Learning Street Photography Along The Ghats Of Kumartuli

Every once in a while, you get an opportunity to step out with a camera and, instead of simply taking photographs, actually learn to see.

I recently had the opportunity to attend a Photography Workshop conducted by senior photographer Mr. Jayanta Saha, and one of the highlights of the workshop was a walk through the ghats and lanes around Kumartuli.

For anyone with a camera and even a passing interest in photography, Kumartuli is almost impossible to resist. There is something happening everywhere. Old buildings, narrow lanes, people going about their daily lives, boats on the river, workers, textures, light and shadows—all constantly presenting little photographic opportunities.

But the idea wasn't simply to walk around clicking photographs.

We were there to understand the finer nuances of Street Photography—how to observe what is happening around you, anticipate a moment, look for interesting compositions and, perhaps most importantly, learn when not to take the photograph.

And there was certainly no shortage of subjects.

My first photograph was almost quintessentially Kolkata—a bright yellow Ambassador taxi, the city's iconic old-school cab, photographed against the backdrop of a temple. It was one of those frames where several things that instantly say "Kolkata" somehow came together in one picture.

Then came a rather poignant juxtaposition. I photographed a child ragpicker standing near an abandoned idol of a goddess, with the idol placed against a tree. There was something about the contrast between the two that immediately caught my attention. Street photography often throws up these moments where you don't have to manufacture a story—the scene in front of you has already done that.

And then, towards the railway tracks, I found another frame that I particularly liked. The railway tracks cutting through the area, with people from the surrounding slums sitting beside and along the tracks, made for a very different kind of photograph. It was one of those scenes that you might ordinarily walk past without giving much thought, but when you're consciously looking through a camera, the composition suddenly becomes apparent.

That, perhaps, was the biggest lesson of the day.

Walking through Kumartuli with Mr. Saha, we weren't simply looking for beautiful pictures. We were learning to notice things—light, shadows, people, contrasts, backgrounds and those fleeting little moments that exist for only a few seconds.

Kumartuli provided plenty of all of these.

It was also interesting to see Kolkata from behind the camera in a slightly different way. We often pass through these areas without really stopping to observe them, but when you're deliberately looking for photographs, suddenly every corner seems to have a story.

The workshop was therefore as much about photography as it was about observation.

And by the end of the walk, I think we had all come away with a few photographs, a lot more things to think about, and perhaps a slightly better understanding of that deceptively simple instruction every photographer eventually learns—

Look first. Then take the picture.