Chapter Five. Photographing People

I am drawn to expressions of human hunger for the divine, for absolution and connection. Walking up and down the Ganges at Varanasi, India, a couple years ago, I spent the bulk of my time photographing the river-deep rituals that represented this, and the last time I was in Kathmandu I just never got around to shooting the religious life of the city in an intentional way. On my most recent trip to Kathmandu, I went specifically to photograph the expressions of faith of Tibetan Buddhists in exile in the small community of Boudha. In particular, I was looking to photograph the people, both in wider street scenes and through intimate portraiture. Nepalis are pretty relaxed people—and the Buddhists even more so. Still, the thought of the week that I would spend photographing people made me a little nervous.

Harar, Ethiopia. This young Muslim girl was on her way to school, cutting through the market, when she stopped to watch me shooting. I shot a few frames, and she never once broke eye contact. Then she smiled and ran off. I love my job.

Canon Digital Rebel, 50mm, 1/80 @ f/6.3, ISO 400