Pardeep Singh Bahra

Pardeep Singh Bahra, the founder of Singh Street Style, is a photographer and stylist based in London, England. 

Having started his own photography business at the tender age of 17, Pardeep has established himself in his field with his simplistic, elegant and cinematic approach to photography which can be seen through this blog.

Pardeep has had his work featured Vogue, The Guardian Newspaper, New York Daily Newspaper, Microsoft MSN, Menswearstyle, Asiana as well as many other articles.

Manjari Sharma

Manjari Sharma's work is a painstakingly detailed recreation of the ubiquitous imagery we've seen growing up in India. Her new series of photographs titled ' Darshan' - refering to the viewing of the idols or representations of the Hindu dieties in temples, is a photographic installation of nine mythological Hindu gods and goddesses. The imagery is ingrained into my head, her interpretation is a fresh take on something that I've seen countless times.

Her words on Darshan, " Sometimes belonging to a complex and rich heritage is so overwhelming that you have to go far away to fall in love again"

"A real Darshan changes you forever. The sounds, sights, smells and visuals of a Darshan are very particular and you take them for granted as a teenager growing up in India. Try Ignoring them for a bit... and they return to you subconsciously making you long for what feels like a distant reverie"

Explore her work here.

Madhavan Palanisamy

Madhavan Palanisamy spent over 10 years in advertising before finding his redemption inside the walls of the camera. Using a combination of editorial and fine art styles of photography, he interprets the strange beauty that surrounds him and creates a world where anything can happen. Madhav is a self taught photographer and draws his inspiration from cinematic imagery and graphic design.  His new series titled Chennai Remix is showing at Apparao Gallery, Chennai till the 30th of August.

Anusha Yadav

Anusha S. Yadav was born in London in 1975. She graduated in Communication Design from the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad India. Anusha’s interest in photography began while still at design school. Subsequently, she attended University of Brighton to study photography.

After thirteen years of a successful career in graphic design and advertising, Anusha began working as an independent editorial and documentary photographer in 2006. Since then she has photographed several well known personalities and significant events all over the country.

The key strength of Anusha’s work lies in documenting people and events in natural and available light. Her pictures are not merely intended to make people or their environment look beautiful, but rather, to represent their/its presence and participation through the image. Consequently, her work has been described as narrative photography, with the power to trigger ideas and dialogue and being suggestive rather than illustrative. She also continues to design books, as that remains a constant incentive to create stories and drama with typography.

Her photographs have featured in publications like Verve, Mid Day, Times of India and Rolling Stones, among others.She is also represented by Getty Images/India for editorial content.Anusha lives and works in Mumbai, India.

Mark Swaroop

Mark Swaroop is a 26 year old Bangalore based Art Director who has been dabbling with photography for a year and a half. In Mark's own words ,"I love all things beautiful and visual arts is the best I can express what love. I come from a Media Studies background although i have been a designer most of my working life . Being a graphic designer and influenced by Paula Scher and David Carson, my photography takes a slightly graphic turn. Either way i live life through a quote by Tom Waits 'I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy"

The first word that comes to mind is 'Lush' . Beautiful stuff. More here.

Fazal Sheikh

Fazal Sheikh is an artist-activist who uses photography to create a sustained portrait of different communities around the world, addressing their beliefs and traditions, as well as their political and economic problems. By establishing a context of respect and understanding, his photographs demand we learn more about the people in them and about the circumstances in which they live.

The images above are from Moksha , if you can stomach it , go take a look at his award winning Ladli.  Images & text from here.

Waswo X. Waswo

Photographer Waswo X. Waswo (whose name I find so pleasing in it's symetry) was born Richard Waswo in Wisconson in 1953 . After traveling the world extensively , he decided to settle down in India in the early 90s. He is known for his exquisite yet humorous sepia toned images of India. These hand coloured b&w photographs are from his latest series titled , A Studio in Rajastan . More here.

Dhruv Ramnath

17 year old Dhruv Ramnath doesn't use a digital camera and that's exactly what makes his images so special. They perfectly capture idle childhood in sepia tones and are beautifully textured by little flecks of imperfection. Dhruv lives & studies in Bangalore. Go to his blog and say hi.

Nitesh Mohanty

Nitesh Mohanty sent in his photographs & I thought they were very interesting. This is what he had to say about them,"I try to capture art through textures, that exist all around us,yet sometimes we fail to notice the beauty they exude. For me textures emote, sometimes with soft child like joy, sometimes with the grime & brutality."

Mohanty has a degree in Textile Design , runs his own design firm called IDESIGN and lives and works in Mumbai

Lakshmi Prabhala

Some intimidating stuff off the streets of India , captured by the incredibly talented Lakshmi Prabhala . More at her flickr stream here.

c-215 and Romanwyg

Stencil street art in India is not a regular sighting , so these captivating stencil illustrations on the gritty walls of Karol Bagh , Delhi come as a (ironically) breath of fresh air. The illustrations were done by famous albeit mysterious French artist c-215 and documented by Romanwyg.

