, or in tiny villages waiting for flat tires to be repaired --and on paths to outdoor toilets.

Getting up early and wandering alone through streets, villages and temples served me well. Moments made themselves available.

When I became attuned to looking in this way I found more and more opportunities to photograph. They seemed to just appear. I met people, and especially children, who befriended me and allowed me into their personal lives.
I became more aware of the animals; they play a unique role in Indian life, and they were everywhere. Intimate encounters with people, animal or places became available. Encounters that quicken the breath, and freeze the eyes.

For me all travel ultimately leads inwards. Especially when traveling alone. .

The allure of witnessing the unnamable, in its myriad disguises, guided me. As I became more receptive, the "mystery" gently emerged before me in its never-ending forms. Thus, over several years, thousands of photos were taken and later woven together into this series of images, Wherever I Go, You Are There.

 

"The one who had disappeared into the knowing instructed the seeker,"Go out and find where the beloved is not""