My Travels In India
With all the gloomy weather, I thought everyone might be due for some bright, exotic travel photos. Personally, I have been longing to visit some place sunny. So to get us all in a warmer frame of mine, I am sharing with you my India street photography from a trip that included Delhi, Rajasthan, and the Taj Mahal.
I have to start by saying that this was not the best of trips. I ventured to India on my own in 2008. The trip was three weeks long, and it was challenging, to say the least. I started in Delhi, spent most of my time in the northern state of Rajasthan to see Jaipur and a myriad of temples, and then ended my trip in Agra at the Taj Mahal. India was beautiful and the trip was a true adventure, but I would never go there alone again. This was my first trip to a country where the harassment of women was so prevalent, and it was both shocking and scary.
Anyway, before leaving for India, I had just moved to Washington DC to take a new job in the finance industry. So when I returned from my trip, I was busy with my new job. This, coupled with the fact that my trip was not something to write home about, caused me to put away my photos and not do anything with them.
It is now 2017, and an interior designer friend of mine inquired about a photo from a trip I took to Japan in 2004. A client of hers was interested in possibly purchasing the print. This, plus my recent trip to Las Vegas and to Death Valley and the Mojave National Preserve sparked a renewed interest in travel photography and my past adventures. And so I dug out my old hard drive with all of the photos from my India trip.
In editing these photos, it is as if I am seeing India again for the first time. I remember what I loved about the country – the colorful women who were so warm and welcoming, the temples, the markets, the street chaos. The photos actually make me want to return, albeit much better prepared.
I am now thinking about where I want to go next. The original plan was to go to Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, but now my thoughts are wandering to Easter Island and Chile. Any recommendations for where I should go next? Have you been to either Easter Island or Vietnam? Do you have any travel tips for me?
If you would like to see more of my travel photography, including photos from the trip to Japan that really got me started in photography, hop over to my Instagram account – @KellyWilliamsPhotographer – or visit my personal website, www.Kelly-Williams.com. If you are interested, I am selling small prints and cards from my travels on my personal website. It’s never too early to think about exotic holiday gifts!
