The part I like a lot during my photo-expeditions/workshops is when I revisit an area or a village, and bring prints of the photographs I had previously made there. More often than not, the people remember me either before or after I hand out their photographs. It's a small way to give back to the community, and demonstrates to those who were willing (or unaware) subjects that I keep my promises when I tell them I'd be back with their portraits.
In Ahmedabad, I returned to the area of Ahmed Shah's mosque and his shrine, and found the keeper of the tombs as well as the woman who makes and sells paper flowers. They were thrilled with their photographs. It didn't stop one of them to cheekily but smilingly ask me for "
baksheesh" but I laughed it off.
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| Photo © Kantilal Doobal- All Rights Reserved |
In a tribal village close to Bhuj, I was very popular with a group of women and children as I handed out their pictures, and one woman was extremely proud to show off a picture of her in all her finery.
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| Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved |
It takes a little effort to find, edit and print these pictures before each trip, but it's well worth it. It goes a long way to gain the trust of the people I photograph and will photograph anew. There were some areas I didn't revisit this time, but I still carried some prints of those I had photographed, which I gave to either hotel keepers, fixers or locals I know will eventually pass them on to the rightful people.
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| Photo © Kantilal Doobal-All Rights Reserved |
