Neville Bulsara Photography | The Zen of Travel & Cultural Photography Workshops

What is Zen ? To put it simply, Zen is school of thought that through the practice of deep contemplation and practice aims to bring its practicioner to a state of enlightenment - a state where the practicioner has an intutive, spontaneous insight into the true nature of things. That insight is known as "satori" - *The Zen Moment.*
The process of Zen study (if I may call it that) consists of (a) Instruction by a teacher on what is to be done, (b) Rigorous contemplation on & practice by the student, & (c) Satori - The Zen Moment - when the student has a sudden, spontaneous insight.
The Zen Moment is spontaneous. It can be pointed to, but not described in words. While the moment and the insight itself is spontaneous, it cannot be reached without going through the stage of contemplation & practice. The door can be pointed to (via instruction) by the teacher, the walking to the door is to be done by the student himself. And walking through the door is satori - the moment when everything - instruction, the walking, the walker, the door, EVERYTHING - comes together in a flash.
Now why - you may wonder - am I going on this philosophical spiel? And what the heck does it have to do with photography ? Patience, my friend, patience! Like all good Zen teachers (ahem!) I'll bring it all together in a moment of realization.
What is Travel ? No! It's not going from place to place. Neither is it going somewhere to have a good time, chill out, let your hair down or anything else of that sort.
To travel to somewhere is to experience it. To experience it is to get immersed in it. To get immersed in something means you cannot have a "stand-off" attitude. You cannot experience a place by being a Tourist! Tourists visit, see and flit on. Travelers experience. Tourists may be insensitive to local culture and customs, travelers are mindful and respective of them.
Travel is more than the seeing of sights ; it is a change that goes on, deep & permanent, in the ideas of living.
I don't mean to let the cat out of the bag (at least yet), but to understand the difference between a tourist and a traveler, just have a look at holiday snaps made by people of the places they toured to. And then look at images made by travel photographers. See the difference between what I mean by "stand-off attitude" & "participation"? See the difference between "visit, see and flit on" and "to experience" ?
Hey, but why - you may wonder - am I going on about the difference between "touring" & "traveling" ? And what does it have to do with photography (duh!) ? And what on earth does it have to do with Zen ?
Patience, my friend, patience! Like all good Zen teachers (ahem!) I'll bring it all together in a moment of realization. Now where have you read that before, you wonder?
What is Culture ? I define "culture" as that set of beliefs, traditions, practices and a way of life that gives a people a sense of collective identity. American culture - for example - is about capitalism, freedom and shopping malls (OK, maybe not the last one). British culture - amongst other things - is about pubs, fish-n-chips, tea and a stiff upper lip. Japanese culture is about honor and duty... and the list goes on.
Of course the above examples are generalizations - which, by the way, is the best way to describe the masses. However, to truly understand the culture of a people involves spending time with them... again, it's about participation. You cannot participate until you are respectful and fired by a genuine desire to know & understand the culture. Participation leads to experience. And experience leads to understanding.
What on earth for - you may wonder - am I going on about culture for ? And what does it have to do with traveling (duh! No, make that a VERY BIG "DUH!!!") ? And where does photography come into the picture (pun very much intended). What on earth does it have to do with Zen ?
Patience, my friend, patience! Like all good Zen teachers (ahem!) I'll bring it all together in a moment of realization. Now where have you read that before, I wonder?
What is Travel and Cultural Photography ? Travel and cultural photography isn't just about making pictures. Travel and cultural photography is revealing, visually appealing, sensitive and informed imagery that captures the atmosphere of people and places rather than replicating cliched postcard views. In that, it is a process, rather than a technique. A journey, rather than a destination. A journey full of amazing discoveries. A journey that can be pointed to - but left for you to undertake. Quite a bit like Zen, what with the can-be-alluded-to-but-left-for-you-to-discover angle.
Did I just hear you say "O.K. I kinda am beginning to get where you were heading what with Travel, Culture & Travel & Cultural Photography. But how the hell is it different from other branches of photography, and what on earth does Zen have to do with it " ?
Patience, my friend, patience! Like all good Zen teachers (ahem!) I'll bring it all together in a moment of realization. Now where have you read that before, I wonder?
Zen in Travel and Cultural Photography Let's face it - good travel & cultural photography, just like most things in life, is not as easy as it looks. Neither is Zen, by the way. For starters, the travel & cultural photographer must learn to be a traveler first - in the truest sense of the word. Travel, as I mentioned earlier, is to experience. And experiencing comes from participation.
I think it's rather interesting that when there is that spirit of participation (the touchstone of travel), not only do good images result, but also serve to transport the viewer of those images to those places. Viewers are TRANSPORTED to the places photographed, so as to say -- not as mere spectators or tourists, but participants themselves!
If the ability to think like and become a traveler is one side of the coin, the other side is developing the technical and artistic skills needed to make travel images.
