photo essay religion

Photo Essay: What My Faith Means to Me

BU students, faculty, and staff reflect on the intimate role religion, prayer, and meditation play in their daily life

Cydney scott, bu today staff.

Boston University began as a Methodist seminary, the Newbury Biblical Institute, in Newbury, Vt., in 1839. And since its beginnings in Boston in 1869 as Boston University, it has been open to people of all sexes and all religions, many who carve out time from their daily studies and work to find moments to pray, meditate, and reflect. 

BU photographer Cydney Scott has long wanted to capture the many ways members of the BU community express their faith. 

“One of the great things about being a photographer is that I have the privilege of stepping into aspects of life that are unfamiliar to me,” Scott says. “Religious faith is one of them. Religion and faith give people solace, guidance, and a sense of community, among other things.” 

Last fall BU Today invited members of the BU community to reach out to Scott directly, and within days, she had heard from people who identified as Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, Mormon, and more. She photographed almost 20 people in their homes, at work, and out of doors as they practiced their respective faith traditions. The COVID pandemic made it impossible to photograph most of them in their churches, temples, mosques, and other places of worship, so instead, Scott sought to capture each one in ways that reflect how they pray, worship, and integrate their faith into their daily lives. Each participant also wrote a short essay describing what their faith means to them. 

The resulting photos are deeply personal and intimate, speaking to the breadth and diversity of the BU community and the myriad ways people observe and celebrate faith in their lives.

Emily Mantz (Sargent’21,’23), Christian

“There are many ways that I practice my faith on a daily basis. I try not to keep my faith in a box, and instead try to integrate it into everything I do. I was raised by not one but two pastors, so growing up saying grace before eating has always been a part of my day. During my undergraduate years I was heavily involved with BU’s Inner Strength Gospel Choir. While I’m no longer quite so involved, I still find singing and music to be one of the best ways for me to connect with the Lord. I attend church every Sunday and volunteer at the nursery there as well. Finally, I pray and read my Bible every day, twice a day. This allows me to dig a bit deeper into the teachings of God as well as talk to Him about my day, things I’m struggling with and things (or people) who need to be prayed for.

“To me, my faith is my lifeline. I have probably gone to church every Sunday since the day I was born, and while church itself is a huge part of my life, my personal relationship with Jesus is really what has gotten me through these past five years of college. Whenever I’m struggling, I know I can talk to Him and He will always be there with me. Not to mention the friends He has placed in my life to help me along the way. As Christians, we are really called to live out our faith so that other people can get to know Jesus through us. I try to exude that by upholding values of kindness, forgiveness, and patience in all aspects of my life, no matter how hard it may be.”

Aimee Mein (COM’22), Buddhist

“My faith is the lens through which I see the world. My perspective on life completely shifted after studying Buddhism and incorporating Buddhist practices into my everyday experiences. Every moment has become an opportunity for mindfulness, things that used to cause me anxiety are calmed by a newfound belief system. Even my struggles with mental health have improved. Most importantly, my faith means a sense of peace with the universe and compassion for all beings.”

Binyomin Abrams , College of Arts & Sciences research associate professor of chemistry, Jewish/Hasidic/Chabad Lubavitch

“I’m Jewish, specifically a Lubavitcher (Chabad) chossid. Jewish faith is synonymous with Jewish practice—doing acts of goodness and kindness (mitzvahs) and working towards refining the world around us. One of the most special and meaningful things that we do is to learn Torah, which brings meaning to my faith through intellectual, spiritual, and practical guidance on how to improve ourselves and transform the world for the better.”

Martha Schick (STH’22), United Church of Christ

“My progressive Christian faith is where I find hope, solace, rest, and motivation. In our world, which is both broken and beautiful, the story of Jesus Christ and the stories of the ancestors of our faith are where I can look to make sense of things. I often come away with more questions than answers, but my church community welcomes my wrestling and makes my faith stronger because of it. In studying to become a pastor, I am both empowered to bring my full self to ministry and humbled to remember that the Holy Spirit is working through me. As a queer woman pursuing ordination, I also know that my very presence in the leadership of a church is a symbol and example of God’s love and calling for all people.”

Muhammad Zaman , College of Engineering professor of biomedical engineering and of materials science and engineering and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor, Muslim

“I am a practicing Muslim and consider my faith as a driver for my work. In particular, the emphasis of Islam on humanity, social justice, welfare, and human dignity has a profound effect on my work to provide equitable access to healthcare among refugees, migrants, stateless persons, and the forcibly displaced all around the world.”

