India

I visited Mumbai, India in January 2009. I was there doing volunteer work but found the time to photograph the aspects of Mumbai that were particularly poignant to me. It was impossible to keep me away from slums, I made a point of going into homes, photographing the lives of the locals and try in some way to communicate the organized madness that is the 6th largest city on earth. I feel a photograph can only communicate a small aspect of something. My own viewpoint on life and how we live our lives changed in India. It is something I cannot describe, but I did my best to try capture it for others to see.

Rather than shy away from the bad parts, I photographed poverty, squalor and despair, but I tried to also show the hope, warmth, colour and beauty of the people and of Mumbai. I had the chance to fall in love with the area, something I did not expect would ever happen but for which I feel deeply blessed. I want people to see a part of what life is like in the second most populous nation on earth. If through my work represented on these pages I have managed to communicate 1 millionth of what I saw and experienced, I will be happy.

Click on one of the pictures below for the corresponding photo essay. There is a third essay, entitled ‘Mumbai – City of Strength’ coming soon.