After visiting Agra our group proceeded by bus to New Delhi, signaling the completion of the main portion of the 2012 India photo tour. Upon arrival in Delhi, we bid a sad farewell to 5 members of our group, who were heading home. The rest of us spent one night in New Delhi before catching the early train to Haridwar.
Haridwar, located in the foothills of the Himalayas, near the point where the Ganga reaches the plains, is an ancient pilgrimage site, held in reverence for centuries. A visit to Haridwar is like stepping into a totally different world, and is one of my favorite photography locations in all of India. Every evening, “Aarti”, a Hindu puja ceremony is performed on the Ganges in Haridwar. We always shoot the Aarti ceremony 2 consecutive nights, and that ended up being a great idea because we encountered a bit of rain on the first evening.
After photographing Aarti, the following morning we did our usual “morning photo expedition” on the streets near our hotel. It’s always a pleasure to photograph in the morning, before the streets are full of pilgrims and vendors, it’s the only time when things are a bit more sedate.
I’ve decided to share black and white images of Haridwar, to continue in a tradition that I started last year. For some reason, I like the feeling of “Haridwar in black & white”. Enjoy these 21 images.
Great captured of the city’s routine life and good move to show them in B&W!
Really enjoyed! I was in Haridwar before 2 years but not spent more than 3 hours. I was stayed 3 days in Rishikesh (Diwali time). Rishikesh is also a good place to visit and for photography!
Hi Karl,
I must agree with you on your decision to shoot B&W. Awesome!
Hope all is well my friend!
Terry
hi Karl,
I am from India and spent a lot of years in uttar pradesh. Love the memories this images bring me.
Btw, what do you use for your black and white processing? Just Lightroom? I love the clean look here.
Hi Sugoto, yes, I used Lightroom…. for most of them I just clicked the “black and white” button, pushed the blacks a bit and used the preset “vignette” button. Thanks for asking.
Hey Karl —
I love the B/W images. Must say that I am leaning toward doing more of that myself.
Roberto
Definitely a fantastic series of images, Karl. Beautiful light and texture. There are a number I’d love to see in print (and larger, while I’m at it). So much story in them! The first image, is a great example. The romantic scene of the movie poster paired against the daily reality; the woman on the motor cycle in the poster paired against the man on the bike; repeating verticals; great texture and details…. yeah. I’d like to see this one large!
Great photos…. love black and white photos… i am also thinking for black n white photography….
Find myself coming back to look at these…
Would love to have them in a print book. Just saying. 🙂
Hello Karl,
Reached your site through kenrockwell.com. Am not disappointed, I must say! Really great images that capture the life of Haridwar! Am going to explore the other albums now 🙂
Best wishes for a Merry Christmas!
Too good … but I like 110 and 120 very much :)… thanks for posting