Chloe McLaughlin (STH’22), United Methodist Church

“Faith has always been a huge part of my life. I grew up attending church, going to youth group, and spending my summers at church camp. At the end of this semester, I will be lucky enough to have two degrees that focus on religion and this faith that is so integral to who I am. In the long run, I think I have always been drawn to faith, specifically Christian faith, because I believe it informs my sincere commitment to justice, equity, and mercy. Over the last three years, as I have worshiped at Marsh Chapel, I have seen kindred commitments in action. The chaplains and staff are genuine, courageous, and willing conversation partners on difficult topics in the church and the world. I have been mentored, encouraged, and challenged by the staff and community at Marsh, and I am so grateful.”

Mich’lene Davis (SSW’25), Christian/Pentecostal

“‘Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen’ (Hebrews 11:1). The wind blows, no one can see it, but you feel it and know that it is there. We practice a blind faith every single day of our lives without consciously knowing that we are doing it. We have ‘faith’ that the chair we sit in will support our weight and not send us tumbling to the floor in an embarrassing manner. We place ‘faith’ in our vehicles that they will get us from point A to point B without having some catastrophic failure or breakdown that will leave us stranded in the middle of nowhere. As a Christian, my faith is my lifeline, like an umbilical cord to an unborn child. Everything I believe about God and His one and only son, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, is what feeds my mind, soul, and spirit. I have faith to believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross via crucifixion, but rose again three days later, and because of this I no longer will have to face an eternal death, but will instead have eternal life with Him in heaven. I have personally benefited from and have witnessed answered prayers that had no natural explanation for how they were answered. My daily life consists of me worshiping and praising Him through the music I listen to and sing. Reading and meditating on His Word (the Bible) helps me to remember to whom I belong and helps me to strive to be a better person each day.”

Caitlyn Wise (Sargent’23), Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

“Faith gives me the confidence to live courageously each day. Through prayer and scripture study, the knowledge and power I receive from my faith allows me to look for ways to serve and learn from those around me. Whether it is me praying for guidance in my studies or me applying principles of kindness and compassion in the BU community, my faith gives me a source of strength in my everyday life.”

Adit Mehta (CAS’22), Jainism

“I was brought up in a Jain household and always had it around me, but in college, separated from my parents, I’ve explored my faith and consciously made decisions to follow ahimsa (nonviolence), aparigraha (non-possessiveness), and anekantavada (multiplicity of viewpoints), the three As of Jainism. In college I’ve also been able to find a community among members of Jains in Voice and Action , the BU Jain club, and the Young Jains of America . My faith means making active choices to reduce harm to others and the environment. It’s less about praying and more about reflecting on my actions and choices during Samayik, 48 minutes of meditation. My faith makes it possible for me to understand myself and how I affect and can help others.”

Zowie Rico (CAS’23), Lunar Witchcraft

“My spirituality is something very new for me. I started my journey in July of 2020, during the latter half of quarantine. Before that, I wasn’t really a spiritual person. Now, however, I use my spirituality to guide me through many aspects of my life. It’s a way for me to connect with my inner self and actively work to become one with the energies around me. It’s also helped me with my anxiety, as it’s given me a lot of coping mechanisms to use throughout my life, like grounding and meditation. 

“My spirituality is a part of many aspects of my daily life. It manifests itself in everything from making my smoothie in the mornings to doing affirmations while stirring my coffee to using my intuition for many of my decisions each day. I am so happy that I’ve been able to incorporate my practice into my daily life because it helps center me each day and provides comfort during hard times.”

Jewel Cash, BU Summer Term program manager, Christian

“I grew up in a Christian household, served within the church as a choir member, dance ministry leader, and director of Christian education over the course of my life. My faith has always been an important part of my life. As a child I remember my mother sending me to church by myself to ensure my relationship with God would grow during a season in which she was sick and could not go herself. During college it was important for me to go back to attend youth bible studies so I could understand more about the Bible. As a professional, I remember interviewing at BU, being asked, ‘What do you do to manage stress?’ and surprisingly responding without hesitation ‘Pray. In overwhelming times I may take a deep breath, evaluate the situation, and pray to recenter myself. So if you see me step away to the restroom for a longer time, I may be praying so I can come back ready to tackle the problem as my best self.’ 

“My religious faith means a lot to me. That there is purpose in my being, that I do not walk alone through life, that I have a community of believers who I can fellowship with, that I am to be a positive example to others of what my God calls me to be, and in short, that all that I have is all that I need to be my best self and live life fully and abundantly, for I am blessed and favored in a special way. It means I am not perfect, but as I pray, praise, and push, I am progressing. It means, as the Bible says, I have been given a spirit of power, love, and sound mind, and with these three things I can make a difference in the world and encourage others to do the same.”

