Portraiture
I prefer the idea of people being comfortable in their space as they are photographed. I attempt to photograph people the way they want to be seen rather than how the photographer wants to see them.
“May I photograph you?” As I ask this question – either using words or by gestures – many people tend to become stiff while many others have their own pose that they prefer to be photographed in. They also come up with objects they would like to hold or to be present in the picture. The expression that follows as people see themselves on camera screen or in print is priceless.
A “successful” portrait to me is the one where people can express how they feel, where they are themselves. This collection is an attempt to stand true to that.
June 2021: A farmer poses for a picture as he takes break from ploughing the field during Nepal’s rice planting festival
August 2021: Two ‘sadhus’ from India photographed at Nepal’s Gosainkunda lake during the annual shaman festival
August 2021, Nepal: A shaman poses for a picture by the Gosainkunda lake during Nepal’s annual shaman festival
August 2021, Gosainkunda, Nepal: A Hindu sadhu poses for a picture by the Gosainkunda lake after his morning ritual
November 2020, Pokhara, Nepal: Portrait of a young girl who lives with her family and other people at an abandoned building
August 2019, Pokhara, Nepal: Laxmi, a young girl working with her mother in an open field, takes a break to be photographed
A man who is taking shelter in a sewer pipe shows his bruise and explains how he was thrown out of his house by his brothers.
August 2021, Begnas: Govinga, a fisherman, photographed on his boat after a fishing trip around the lake
November 2020, Pokhara: A young girl posing for a picture in her festive clothes ahead of Tihar festival
A street vendor poses for a picture after her broken binocular is somewhat fixed by the photographer.