Last year I began my six month travel around India. I started my trip in Bangalore (also called Bengaluru) which is the capital of the southern Karnataka state. Bangalore is well known as being the centre of India’s high tech industry. I enjoyed my time in the city and managed to get some great street style photography especially around the busy markets. After a couple of weeks in Bangalore I flew to Kochi, in the state of Kerala.
Kochi (also known as Cochin) is an interesting coastal city in the south west of the Kerala state. It has been a port town since 1341 and has been the centre of India spice trade for many centuries. Whilst in the area I stayed in both the Ernakulam and Fort Kochi areas. Ernakulam refers to the mainland portion of the city of Kochi and is where the majority of trade and business in the city occurs. Fort Kochi is a charming seaside area which is becoming more popular for tourists. Although Fort Kochi has no beach as such it is famous for it’s British, Portuguese and Dutch colonial architecture, it’s Chinese fishing nets and the Biennial art festival.
The festival known as the Kochi-Muziris Biennale is the largest art exhibition in India and the biggest contemporary art festival in Asia. Whilst I was visiting in 2018 the Water Town Fest was being held alongside the Kochi Biennale in the Jew Town area of Fort Kochi. It was here that I attended a fascinating full day photography workshop run by world renowned photographers Nick Ut And Mark Edward Harris. During the workshop Nick Ut talked about his fascinating life and his award winning photo ‘Napalm Girl’ the powerful photograph that many say went on to help end the Vietnam war. Mark Edward Harris, an award winning photographer gave a hand on approach to travel and documentary photography. He explained several key shots and concepts to master when producing photo essays. Both speakers were incredibly friendly and down to earth while they offered us their combined wealth of photographic knowledge.
The days following the workshop I remained in Fort Kochi taking photos and enjoying the atmosphere. The area is great for street photography and also has some great architecture in the old town. Many photographers go to Fort Kochi for the Chinese fishing nets but in five days I didn't see any impressive sunsets to capture these. I did have some fun down on the beach however catching some silhouette images at the end of the day with the Sigma 135mm 1.8 Art Lens. Click through the slideshow to view these sunset silhouette images taken in Fort Kochi:
I took the silhouetted images on the beach close to the fishing nets. A walkway follows the coast around with a pathway leading to the water. With the telezoom range on the lens I was able to stand a little further back and snap away comfortably. The sun was directly behind the people making it ideal for high contrast silhouette style photos. I especially like the minimalism of these silhouette images with little clutter in the frame and a large amount of pleasing negative space. Here is an earlier blog I wrote with some tips on taking silhouette photography. After spending an enjoyable few days in Fort Kochi and Ernakulam I continued my journey around India by heading south to Alleppey.
More of my travel photography from my India travels can be found on my website, my Instagram, my Facebook and my Flickr account. If you are interested in purchasing any prints, using an image online or collaborating in any way please email at: geraintrowlandphotography@gmail.com.