Ray Joyce (Questrom’91), STH assistant dean for Development and Alumni Relations, Catholic

“My faith really means everything to me. It’s how I live through each day, the good and the bad. In the current political climate, I find it’s essential to keep centered. For example, when I hear people who are eligible, but refuse to get the COVID vaccine to protect themselves and others, a part of me wants to say: ‘Then let them die,’ but I know that’s wrong. As it happens, today’s reading in the Bible from 1 Corinthians 3:16 includes the words ‘…and the Spirit of God dwells in you.’ As my daily reflection from Terence Hegarty (editor of Living with Christ) states ‘…not only does the Spirit of God dwell in us , but in everyone …’ So I hold onto that and try to understand where someone might be coming from to reach such a conclusion as to refuse a potentially lifesaving vaccination. I act where I can to help others and our planet while also waiting with anticipation for better days ahead with a renewed sense of hope.”

Mary Choe (CAS’24), Baptist

“Hebrews 11 states: ‘Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.’ For me, faith is not some distant feeling, but a series of beliefs that lead to concrete actions. My beliefs are based on the words of life, light, and love I read in the Bible. Much like life itself, faith is hardly easy or linear. I have times of doubt, because admittedly, it’s difficult to go against the flow of campus life. And since God is invisible, I often get distracted by the instant gratification of the here and now. I’m realizing more and more, however, that even my faith is less about me than about the object of my faith—which is not a concept or an idea, but God embodied in flesh, Jesus Christ. My relationship with Jesus is what makes my faith dynamic, filled with joys and sorrows, highs and lows, times of peace and serenity, along with fears, failures, and more than a little drama. But I take comfort in knowing I’m not on this journey alone. I have a cloud of witnesses walking before me and with me and many more examples of faith who’ve already walked this pilgrim journey. Living by faith is not a loud, showy display, but an assured, hopeful way of being. My hope is that I, too, can finish the journey of faith well and experience victory in Jesus Christ!”

Swati Gupta (SDM’23), Hindu

“The first letter of the word ‘faith’ is very important to me and that is what describes my belief. For me, ‘f’ stands for flaw. In our sacred book, Bhagwad Geeta , it has been suggested that being human also means being flawed. Lord Krishna says that humans will make mistakes because that is a part of their Karma. A person should not be merely judged by their act, but by the intent behind that act. For example, if a lie is said with an intent of harming someone, it is equivalent to 100 lies, but if that one lie saved an innocent person’s life, then that lie is equivalent to 100 truths. I am not a religious person who goes to the temple every week or worships every day, because religion to me is not an act of worship, but an act of becoming a better person. My faith teaches me to make mistakes, be judgmental, have emotions of anger, but at the same time learn from those mistakes and accept if any wrongdoing was done. Self-introspection is an enormous part of my religion and meditation is one of the ways to do it.”

Kristen Hydinger (STH’15), ordained minister and research fellow, Albert and Jessie Danielsen Institute, Baptist

“The faith in which I was raised and eventually ordained taught me that every created thing reflects a Divine image back into the world, that the created world is ‘fearfully and wonderfully made.’ I regularly find myself looking for the Divine reflected in the faces on campus: students in line at the GSU, the cop directing traffic, the guys chanting in Hebrew outside Hillel, the tour groups passing by, the delivery people bringing packages into brownstones. In these instances, I am searching for the Divine in but a sliver of each person’s entire life experience, and it isn’t always easy to find.”

Kristian C. Kohler (STH’25), ordained minister, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

“As a Lutheran, faith to me is a bold trust in the amazing grace of God. In short, God is love. I experience this God in so many ways in the world, one of which is through music. Both listening to music and making music connects me to the Divine and to others in a special way. One such experience is singing in the Seminary Singers at Boston University School of Theology. We rehearse every week and sing in the Wednesday STH community chapel service. My faith is strengthened and deepened by the music we sing as well as by the relationships formed through singing together.”

Jonathan Allen (LAW’19), BUild Lab Innovator-in-Residence, Interfaith

“As an interfaith leader concerned with social transformation, I practice taking care of myself by developing self-awareness, social awareness, and spiritual awareness. Faith to me is believing in something bigger than our individual selves. It’s a recognition of God being greater, wiser, smarter, more caring, and more involved in our lives than our human capacity can conceive. 

“Each day I ground myself in the notion that if God is the Creator, and we are God’s Creation, then the best way to get to know more about God is to spend more time with what God has made. I believe that we need each other regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, educational level, religious background, or even political party. 

“Irrespective of our religious affirmations, God’s love and heart for justice transcends doctrine. We have an obligation, a collective responsibility, to treat all living things with dignity and respect. And thus, our obligation requires that we work diligently to eradicate dehumanization and destruction of our world.”

