Trip to India : Street Photography from Hyderabad

Street Photography as a genre always fascinated me as it appealed to the 'Casual Observer' in me. The works of geniuses such as Steve McCurry (@stevemccurryofficial), Robert Frank (who incidentally passed away just a few weeks back), Vivian Maier (I strongly recommend watching the documentary film made on her - 'Finding Vivian Maier'), and some of the more recent and prolific photographers such as Sean Tucker (@seantuck) constantly inspires me.

Children playing near Gulzar Houz

Street Photography requires that you are aggressive but at the same time you need to get more involved with your subjects by engaging with them. If you are intending to capture the decisive moments, you need to get the framing and timing right which in turn requires a lot of practice. So, for an introvert like me, this genre can be an unsurmountable challenge mentally!

Hyderabad needs no introduction as one of the premier IT hubs in India where companies such as Google and Microsoft are headquartered along with a host of other companies. A sprawling metropolis with a welcoming airport, shopping malls, a Metro Rail (a Light Rail transport system) network, Restaurants, Seven Star Hotels, you name it.

Literally, still a sleepy town!

But as a Hyderabadi who grew up in the City in the 80s, this is not what fascinates me about the city. I connect more with the Hyderabad that was a sleepy town with streets lined with Kirana (General grocery) stores and Irani Chai hotels. I relate more to a time when the fastest locomotive on the road was an Ambassador Car or an RTC bus on a good day.

As I was making my plans to visit Hyderabad this summer, I thought it would be a great idea to try some Street Photography.

I was also curious if there is any chance of connecting with the 'Core' Hyderabad that I am more used to than the 'Modern' Hyderabad. (I have to admit that I was afraid calling it 'Millennial' Hyderabad could cause a backlash!).

I initially thought this would be a daunting ask but I started doing some research and to my surprise, I found quite a few leads. I was visiting India during Ramzan and so naturally I started looking for best spots and times to take pictures of Ramzan in Hyderabad. I also started looking for best times and spots for Street Photography and Street Food in Hyderabad. I was impressed with the amount of content and helpful material I found. Given that I was going to be there only for a short duration this time, I narrowed down to two options:

• A Meetup focused on Street Photography and

• A Walking Tour Company.

More details on the specifics of the above two coming up.

I signed up with this Meetup called SIA Weekend Photowalks and that weekend the event would take us to capture Pottery makers that reside in the Tallagadda area of Hyderabad. The event was lead by Mr.Naveen Janga (@nwinphoto) who not only took care of the logistics but also the most challenging aspect of Street Photography, at least for me - engaging with the subjects and ensure they are comfortable with a horde of 20 plus photographers capturing their daily routine. For me, personally, this helped me focus on getting framing and timing right. In addition, it gave me an opportunity to try some environmental portraits of the pottery makers as well.

On the sidelines of the photowalk, I was able to strike some very friendly conversations with other street photography enthusiasts as well and was able to connect with them over Instagram to get inspired with some of their amazing work.

I was also able to converse with a patriarch and matriarch of one of the pottery families who were also very eager to get their pictures taken. Although I had not planned for them, I was able to get a couple of portraits as well! I hope you like the 'raw' treatment I attempted with these pictures when it comes to color, contrast and composition.

The Patriarch

The Matriarch. I felt it was more respectful to capture the feet.

I did get some still life and abstract pictures as well during the photowalk but probably a discussion for another time.

I had heard of companies providing walking tours in historical places in Europe but I never imagined one in Hyderabad! Navin Sigamany (@navinsigamany), a transplant from Coimbatore who was fascinated by Hyderabad's rich culture, provides these walks and tours in various formats in Hyderabad through his company aptly named 'The Hyderabad Walking Company'.

(I have to confess that I want to be like Navin when I grow up - leave what I am doing to do what I like doing)

I did a couple of walking tours with Navin where we covered Charminar, Golconda and Quli Qutub Shah Tombs. The Charminar tour gave me another opportunity to try Street Photography. We started the tour from Gulzar Houz around 7 AM working our way through Charminar, Mecca Masjid, Mitti ka Sher and Mahboob Chowk (fondly also called as Murgi Chowk).

As I saw children heading to school that Tuesday morning, I realized that certain things do not change and this was the 'Core' Hyderabad I was looking for. The site of an older gentleman reading an Urdu vernacular fascinated me even more. Finally, it was great having small talk with a very eager and entertaining 'Feroz Khan' at the Murgi Chowk.

We ended the Charminar walking tour with a sumptuous breakfast at Govindji ki Bandi -a must try! (By this time I had packed off my camera so had to use my phone to capture the picture below.)

Dosas being served at Govindji's Bandi

There was definitely a lot of learning and I am looking forward to doing more and more of these. While I wait for more opportunities, I will post next about my other captures from my India trip. Hope you enjoyed reading this post and would welcome your feedback and questions.

@nmorum, @nwinphoto, @navinsigamany, #narenscaptures, @stevemccurryofficial, @seantuck, #StreetPhotography, #Hyderabad, #Charminar, #EnvironmentalPortraits, #StreetFood

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