After finishing Ethiopia in Dire Dawa, I took a flight to Delhi, India. While I’d been to Delhi before, and India many times, I’d yet to photograph Delhi for the project. So, after focusing on Mumbai and Southern India’s major cities the previous year, now it was time for a few in Northern India, starting in chaotic Delhi.
When many people imagine India, they imagine chaos filling the streets, smells filling the air and honking horns filling their ears. Well, if that’s what you imagine, then maybe no city in India brings that to life more than Delhi. Mumbai and Delhi are India’s largest cities, but they’re very different in character. While they both have that India flavor, Mumbai feels more cosmopolitan while Delhi feels older. Packed with history, markets, life and yes, pollution, Delhi has an atmosphere and look all its own. If you really want to experience India, you can’t miss Delhi.
So here are my first impressions of Delhi, from my personal Street Photographer perspective…
7 First Impressions of Delhi
(From a Street Photography Perspective)
1. Big, spread out city in India
There’s so much to love about big Indian cities for street photography, but walkability can be an exception. India’s major cities are usually very large and very spread out. This is magnified by poor metro systems and heavy traffic. Some cities are condensed enough that you can walk most everywhere, while other cities provide metro systems and transportation that can quickly get you to where you want to go. In India, especially Delhi, neither of these are true so you do have to work around this. Something that doesn’t look that far on a map can easily end up taking an hour in transportation, while walking on foot everywhere can leave you on empty streets for even longer. Delhi is as big and spread out as they come in India.
Fortunately, there are plenty of areas you can pick to explore for hours on foot. So, the best advice is to try not to cram too many places in one day or you’ll be in traffic half of it. I’d pick a couple of places with a variety of interest in the area and stick to them for the day. The areas around Chandni Chowk and New Delhi Station are two great choices with more than enough interest to last a day on foot exploring it all. Hazrat Nizamuddin is another solid choice to take transportation to for a half day of shooting. But I’ll cover all three of these areas in more detail, just continue reading…
2. Chandni Chowk is the chaotic mess you might imagine of India
India is known for chaos and Chandni Chowk is a perfect representation of how chaotic the streets can get here. Chandni Chowk is an endless market area in the heart of Old Delhi. You’ll find packed streets and alleys taking you through markets selling everything you can imagine, from spices, dried fruits and exotic oils to jewelry, clothing and plenty of street food. Mixed in, you’ll find an assortment of temples and the famous Red Fort nearby.
Chandni Chowk has been around for centuries and you can feel it while exploring through the chaos. The crowds make avoiding messy photos difficult, but you can find ways and spots around it if you try. And for layers and that authentic, lively big city India atmosphere, this makes for a top spot to come get lost in. While it’s definitely packed with locals, it is also a prime spot for tourists in Delhi. You can find some more local feeling markets in the city, but probably not any more chaotic or with more variety to walk with your camera.
3. Less light, gets dusty
Delhi can get very hazy with a combination of thick smog and dust. Much of the time, there’s a brownish tint layered over the city, which can really be seen in photos. The amount of dust in the air effects the degree it’s seen more than anything, as some days have more than others, especially during dust storms when you can barely see through the brown tint. Construction sites add even more to the dust and what you get is something that really becomes part of Delhi’s atmosphere. This means it doesn’t only have to be a negative, as it can become an effect and look to the photos that gives a feel of the city. From distant background views of the city and sky with a layer of brown, or up closer where you still get a bit of that brownish mask. Combine that with how Delhi is already a similar color, it gives it even more of that atmosphere.
One thing to be aware of, though, is that with that layer of dust and smog, it’s like a constant ND filter of a stop, or more. Even without clouds on a typically hot day, the light won’t be as bright as your normal sunny day elsewhere. So, make sure your photos aren’t underexposed if shooting manually in Delhi.