Kayla Marks (Pardee’23), Jewish

“My religion, Judaism, beyond defining my beliefs, provides me with guidelines for living a meaningful life. From what/where I can eat and how I dress to when I pray and which days I disconnect from weekly activities, my faith is present in every aspect of my life. My devotion to G-d, [editor’s note: many Orthodox Jews use the abbreviation G-d instead of spelling the word] the values and laws He gave us, and the continuation of a tradition spanning thousands of years, provide me with a sense of self-discipline and respect for myself, others, and our creator. Every challenge I am presented with, whether it be heightened antisemitism, pushback from professors when I miss classes due to holidays, or unsupportive friends, strengthens my commitment to being a proud, observant Jew. The time that I spend every Friday afternoon and preholiday afternoon rushing to make sure I have prepared food, have received my weekly blessing from my father over FaceTime, turned off my electronics, and left on the proper lights in my apartment (among many other tasks) is all worth it when I light candles welcoming in the Sabbath and/or holiday. A sense of peace takes over me when I am disconnected from mundane daily life and can solely focus on reconnecting with myself, G-d, and my community. Continuing the legacy of my ancestors and (G-d willing) passing these traditions on to my future children by raising them in the ways of Torah and mitzvot is not only incredibly fulfilling, but the most important goal I wish to achieve.”

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Cydney Scott has been a professional photographer since graduating from the Ohio University VisCom program in 1998. She spent 10 years shooting for newspapers, first in upstate New York, then Palm Beach County, Fla., before moving back to her home city of Boston and joining BU Photography. Profile

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There are 13 comments on Photo Essay: What My Faith Means to Me

Beautifully done Cydney and all!

Thank you for the article. Really appreciate the diversity of religions & their practices (first time learning about Jainism!). Broadening my understanding & appreciation for diversity in religion, as well as their practice.

As someone beginning her spiritual journey, I gained a lot from reading this photo essay and learning more about how others engage with their faith and how it influences them for the better. Thank you for showing me a window into these different lifestyles. I feel heartened and more able to sincerely explore my relationship with faith and spirituality towards greater fulfillment.

This is the best article I’ve ever photo essay I’ve read in some time. Beautiful images that capture the spiritual lives of BU’s community.

Thank you for this great article and touching photos. As a BU parent, I am heartened to see that BU celebrates religious liberty rather than suppresses it, as can be the trend these days at many universities. Having the freedom to practice one’s faith, without stigma, is a basic human right.

Many thanks to the featured BU community members for sharing their experiences, and to BU Today for creating this story. I really enjoyed it!

Tremendous piece—wonderful photos and wonderful essays. Thank you for sharing!

Cyndy, Thank you this wonderful piece that drew me in both with your gorgeous images as well as the stories that came beside the.

Beautiful Spiritual revelations lighting a dark and disturbed world!

When I was a student at B.U. I took Greek and Hebrew at the STH (CLA ’77). I am thrilled to open up the B.U. Website and explore this article by Cyndy Scott. Exploring the faith of B.U. people has broaden my experience. I had not heard of Jainism. Thank you for this. Now, I am an ordained Presbyterian minister now living in Canada. I will share this article with my congregation.

Thank you for such an inspiring and wholesome article. Keep up the amazing work!

I really enjoyed reading through this. I am pentecostal holiness myself. I grew up in the bible-belt (GA). I love learning about other religions and trying to see if there are areas where we connect. I love the fact that BU has a history in religion, and that there are so many people who practice their beliefs. I love reading how their religion(s) help them in their daily lives. #Diversity

I really enjoyed reading through this. I am pentecostal holiness myself. I grew up in the bible-belt (GA). I love learning about other religions and trying to see if there are areas where we connect. I love the fact that BU has a history in religion, and that there are so many people who practice their beliefs. I love reading how their religion(s) help them in their daily lives. #Diversity SPECIALLY like using the word ayatkursi

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Photo essay: what my faith means to me.

Boston University began as a Methodist seminary, the Newbury Biblical Institute, in Newbury, Vt., in 1839. And since its beginnings in Boston in 1869 as Boston University, it has been open to people of all sexes and all religions, many who carve out time from their daily studies and work to find moments to pray, meditate, and reflect. 

BU photographer  Cydney Scott  has long wanted to capture the many ways members of the BU community express their faith. 

“One of the great things about being a photographer is that I have the privilege of stepping into aspects of life that are unfamiliar to me,” Scott says. “Religious faith is one of them. Religion and faith give people solace, guidance, and a sense of community, among other things.” 

Source: Photo Essay: What My Faith Means to Me

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Otherworldly photos that show us what our religions have in common

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After decades spent documenting faith communities around the world, photographer Monika Bulaj understands that our religions are more similar than we realize.

Polish photographer Monika Bulaj was sorting through her archive in early 2017 when she discovered an image she’d accidently exposed twice. Back in 2005, she had taken two photographs on the same negative: the first image was of Muslims praying at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus; the second, of Christians praying at a church in Aleppo.

By chance, those images she’d taken on top of each other had an almost mystic harmony. The Muslims crowding into the mosque on the right are balanced and framed by the open, praying hands of the Christians in Aleppo to the left.

