Street photography is about capturing authentic moments in public spaces. While you always approach it with consideration and respect, there are moments when you question the purpose of the work and motivations for hitting the streets.
These thoughts are often disrupted and transformed by the smiles and excitement you encounter from potential subjects. During their daily grind, something as simple as a camera and your foreign face can create a small joyful break from the mundane. Fruit vendors proudly display their finest selections, fathers are called over for portraits and pose with dignified pride, perhaps adjusting their watch, while others simply welcome you to India with genuine warmth. They ask for nothing, they just share their world with an easy confidence, happy to be part of your story of their city. Some of these exchanges end with a portrait, and while I often use these moments to ease into more candid photography later, sometimes the images capture something special – those brief, joyful breaks in the working day worth preserving.
These are some of the faces I’ve stumbled upon in my walks through Mumbai’s streets and markets. This will be an ongoing project called “Smiles Between Shifts” – communicating those small pockets of joy during a worker’s day.