In the words of photographer Romanwyg, "Sometimes threatened, usually uncomfortable with the large crowds that gathered for the spectacle of a couple of foreigners having strayed off the tourist trail somehow and ended up in their unimaginably poor district. These pieces were mainly for the children to see and enjoy, which hopefully you can see from the India Set, they did."

Ryan Paul Lobo

I stumbled onto photographer Ryan Lobo's work while looking at images from his exhibition The Wedding Season . I found his blog and then I found everything else that he has done. It's poignant , adventurous , melancholic , crazy and just basically brilliant. I've been hooked , your turn.

Lobo is a documentary film maker and photographer. He lives in Bangalore.

Pushpamala N.

Paris Autumn, Pushpamala N.'s third solo exhibition at Bose Pacia New York, is a cinematic installation in the form of a rich movie theatre experience around the title work, a 35-minute experimental short film created from B&W still photographs. More info here.

Pushpamala's work has traditionally hinged upon illustrative narratives of women's history, memory, and life in contemporary society. Pushpamala N. studied sculpture at the MS University in Baroda, India. Since the mid-1990s she has primarily worked in photo-performance and video.

The exhibition is on display till the 25th of October,2008.

Dr.Vivek M

I have taken AGES to put up this interview and I’m not too proud of my procrastination but I can assure you that, it is well justified. Even so, here it is - an interview with a man who is an alarmingly astute Photographer and intriguingly enough, a professional doctor as well. I was blown away by how powerful his images were. Each of them holds a narrative, a poignant story waiting to be told in a series of events captured in their one singular moment of existence. Without further ado – Dr.Vivek M .

scenes from an Indian circus

What was it really like, chucking your job as a surgical intern to become a freelance photographer?

It was a big decision, especially in India where being a doctor is to be almost revered by the society. I loved science in school but I enjoyed art classes during my summer vacations more. Although my family was reluctant to send me to an art school, they realised after I finished medicine that my real passion was for the creative arts. My elder brother Lokesh has always been supportive of my venture into the arts and he inspired me to keep my interest alive.

Was there a specific moment that inspired the change in career?

I was 27, married and almost gave up on pursing photography as a profession because of the odds of making a living out of it. But Lavannya, my wife and architect, unconditionally promised to support me when I followed my dreams. I think this was this strength that made me go ahead.

How does it personally affect you when you document the lives of other people?

It does affect you especially when you shoot marginalised communities. As a person you understand the hardships of their everyday life and it in turn reflects on things that you have always taken for granted. I prefer to be a freelance photographer because I don't want to simply 'work' on a documentary and get over it. I choose the subjects that I am interested in, that affect me, that move me and then photography happens naturally. And I truly hope that my photography serves up to some purpose, directly or indirectly.

Inmate at Hope Old age Home

Boy making kites in Gujarat

Have you ever made a personal connection with any of the people that you photograph?

My photography is always preceded by a sincere attempt to connect to the subjects involved. Gaining their trust is the most important thing, I feel. Once a bonding is formed and a trust is established, photography is a mere ritual. During a course of a documentary I always make plenty of friends.

What are the other ways in your opinion for artists to get involved with humanitarian causes ?

Artists could make a huge difference in brings issues to the forefront. All they have to do is to spend a little of their time and creativity to become a voice for the less fortunate.

What do you do for fun?

Well, when I am not doing assignments I go on treks in the Western Ghats, read books or plan my next travel.

Worker chiseling stone at Quarry,Rampura

Self portrait at coffee house,Bangalore

What are your greatest influences & how do they influence what you do?

I have been influenced by different photographers at different points in time. I am a great fan of Raghu Rai and Raghubir Singh's work. Every time I look at their work I feel inspired to pick up the camera and go shooting! Raghubir Singh's book, A way into India permanently occupies my coffee table.

Whats a day in the life of Vivek M like?

Each day is different. If I am not travelling or editing pictures, I am researching my next story. But many days in the month are spent lazing around, reading and concocting impractical projects.

Inmate at Hope - Old age home

little girl at Uyyamballi

Do you have any words of wisdom for others who wish to get into photography?

Photography is many a media rolled into one. It has immense possibilities and potential. If you think you are really passionate about it, don't give it a second thought.

What are your future plans?

I don't think too much into the future. Right now I am preparing for a group exhibition opening in the city and working on another one this November, both supported by the Goethe Institute. But I truly want to get back into following my personal projects which I haven't done in a while.

Visit Dr.Vivek M's flickr page & website for more.