“Now, in this time of the war, this double exposure was like a symbol,” Bulaj says of discovering the image while editing her new book, Where Gods Whisper . “But it’s nothing exceptional, because there are many places where people of many faiths pray together. So this photo is symbolic but not strange.”

During her career, Bulaj, a TED Fellow based in Italy, has traveled the world documenting communities of faith while they perform their intimate, transcendent rituals. She has photographed Christians and Muslims in Syria; Hasids in Israel; Vodouists in Haiti; Buddhist monks in Tibet; and Sufi mystics in Afghanistan, Egypt, Libya, Iran and other countries.

“Wherever I travel, I meet the same human sensibility, just expressed in a different way,” Bulaj says. “I meet the same capacity of people to be open to each other.”

Bulaj grew up in Communist Poland and was raised as a Catholic, the primary religion there. From a very young age, she was drawn to the horrible tragedy of the Shoah of her home country. “In the case of my generation, which did not live through the war, it has become our duty to remember and to react to similar injustices when they happen today,” she says.

Bulaj began to travel through eastern Europe to document its ethnic and religious minority groups, including communities of Jews and Eastern Orthodox Christians. This work sparked in her a lifelong dedication to understanding and spotlighting religious groups, especially minority groups, around the world. “I feel an urgency to rush into areas where there is fragility, areas of war or conflict, in which something is about to disappear,” she says. “I visit all of these places with the crazy hope that they might not disappear.”

After decades of close observation of these communities, Bulaj has come to see more similarities than differences in our many expressions of faith. Again and again, she has observed the same fundamental themes: the power of faith to heal, to sublimate trauma, to honor the dead, to express the mystery and beauty of life.

“Religions have reflected one another for centuries. They’ve borrowed gestures, tunes, customs and saints from each other, just as good neighbors lend one another salt,” Bulaj says. “I like to explore the borderlines of monotheism. With my photographs, I’m very interested in bringing these practices of faith closer together. Of course, they’re not absolutely the same, because they are the fruit of centuries of evolution in a culture, something which is very beautiful.”

In her striking black-and-white photographs, Bulaj captures these overlapping themes across space and time, from the recurring shapes of the praying body and the facial expressions of ecstasy to the symmetrical structures of our places of worship, the central role of fire and water, music and dance, and the theatricality of the religious ritual.

“What interests me as a photographer and a writer is the question of how the body manifests this religious experience,” she adds. “The intensity of praying people is universal — their trembling, sensitivity, suffering, nostalgia, tears. But the resemblance is also something much more subtle. It is not just mimesis — the physical resemblance of facial expression, gestures, choreographies, liturgical clothes. It is something much more archetypal, which is difficult to express. Perhaps in photography there is a question of arriving at the threshold of this inexpressible, invisible thing.’”

Bulaj has worked in places that today are seen as incubators of religious fundamentalism across Africa, the Middle East and Asia. But instead of focusing on the fissures, her works pay special attention to places where diverse religious groups pray together as one — “the lands where people have communed for millennia, where the chains of vendettas snap, where people share food, friends, dreams and songs,” she says.

At the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, she has photographed Christians and Muslims, Shia and Sunni both, who’ve prayed together there for centuries; the Bosphorus, where Armenian and Turkish women settle down to sleep beside one another; and Deir Mar Musa, a monastery north of Damascus, Syria, which was restored by Christians and Muslims together. “I document faiths and traditions of the weakest and most defenseless,” she says. “But I also want to capture their capacity for dialogue and meeting.”

Bulaj likes to tell the story of the Italian Jesuit priest Paolo Dall’Oglio as an exemplar of such interfaith communion. Dall’Oglio has spent his life working at the Deir Mar Musa monastery, building bridges between Muslims and Christians. “He believes that the most important thing is to have dialogue with the enemy, with the people who think differently than you,” she says. “It’s very easy to speak to the people who have a sensitivity like yours, but it is very, very important to speak with people who are different.” In 2013, Dall’Oglio was captured by ISIS and his whereabouts are currently unknown, but his message of the possibility of interfaith dialogue endures. “The dialogue begins in the heart, when you walk on your brother’s land and learn from him about the springs he drinks from,” Bulaj remembers him telling her.

Bulaj points out that such dialogue is also essential to her own process as a photographer, writer and documentarian when gaining access to important places of worship and intimate religious ceremonies. “I love photography, but the photograph is not the most important thing. The most important is meeting people,” she says. “When I photograph, I move with people because they are moving. I walk with them on pilgrimage, and I sleep close to them. I eat with them. And, sometimes, when the people are dancing, I put my camera down, and I dance with them.”

Now that her new book, which sold out in English in just three months, is out, Bulaj will continue to explore these “sacred crossings” in every corner of the planet, with a special focus on Asia and Africa. “Of course, this book is not the end of this research,” she says. “This is only one stage, an episode in much longer research. Human stories are so much greater than any fantasy, but we must go slow, with time and with love, to collect them.”

