In this blog post by Kristian Bertel, we are exploring the dreams and Impressions of India as a photographic destination.
Read the background story of these blog photos by the photographer.

Through the dusty glass of a New Delhi bus, a mother and her daughter sit quietly, gazing out at the city that rushes past them. Their melancholic expressions seem to mirror the reflections on the window – soft, blurred and full of unspoken thoughts. In that fleeting moment, the noise of traffic and life fades away, leaving behind a tender stillness that captures the delicate beauty of everyday India.

Imaging India

There are places in the world that cannot be fully explained – only experienced, felt and remembered through fragments of light and emotion. India is one of those places. For photographers such as Kristian Bertel, it offers not merely scenes to capture, but encounters that linger long after the shutter closes. Imaging India is an attempt to translate those impressions – the dreams, the colors, the silences – into images and words that tell a deeper story about what it means to see.

"One of the images that stays with him is a portrait of a mother and daughter in New Delhi, captured in a quiet moment behind a bus window. Their melancholic gazes seem to hold both hope and hardship and in many ways, they embody the poetic contrasts that make India such a remarkable place to experience through a lens"

Viewed from above, Jodhpur stretches across the landscape like a sea of indigo and sand. The blue-painted homes, stacked closely together, shimmer under the Rajasthan sun, offering both beauty and relief from the heat. Among narrow lanes and ancient walls, daily life unfolds – calm yet vibrant. Each rooftop and courtyard tells a silent story, creating a mesmerizing urban pattern that reflects the spirit, history and enduring charm of India's famed 'Blue City'.

A land that breathes in color
India is not only vast in geography, but infinite in tone. From the desert sands of Rajasthan to the humid 'Ghats' of Varanasi, the landscape shifts like a living canvas, painted anew each hour by light and dust. The first thing that strikes a photographer is the sheer saturation of color. Walls of faded turquoise, saris of marigold yellow, doors washed in indigo. Even shadows seem to carry warmth.

In Jodhpur, famously called the 'Blue City', the rooftops form an endless mosaic of painted dreams. From a distance, it looks like the sky has descended upon the earth – a sea of cool tones glimmering in the afternoon haze. But as one walks through the narrow alleys, the picture becomes more intimate – children chasing kites between stairways, old men sitting beneath low arches and women pouring water from brass pots that glint like small suns. Color in India is not decoration – it is identity. It tells stories of caste, faith, festival and belonging. For the photographer, these hues become the language through which emotions speak. A bright wall can whisper of joy, a chipped doorway can echo fatigue and a vivid sari can tell of ceremony or struggle. Every shade holds a heartbeat.

"In Jodhpur, the color blue is not just paint on walls – it is the echo of the sky, the breath of the city and the calm that lingers in the heat"

In the midst of a bustling market, a young boy pauses, holding a yellow notebook close to his face as if lost in thought. His quiet gaze contrasts with the motion around him – the chatter of vendors, the rustle of fabric, the scent of grain. The simplicity of his gesture reveals both curiosity and contemplation, capturing a fleeting moment of stillness amid the everyday rhythm of life in India's crowded streets.

The faces behind the frame
India is a country of faces – millions upon millions, each revealing a story without words. In the midst of urban chaos, there are moments of stillness that feel like grace. One such moment unfolded on a bus in New Delhi, where a mother and her daughter sat by the window. The glass between them and the street blurred the world into an abstract wash of color and reflection. Their eyes, quiet and distant, seemed to hold the weight of both dreams and reality.

Photography in India is not just about composition or light – it is about human connection. The camera becomes a bridge, an excuse to pause and look longer – to share a smile or an unspoken thought. Sometimes, the act of photographing feels less like taking and more like exchanging. In a small market, a young boy stood with a yellow notebook pressed to his lips, watching the world with a mixture of curiosity and caution. Around him, the air buzzed with bargaining voices and the scent of spice. He was not posing, nor seeking attention — he was simply existing, caught between childhood and awareness. In that moment, the photo became not just an image, but a question about what lies behind his gaze.

"Sometimes a single gaze can tell more than the noise around it – a quiet reminder that even in the busiest streets, stillness exists"

Along the sacred banks of the Ganges, Dasaswamedh Ghat bursts with life and devotion. Pilgrims, vendors and wanderers weave together in a mesmerizing puzzle of movement and sound. The scent of incense mingles with the river breeze, while chants and conversations rise in unison. Here, spirituality meets the ordinary – a vivid tapestry of humanity where every gesture, every face, reflects the timeless rhythm of daily life in Varanasi.

The river that never sleeps
If there is one place where the pulse of India can be felt most vividly, it is Varanasi. On the banks of the Ganges, life and death meet without boundaries. Here, every sunrise brings both ritual and renewal. At Dasaswamedh Ghat, crowds gather in a daily rhythm – pilgrims bathing, 'Sadhus' meditating, flower sellers arranging marigold offerings that float downstream. The air is thick with incense and the low hum of prayer. The golden light catches the smoke and for a brief moment, the entire ghat glows as if suspended between worlds. To photograph here is to stand at the edge of eternity – to witness faith not as a concept, but as something living, breathing and profoundly human.

There is an undeniable tension in photographing such scenes. The camera must tread gently, aware of both reverence and intrusion. Yet, the urge to document is irresistible. Each frame becomes a meditation – on impermanence, on devotion, on the beauty of the ordinary made sacred.

