The Soul of Inida: Photo Trip to Varanasi, India

The Zen of Travel Photography Workshops - The Soul of India
4 day Photo Trip to Varanasi, India

The Zen of Travel Photography Workshops - The Soul of India photo trip is designed for beginner photographers who wish to learn the science and art of travel and cultural photography.

You will witness - and photograph - colors as you've never seen them before. You will witness - and photograph - ceremonies and customs that date back thousands of years, but yet play out daily in the oldest continuously inhabited city on earth. You will witness and experience first hand Varanasi's timeless faith, river ghats, elaborate dialy rituals and a way of life unlike any other on earth.

While you're at it, we'll ensure you aren't photographically overwhelmed, gently pointing out areas you may need to pay special attention to. You'll also learn the intricacies of exposure, metering modes, depth-of-field and a host of other technical and aestithetic subjects that are essential to the process of creating compelling travel images.

Nature of Trip : This photo trip to Varanasi, India, falls into the category of a "photography workshop" and is part of our Zen of Travel Photography Workshops that we conduct in India. Our Photo Workshops, while geared towards photographers at all levels, differ from tours & expeditions in the amount of time devoted to theory and image reviews. Workshops are geared towards learning, while tours emphasize location.

Objectives :

Drawing its curriculum from our Zen of Travel Photography Workshops, this photo trip will get you started on your quest to understand - and exploit - the many features that your camera has to offer, while helping you to unleash the budding travel photographer in you. Topics covered in this workshop include the fundamentals of exposure, exposure and metering modes, the many facets of light, color balance, depth of field, how to see and compose images, story telling via images and capturing a sense of place.

This workshop is packed with theory, practical in-the-field sessions, daily review of images shot by participants, as well as photographic assignments.

Dates :

Any time of the year except during the monsoons (July to September)

What to carry :

From a photography viewpoint - a choice of lens covering the range of focal lengths from 20-300mm (in 35mm terms - please check the crop factor of your sensor if you plan to be shooting on digital) is ideal to help you capture everything from the sweeping ghats to close-up story-telling details. Tripods are recommended for when we'll be shooting the evening rituals after sunset. Fast lenses are a bonus, but not mandatory, as would be a flash.

If shooting digital, we recommend that you shoot RAW on this trip; what with the associated image sizes , we suggest that you carry sufficient media to last you for at least two or more days if not the entire trip. A laptop or other form of digital storage to transfer your digital images onto at the end of every day is highly recommended.

Health pre-requisites & Insurance :

There are no specific health concerns to be kept in mind while on this India Photographic Tour apart from the regular bit about vaccinations, anti-malarial drugs etc. Please consult your doctor for details.

Nevertheless, it is always prudent to carry health insurance wherever you are traveling, and we recommend that all our participants do so.

Itinerary :

Day 0 - Delhi > Varanasi : Meet in Delhi in the late evening and board our overnight train to Varanasi. Enroute, review trip objectives and gain an understanding of the basics of exposure, the zone system and exposure modes. Overnight in the train.

Day 1 - Varanasi: Upon arrrival in Varanasi, transfer to our hotel and check in by noon. Late afternoon we head off to the famous ghats for photography. Witness and photograph the ritual aarti on the River Ganges as the sun goes down. Late evening image review, followed by suggestions on how to expose better, control depth of field, & achieve proper color balance. We will also delve into understanding metering modes and when to use them (B,L,D)

Day 2 - Varanasi: Photograph the throngs of worshipers (from our private boat) who visit the ghats every day to pray to the the rising sun and the river goddess - a sight never to be forgotten. After breakfast review images, and recieve suggestions on technical issues that may need improvement. We follow this up with a study of the non-technical aspects of photography - composing images. Late afternoon street photography in the marketplace, followed by photographing the evening aarti - this time from our boat. Evening review of images, recieve further suggestions on both the technical and aesthetic aspects of photography (B,L,D)

Day 3 - Varanasi: By now, you should have a grounding in both the technical as well as the asthetic aspects, and it's time for you to try them out without any hand-holding. Today morning we will explore the ghats on foot. It is up to you to make images today - you will recieve no inputs on what to shoot and how, unless you specifically ask (and you will - it does take time for the technicalities to become second nature, and we'll hold your hand as long as you want it to be held!)

After breakfast review images, and recieve suggestions on technical and aesthetic issues that may need improvement. We follow this up with several excercises on just how one can go about learning "how to see" - a crucial aspect of making great travel images, as well as learning how to go about capturing the elusive essence of place which is what travel photography is all about.

Come the afternoon, and you'll be on your first assignment - that of applying all you've learnt to photographing the evening rituals at the ghats. Before retiring for the night, we'll review your assignment shots to those of the previous two days. This will help you understand and review your own performance, while enabling us to suggest areas for improvement (B, L, D)

Day 4 - Varanasi: Assignment time again, and this time around it's the ghats by early morning light. Apply all that you've learnt while seeking out and making images on your own. You've learnt what you need to know, and it's time you know you've learnt it! Today morning is all about boosting your self-confidence on this front, and seeing how your photography has changed over time.

Check out after breakfast. The rest of the day is free for you to maybe go shopping on your own and explore some parts of town if you so wish. Return to the hotel in time enough to catch our late evening train back to Delhi (B, L, D)

Day 5 - Delhi: Arrive in Delhi in the early morning, the trip ends upon arrival.

Pricing :

The Zen of Travel Photography - 4 day The Soul of India Varanasi Photo Trip

Per person, sharing Twin Accommodation
2 participants: US $ 1600
3 - 4 participants: US $ 1400
5+ participants: US $ 1200

The cost covers twin occupancy accommodation in comfort hotels, portage at hotels (up to a max. of two bags per person), train & ground travel as outlined in the itinerary, admission and camera fees (still cameras only) at sites we visit listed in the itinerary, meals as detailed in the itinerary, mineral water with meals.

Not included in the price are international flights (to & from India), beverages, laundry, tips, cost of film or developing, media backup costs (for digital shooters), personal expenses, video camera fees at sites, and any other costs that are not listed above. Photographers are expected to carry their own cameras, lenses and other photographic gear & media and are responsible for the safety of the same.

Booking terms & conditions :

To book this trip please contact us.

A registeration deposit of 25% is needed to confirm your reservation, The remainder of the total payment is due 60 days prior to the commencement of the trip. Failure to remit the remainder of your total tour payment by the due date will be treated as a cancellation as in writing.

Payments can be made either via Paypal or Wire Transfer (or via a Demand Draft / Banker's Cheque if paying from within India).

Should you cancel at least 60 days prior to the commencement of the trip, your money will be refunded in full, less a $100 processing fee. If cancelling between 30-60 days, the cancellation charge is 30%. Cancellations are not possible after that.

Cancellations bear an additional surcharge of 3.9% of the total sum remitted to us, if funded by a credit or debit card via Paypal.

Please contact us to book this trip.