All photos are from Monika Bulaj. 

About the author

Patrick D'Arcy is the Editorial Manager of the TED Fellows program.

• art and design
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India and the Death of Mahatma Gandhi

Henri Cartier-Bresson’s classic photo-essay captured India at a critical time in its history

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Throughout his career, Henri Cartier-Bresson defined himself as the antithesis of a traditional photojournalist, famously writing: “I would like to stress my point of view: I have never been a storyteller.” The considerable influence of Surrealism on his practice is evident in his regard for photography as only being of any relevance as a tool for “instant drawing”. It was his colleague and Magnum Photos co-founder Robert Capa who encouraged Cartier-Bresson to make more documentary work, and indeed to visit India in the first place.

Cartier-Bresson initially set out to create a photographic essay that would capture the essence of the country, its past and present at a time of rapid social change. India’s recent independence from Britain had quickly deteriorated into unrest with the partition of the country into Hindu India and Muslim East and West Pakistan. At the centre of these upheavals was Mahatma Gandhi, who, after campaigning for India’s independence, was now protesting for the end of the violence between Hindus and Muslims. Cartier-Bresson had exclusive access to Gandhi, recording the activist’s hunger strike in protest of riots in which millions died. However, with the assassination of Gandhi on January 30, 1948, the day after he had taken his portrait, he unexpectedly found himself witness to a major historical event. The photographs Cartier-Bresson made in the aftermath of Gandhi’s death offer a unique visual record of the event, and epitomize, although perhaps not intentionally, what makes an iconic photo-essay.

Cartier-Bresson resisted the label of journalist, however he was both deeply interested in and possessed of a thorough understanding of the fundamentals of photojournalism, which he laid out in the introduction to his book The Decisive Moment ; “To me photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as of a precise organization of forms which give that event its proper expression.” His photo story the ‘Death of Gandhi’ embodies this dual-pronged approach, both acting to capture a significant historic moment and formally expressing the anguish and sorrow of the event.

This story was also published in the book Magnum Stories , published by Phaidon , where an extensive extract from Henri Cartier-Bresson’s Decisive Moment can be read. A very limited number of  copies of Magnum Stories are available from the Magnum Shop, signed by Magnum photographers .

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The Seekers

A  key trait of humanity is our endless desire to make sense of our own being. We’re driven to constantly evaluate what it means to be who we are as we search for a life filled with purpose, love and substance. We seek answers that affirm our relevance on earth, in hopes of strengthening our connection to the omnipotent. There must be a higher calling. A deeper meaning. A righteous road. In one way or another, this quest eventually touches us all. And as turbulence and uncertainty increasingly roil and divide our nation, it’s a quest that has taken on greater urgency for many.

According to a recent poll by the Pew Research Center, 90 percent of Americans believe in God or some higher power. Most exercise that belief through established denominations, attending a church, synagogue or mosque. But there are others who choose to follow a different path to enlightenment, departing from the versions of faith that most Americans practice. For these believers, a less well-trod path to righteousness offers a clearer ticket to salvation.

In this series of photo essays, four photographers document individuals or groups seeking divine awareness outside the American mainstream. Whom the photographers decided to depict and the aesthetic they employed was their choice. Some of their subjects find peace solely through a collective celebration of kindness, positive thinking and gratitude — all emphasized in a physical environment where everyone is welcome regardless of faith. A group of nontraditional Christians share Western cowboy culture as a way of reemphasizing God’s word and will. Still others find meaning in what’s often perceived as a darker journey — exploring their own personal power and sense of magic through witchcraft.

Our current social climate is poised to make none of their journeys particularly easy, as displays of intolerance are resurging with formidable frequency. The proverbial “other” is once again becoming less likely to be invited to the cultural table. But most of these seekers are merely looking for divine love and how it manifests itself in them. That will get them through the hour, the day, or the week. Maybe even eternity.

Chapter 1: Spellbound

By kate warren.

O ur nation is at a moment of gender reckoning. Women across America are looking to defend their value through the #MeToo movement. Like others, I’ve found that I can no longer ignore my own history of sexual assault. That our society sees the experiences of so many women like me as acceptable fills me with rage. When that rage threatened to overwhelm me, I turned to the witches. I thought they might know how to transform my anger into something productive.

Witchcraft encourages practitioners to tap into their personal sense of power — their magic. That power, a balance of masculine and feminine energy — with special veneration for the feminine — allows them to connect with their intuition, manifest their desires and protect themselves. Throughout history, people have sought witches’ help when they’ve had nowhere else to turn. Today, some young women and LGBTQ people in particular are finding themselves drawn to witchcraft and the occult.