4. Hazrat Nizamuddin is an interesting area to explore
Nizamuddin West is the neighborhood surrounding the Dargah (mausoleum) of one of the Sufi saints. The Dargah complex itself has plenty to explore, while the surrounding market streets are always full of life. You’ll find other monuments and plenty of interest around every corner. This is mixed with the local Muslim life filling the streets and a number of visitors coming for prayer, shopping, and popular restaurants. More than just the chaos in the streets, you can find even more interest if you really explore. Children playing cricket, climbing the elaborate architecture or even swimming and jumping into the Nizamuddin Baoli, a sacred stepwell (pond). Local street photographer Vineet Vohra thankfully showed me this neighborhood and it ended up being one of my favorite spots in Delhi.
5. Parks of love
In India, city parks are always an extremely popular place for young love. While life in India doesn’t seem very private, couples do value privacy and parks are a prime place for them to grab a spot by a tree or behind a bush for a bit of it. Sometimes, almost all you see are young couples sitting or laying around the park. As a local told me, parks are also a popular location for these young couples to skip school and university :) It definitely provides an interesting atmosphere when exploring parks in India, love is all around you.
In Delhi, they have some popular parks of their own too. Central Park in Connaught Place and Lodi Gardens are two very popular parks, but with different atmospheres. Connaught Place is a busy business hub in Delhi with the circular Central Park in the middle. Due to it’s prime location, this spot is always busy with a variety of activity. Lodi Gardens, on the other hand, is much larger, more picturesque, and peaceful. You’ll usually see some photoshoots here because of it. It’s more out of the way, but provides a much more scenic atmosphere. Couples and friends come here to hang out and take photos. While Connaught Place is usually better for street photography due to the guaranteed amount of activity and variety of it, Lodi Gardens is worth one trip for the change of scenery within chaotic Dehli.
6. New Delhi Station/Paharganj can be a solid area too
The New Delhi Railway Station is the main railway station in Delhi and the fourth busiest in the country. This provides activity and interest on its own, but it’s also right by Paharganj, also known as the Main Bazaar. In India, many people love to photograph the signature train station atmosphere and this New Delhi Station is as good as any for it. After capturing some of the life on the platforms, you can head west into the Main Bazaar. It’s very backpacker friendly here so it doesn’t feel as local as the other bazaars, but it still has its own busy feeling and a mixture of India meets tourism. This means you can find almost anything you want exploring its streets of shops and restaurants. It’s always busy here and provides more than enough area for hours of interest. While the hippy backpacker vibe might not be everyone’s favorite to capture while in India, it does provide a different scene with its own interest, characters and activity. It’s also full of budget lodging so it can make for a good base during your time shooting in Delhi. Two kilometers north of here you’ll also find Sadar Bazaar, one of my favorite bazaars in Delhi.
7. You have to look for character a little more here
Delhi is massive and full of places to explore with your camera, but in a country so full of interest and color, sometimes you have to work a little harder for a photo in Delhi. For India, it’s not quite as colorful here and the backgrounds aren’t always as pleasing. India is known for chaos, but organizing messy scenes is an especially valuable photography skill in Delhi. We’re talking about India, though, so it’s hard for any city to visually compare to cities like Mumbai, Kolkata, and Varanasi, or all of Rajasthan. Delhi still possesses what makes India amazing for street photography, you just have to look for it a little more. Luckily, it has endless neighborhoods to go looking with your camera.
Major City #50: Delhi, India
I’ve explored a range of India over the years now and while I wouldn’t put Delhi at the very top, that has more to do with how amazing the competition is in India. What I can say, though, is that you need to experience and photograph Delhi if you really want to experience this country. It’s too big and important of a city that embodies so much of what makes India what it is. And as far as variety of endless chaos and interest to explore in India with your camera, Delhi still sits towards the top of my list.
If any of you have been to Delhi before, tell me about your experience and impressions of the city and country in the comments below! And stay tuned for more on Delhi, including some of the best Street Photography shots I captured while there.
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(from a street photographer’s perspective)
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