Photographer Reuben Singh shares with us his everlasting love for travel and how it defines his images...
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| "Travel is essential for a photographer in more ways than one can imagine," says Reuben Singh |
Travel for me is intertwined with journeys across the
Indian Himalayas. It is my first preference for travel anywhere, anytime. Each
instance is different from the other no matter how many times you visit or
cross the same places. A trip to the Nanda Devi Outer Sanctuary in October 2015
was memorable in every way. I caught an overnight Volvo bus to Haridwar from
Delhi, took a local cab to Rishikesh from where I hailed a long distance jeep
to Joshimath in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. This is on one of the most
crowded pilgrimage routes in the country so you are assured of guest houses to
stay wherever you wish to stop.
It took a total of two days to get there from Delhi.
From Joshimath after an acclimatisation hike to Gorson meadows above Auli and
another day hike to Nilkantha base camp from Badrinath, I travelled to Lata
village from where I began a hike to the sanctuary. It is a bit hard and
unbelievably beautiful to say the least. You've got silver birch forests rising
high above the Rishi Ganga, and once past the treeline at about 4000 metres,
you come across some of the highest mountains in India that form a ring around
the mystical Mt.Nanda Devi with unparalleled views all around.  |
| Chandrashila summit in Uttarakhand |
"The rawness and the elements get to you. At some point I put down the camera and decided to record it with just my eyes as it is easy to get carried away and just see these things from the perspective of a camera viewfinder or a cellphone screen which is nowhere close to the real experience."
The entry into the outer sanctuary is restricted so
you're spared from the hordes of budget-package hikers that now crowd most of
these trails in the mountains.
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| Thikse Monastery, Ladakh |
Fondest Food Destination: Bengaluru
"My fondest food memories have been this really indigenous tribal feast in Himachal, Chettinad fare at Karaikudi in Chennai and seafood at a restaurant called Moonraker in Mahabalipuram."
I love Bangalore as a food destination. It's one hell
of a vibrant city and the sheer variety is astounding! You can't go there and
not visit the beer joints or biryani places. I absolutely love the food at
Junior Kuppanna there.
Places and People
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| "India has abundant locations that are great for shooting varied portraits or studying faces." |
There is no one place that I prefer over the others
when it comes to shooting people. There are definitely some that stand out over
the others and I travel a lot for shoots across the country. Rajasthan (in
particular), Ladakh, the hill states and the North East in general are great
for shooting varied portraits or studying faces.
Mesmerising Monsoons in Kerala
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| Capturing a perfect storm in Kerala |
India as a travel destination is changing fast and I feel that a lot of the old world experiences are disappearing and becoming increasingly commercial. A vacation to Kerala in the monsoons a few years ago was inspiring and memorable. There was a driving trip from Kochi to Munnar where I stayed within private tea estates which was a spectacular sight in the rains. Everything to view was literally a combination of green and blue. The second part of my trip was spent on the banks of the Vembanad Lake near Alleppey.
"Sitting in an infinity pool at the level of the lake at midday felt like nighttime as billows of black monsoon clouds crowded out the blue sky creating a perfect storm."
I've been to Kerala a few times but a must
do season to experience it is definitely in the monsoons.
Travelling With A Camera
A photographer is never completely on vacation. All
attempts to switch off from work go for a toss as soon as you come across a
compelling situation/composition that merits making a photograph. A lot of
times, you see an image forming just because your eye is trained to look for
visuals in every possibility. Then there is the light. As a rule, I make sure
I'm up and about a lot while traveling and try and catch the early morning
light while shooting people and places around me. Ditto for evening light.
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| Sunset at Dunagiri, Uttarakhand |
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| Reuben Singh |
"Travel is essential for a photographer in more ways than you can imagine. There is constant ebb and flow of thought processes that make you a photographer."
Experience through travel teaches you not to make a lot of rookie
mistakes in a lot of photographic situations or even while setting up a planned
shot.
Reuben Singh works
with Hindustan Times as Photo Editor, Special Projects.
He shared his travel tale with Nausheen Tareen
The pics used in the story are clicked by Reuben Singh and taken from his website. Check his amazing gallery of clicks at http://www.reubensingh.in/
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