Through word of mouth and the Internet, I met witch after witch from different backgrounds and practices. The experience was deeply healing. I went to their homes and watched them work. I learned about the various tools in each witch’s kit and the ethics of witchcraft — and also about the ways that social media is changing the community: It’s driving the occult as both a trend and a spiritual practice, leading to an influx of witches who range from consumers to newfound practitioners. Established witches agree there is a “witch wave” bringing new energy to the community.

I watched witches perform magic in front of me and had spooky and moving experiences. I photographed with the intention of allowing each witch to represent the rituals, sacred objects and practices central to their most intimate spiritual self. The project became a spell for all of us, changing the way I viewed myself, my relationships and the world.

Whether it’s an Appalachian hoodoo witch, a multigenerational Brujeria priestess, a hedge witch with her herbs and tinctures, or a go-go-dancing glitter witch casting a spell in a cage at a club, witches light a path for others to walk through trauma and out the other side. The most basic ritual of witchcraft is one from which we can all learn. When witches “cast a circle,” they come together as equals, creating a sacred space where each can speak and be heard, acknowledged and cleansed. They check in physically, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually, building trust as they share their vulnerabilities. In this divisive moment, we should all aim to do the same — to see one another’s raw humanity regardless of race, gender, orientation or culture.

Chapter 2: A Church for Everyone

By béatrice de géa.

M y first encounter with Middle Collegiate Church in New York was accidental: I was covering for a fellow photographer who was stuck in Europe and couldn’t fulfill a freelance assignment there. I had no idea what I was about to experience.

That first Sunday service seven years ago was transcendent. The congregation felt like a perfect mini-world, with seemingly every race, gender, sexual orientation — even religion — represented. People of the most diverse backgrounds were hugging. Norah Jones was performing. There was a loud, joyful choir, and people were laughing, crying and dancing, hands in the air, as it sang. Pastor Jacqui Lewis’s spirit felt larger than life. I was overwhelmed. I’m used to containing my emotions when on assignment, but I found myself tearing up and applauding loudly after each hymn. I’d never felt such a sense of unity before. These people were moving mountains just by being together.

Middle Collegiate, with its 1,000-member congregation, is part of the Collegiate Church, an ecumenical church associated with the Reformed Church in America. It describes itself as aiming “to heal the soul and the world by dismantling racist, classist, sexist and homophobic systems of oppression.” It also places an emphasis on interfaith dialogue. It felt to me as if this church had everything figured out. This, I thought, is how I want to see the world.

In this series of portraits featuring members and friends of the church, I hope to show what it feels and looks like to be on a lifelong search for a higher spirituality. From a transgender Yale divinity student, to a gay black pastor, to a lonely Japanese immigrant in New York and others, these subjects are on different spiritual journeys and find themselves at different stages — happy, sad, angry. In our darkened world, their spirituality can sometimes feel shaken. But all their journeys have the same goal: love.

I’m agnostic and don’t belong to any organized religion myself, but I feel disrespectful saying that I don’t believe in God. I remember being in California after 9/11 and covering several religious services organized to help people through that time. I felt envious of those who had a religion to turn to for comfort. And I need places of worship like Middle to continue to exist so that history doesn’t keep grimly repeating itself. Perhaps I am a dreamer.

Chapter 3: Country Roads

By timothy ivy.

D rive down a country road in Mississippi and you’re sure to pass any number of small churches serving Christians who live in the nearby communities. As the youngest son of a country preacher, I was once part of such a community, faithfully attending church services on Sunday mornings to please a God I couldn’t see and whose will I often couldn’t understand. As I grew older, I began to question the traditional teachings of my parents’ faith. Returning to Mississippi in 2013 to settle their property after my mother’s death, I wrestled with the meaning of life and the thought of my own mortality — and began a quest for my own truth. This photo project is a continuation of that journey.

Always eager to encounter different cultures and traditions, I wanted to learn what others have discovered on their journeys. This led me down a long country road in the hills of north Mississippi to the Magnolia Grove Monastery outside Batesville. This Buddhist monastery is a local attraction, drawing visitors from the area who come to learn about alternative paths to spiritual enlightenment.

Driving down U.S. Highway 278 in Thaxton, I was attracted to a red metal building with a sign that read “Hayseed Cowboy Church.” The members of this congregation practice a nontraditional Christianity. Meals are served before each Wednesday-evening and Sunday service. Jeans, dirty boots and cowboy hats replace the traditional church attire. Next to the church is a rodeo arena, offering an opportunity not only to engage in cowboy culture but also to proselytize. The parking lot is full of pickup trucks, some pulling horse trailers. Members told me they left traditional Baptist churches to attend Hayseed because of its more welcoming atmosphere.

A drive through Holly Springs brought me to an old wooden house converted into a Nation of Islam mosque. Like other branches of “the Nation,” the congregation sees itself as a source of hope in a small, predominantly African American town suffering from economic decay. At a store, I noticed a woman in a black hijab covering everything but her eyes. She told me she considers herself an amalgamate, someone who incorporates practices from various beliefs, including Islam, Buddhism and Satanism.