"In Varanasi, the river is not just water – it is the pulse of life, the rhythm of prayers and the stories that float at the edge of each dawn"

Dreams and realities of a photographic destination
Many dream of photographing India before ever setting foot in it. They imagine elephants in procession, women balancing pots, temple silhouettes against the setting sun. And while those images exist, they are only fragments of a much greater whole. India challenges every easy narrative.

To photograph here is to surrender control. Plans dissolve in the heat and dust – light behaves unpredictably – subjects move with spontaneous grace. Yet, within that chaos lies the gift – authenticity. The best photographs are not found, but received. They happen when one stops searching and starts seeing. There is also a personal transformation that occurs behind the lens. India invites introspection. It reveals not only the world in front of you but the one within. As a photographer, you begin to notice how your own emotions influence the frame – how patience becomes as important as technique, how humility opens more doors than confidence ever could.

Between noise and silence
Every Indian city hums with a particular frequency. The horns, the street cries, the rhythm of footsteps – all merge into a symphony of life that never truly stops. But within that, there are moments of silence that feel almost sacred. In a small temple courtyard, a man sits cross-legged, feeding pigeons from his palm. In the next street, a tailor hums softly to himself as his sewing machine clatters in time. Even amid the loudest chaos, there is a quiet undercurrent – a reminder that stillness exists not in the absence of noise, but in the acceptance of it. As a photographer, learning to listen to this rhythm is key. The camera is not just an eye – it is an ear. The click of the shutter joins the music of the street. The lens, in its own way, becomes part of India's heartbeat.

Light, texture and time
Light in India is unlike anywhere else. It carries weight – soft and golden in the morning, harsh and unrelenting at noon, then gentle again as dusk falls. The photographer learns to dance with it, to anticipate how it will bend around a corner or catch the folds of a 'Sari'. Textures tell their own stories too – the cracked paint on a door, the dust that clings to an old poster, the shimmer of sunlight on a brass plate. In photographing these surfaces, one begins to sense time itself – the way it weathers, softens and yet never erases. The beauty of photographing India lies in these details. Grand monuments may impress, but it is the small, almost invisible moments that stay with you – a hand stirring 'Chai', the flicker of a candle in a shrine, the shadow of a bicycle passing across a wall of blue.

Encounters and exchange
Photography in India is as much about people as it is about places. Each encounter becomes a conversation – sometimes with words, often without. The camera gives permission to look deeply, but it also demands responsibility. When someone agrees to be photographed, it is not just an act of documentation – it is a moment of trust. That trust must be honored in how the image is captured and later shared. India teaches this lesson gently but firmly – photography is not about possession, it is about presence.

On many occasions, the most meaningful photographs come not from the most visually striking scenes, but from the most human ones – an old woman sweeping her doorstep, a shopkeeper pausing mid-sale to laugh, a child watching the world with quiet wonder. These are the frames that endure, because they carry truth.

"India is a country that can be both seen and felt – a place where every street, every glance and every color tells its own story. In this post, the photographer explores the dreams and perceptions of India as a photographic destination – a land that stirs curiosity and longing, yet constantly challenges every preconceived idea and discover the story behind the portraits and moments captured through the photographer's lens"

The emotional geography of India
India cannot be mapped by roads alone. It is mapped by feeling – by the sense of awe that fills you when a temple bell rings at dawn, or the ache that comes from witnessing hardship in a crowded street. Each city has its own emotional weather. In Delhi, one feels the push and pull of modernity and memory – skyscrapers rising beside crumbling forts. In Rajasthan, the desert speaks in silence and shadow. For the photographer, this emotional geography becomes a guide. You learn not just where to go, but how to feel – how to let the place shape the way you see.

The unphotographable
And yet, no matter how many images one captures, there remains something unphotographable about India. It exists between the frames – in the laughter that fades before the lens clicks, in the scent of rain on dust, in the way time stretches differently here. Photographs can show the surface, but India's essence often lies beneath it – in paradox, in contradiction, in the simultaneous presence of joy and sorrow. This realization humbles every photographer who tries to frame it. The camera, for all its precision, can only hint at the mystery.

A journey without an ending
Imaging India is, in the end, not a completed project but an ongoing dialogue. Each photograph is both a memory and an invitation – to look again, to question, to feel. India teaches that beauty is not always perfect, that truth is not always clear and that understanding often comes not through clarity, but through compassion. To photograph India is to learn patience, empathy and surrender. It is to realize that the most powerful images are not the ones that astonish, but the ones that make you pause – the ones that feel alive.

And perhaps that is the greatest gift this country offers to a photographer – the realization that life itself, in all its contrasts and contradictions, is already art. The task is not to capture it, but simply to witness it – honestly, humbly and with an open heart.

More about the photographer
The photographer is mostly known for his series of Indian images, which started as a long-term project on India in 2008. The approach in his work is primarily to tell stories and a curiosity to know more about cultural differences. With a focus on humanity and diversity the purpose of his photography is to describe these topics in mainly people and cityscapes. 'Imaging India' is therefore not only a visual journey, but also a search for understanding – a reflection on the meeting between dream and reality and how the camera becomes a tool to approach a country that can never be fully captured, yet can always be felt.
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