Unlike the dedicated wildlife / portrait / landscape photographer, travel & cultural photographers find themselves face-to-face with a wide range of photographic opportunities and challenges. The travel photographer has to do as much justice to a landscape, as he has to do with photographing a procession or people. In that, true travel & cultural photography provides the ultimate challenge for a photographer wishing to develop skills that encompass a wide variety of photo-ops.
More often than not, the travel & cultural photographer does not have the time and luxury of a studio photographer in setting up lights and walking around taking readings from various areas. Nor does he have the luxury of the landscape photographer for whom a scene isn't going to go anywhere in a hurry.
The Travel & Cultural Photographer needs to be a Jack Of All Trades (and a master of some!) - he needs to be equally at home photographing landscapes as he needs to be making images of people, wildlife, landmarks, festivals, fairs - you name it - everything that goes into making images that transport the viewer to the location and people that were photographed...
There is a craft to it. As there is an art. And a desired end result.
The craft consists of the technicalities - lighting, metering, exposure, color balance, lenses, filters, depth-of-field and what-have-you-not...
The art consists of your vision, composition, learning to see and what-have-you-not... The Desired End Result is the making of images that tell a story and transport a viewer to the locales where the images were made.
The Craft & Art need contemplation, deep study, & studious application so as to reach the Desired End Result...
And it must happen in a flash! Technical Ability, Artistic Vision, the subject, camera and the photographer must come together in an instant of insight - without thought or pre-determination - for the making of good, spontaneous travel imagery. As a Zen saying goes "dwell on it, and you will have missed it"... Well, spend time thinking in the field what aperture / shutter speed to use and you will have missed that once in a lifetime shot.
Technical ability, artistic vision, the camera, the subject(s) being photographed, the photographer himself - all coming together in an intutive moment that leads to the making of a great travel image. That is a Zen Moment (satori) for you.
And that my friend, is Zen in Travel & Cultural Photography :) . And the moment of everything coming together in the making of your travel and cultural images is what we aim to help you achieve in our Zen Of Travel Photography Workshops!
The Zen of Travel and Cultural Photography Workshops The aim of our Zen of Travel & Cultural Photography Workshops is to combine excellent photographic instruction with the most beautiful locations of India so as to enable participants to come back with those evocative images they've always wanted to make.
The Zen of Travel Photography Workshops emphasize learning on location, and are inclined towards intense learning and photography. The workshops are designed for those who wish to get started with digital or film photography, or, need special instruction in specific areas of travel & cultural photography. You can expect the full attention of the program leader on workshops, as well as comprehensive lectures, image reviews etc. to monitor and further your progress.
What you will learn As you may have guessed by now, the focus of the Zen of Travel & Cultural Photography Workshops is to both equip you with the skills and and guide you to your very own Zen Moment - the moment where your technical and artistic abilities come together in a flash to enable you to make memorable travel images. Subjects covered on our workshops include, but are not limited to:
>> Understanding Exposure and The Zone System >> When and why your camera's meter may not be as smart as claimed by the manufacturer >> When and how to use the metering modes of your camera (Evaluative / Matrix, Spot / Partial) >> How to expose correctly for difficult subjects and conditions >> Understanding the many types and facets of light >> Understanding and controlling Color Balance >> What filters you need to use and when to use them >> Lenses - what to use, when and where
>> How to see and compose images >> Photographic checklists - being prepared for the shot before you take it >> Capturing a sense of place - thinking and shooting like a travel and cultural photographer. Topics include: >>> Understanding the many facets of travel and cultural photography >>> Story telling via images - key points to keep in mind when shooting almost anything >>> Capturing a sense of place >>> Photographing people >>> Photographing festivals and events >>> And much, much more... >> The benefits of shooting RAW >> Digital processing
Where are the workshops conducted and how do I sign up ? Our Zen of Travel & Cultural Photography Workshops are conducted in some of the most beautiful locales in India. The areas we currently operate our photography workshops (and tours) include Ladakh, Rajasthan and Varanasi. We plan to conduct these workshops in other areas of India in the foreseeable future - watch this space!
The Zen of Travel and Cultural Photography Workshops are run as both scheduled group photography workshops, as well as private, customized workshops. The scheduled workshops have a pre-set itinerary and need a minimum number of participants to run. Our private, customized workshops can run with as little as one participant; the locations & itinerary are designed jointly by us and the participants based on their specific requirements and travel dates.
You can view our scheduled Travel & Cultural Photography Workshops ( and tours) on the Calendar section of the website. If your dates don't coincide with our scheduled departures, or, if you'd like us to put together a workshop to a destination of your choice along with a more customized and personal itinerary, we'll be more than glad to assist you - please contact us for more details - we'll be more than glad to assist you in your pursuit of your very own Zen moment!