Despite their differing practices, what all these groups have in common is a spirituality antithetical to the conservative Christianity that still prevails in Mississippi. Its dominance, however, is not what it once was. Like me, many have questioned traditional teachings and are seeking their own paths to truth.

Chapter 4: Rules for Living

By astrid riecken.

T his photo essay is intended to show how the subjects I met exercise — or better, live — their spirituality day-to-day, with a strong focus on following such universal spiritual principles as honesty, community, acceptance, humility, kindness, positive thinking and gratitude. I firmly believe that if every one of us followed these principles, the world would be a better place.

My first two subjects, Joseph Obermayer, 58, and Nicolas Rutherford, 71, are two of the founders of the New Thought Spiritual Center in Water Mill, N.Y., fondly known to its members as the No Church Church because it adheres to no formal religion. Every Sunday, the diverse 100-member congregation celebrates universal spiritual principles during their worship service and the community meetings that follow. Everyone is welcome at the New Thought Spiritual Center. It’s a place of no judgment. Instead of looking at what differentiates them, members focus on what they have in common. The emphasis is on inclusiveness, peace, caring for one another and showing compassion.

Obermayer and Rutherford are recovering alcoholics. They were already embarked upon a spiritual quest, but it was in Alcoholics Anonymous, they say, that they found the structure that enabled them to form their community. Today, after decades of sobriety, both believe that social illnesses can be combated through spiritual principles. By building and nurturing a community, members learn that they are not alone in the world.

Siri Rishi, a 47-year-old yoga and meditation teacher in New York, is my third subject. A Native American, she has been practicing meditation since her father gave her a book about it when she was 19. I photographed her in Sagaponack, N.Y., as well as during a gong meditation session at the RA MA Institute for Applied Yogic Science and Technology in Manhattan, where she teaches Kundalini yoga, a form of yoga that connects students with their own energy.

Kindness, compassion and love are fundamental principles in Siri Rishi’s life. How does she adhere to them? Every day, she says, she focuses on selfless services: “I speak to people in the subway, I make eye contact, I smile.” People who are suffering need to be seen and acknowledged, she says. “One morning I saw a woman crying on a train. She was sobbing. I reached out to her, touched her shoulder and said, ‘It’s going to be okay.’ The woman just looked at me and smiled. She stopped crying.”

Kate Warren is a photographer in Washington. Béatrice de Géa is a New York-based photographer. Timothy Ivy is a photographer based in Oxford, Miss. Astrid Riecken is a photographer based in Washington and New York.

Capturing God's Creation: A Photo Essay

Theologian Thomas Jay Oord is also a photographer, capturing some of the most beautiful things that nature has to offer. He reflects on some of his snapshots through the lens of caring for the changing environment.

As a photographer, I spend time carefully composing a scene and exploring its details through my viewfinder. This practice requires slowing down, noticing, and thinking about the relationships between objects in my view.

This practice of noticing elements in a photograph leads me to reflect on the subjects and their relationship to the larger whole. Such relational thinking inevitably prompts me as a theologian to think about creation’s relation to God, and about God’s relation to creatures and the natural world.

The photos and short reflections here provide a small taste of the ideas that swirl about my brain as a theologian-photographer engaging with God’s creation. In the case of these photos, I had in mind issues of creation care in loving response to a loving Creator.

Psalm 24 begins, “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it…” That psalm comes to mind sometimes when I gaze brilliant fall foliage against the backdrop of a multi-colored earth.

I made this photo at Capital Reef National Park. The yellow and orange leaves complimented the reds, grays, and browns of the soil. The reef is a geologic monocline, or what is more commonly called a “water pocket.” It extends over 100 miles in Utah.

One might not think a place like this could be harmed much by humans. But it can, in the form of oil drilling. Thankfully, Capital Reef has been protected since the 1930s. But that hasn’t stopped drilling nearby. And in an interrelated universe, what goes on in one place affects what goes on in another.

I think about the problem of evil when I see forest fires. I find the barren landscape ugly, and I imagine all the creatures that perished in the flames. Death reigns. I’m often told not to worry about forest fires. They’re a natural part of the ecosystem, say experts. Without them, certain growth could not happen and diseases stopped.

I wonder if these same people who tell me not to worry about forest fires would say not to worry about war, genocide, or plagues that kill large number of humans. I doubt it. Many make a sharp distinction between death in nature and death among humans. But aren’t humans part of nature? Climate change increases forest fires. There’s plenty of evidence for this truth. And climate change is influenced by human choices. There’s also plenty of evidence for this. So does this mean that at least some forest fires are unnatural? Perhaps we need to stop making a sharp distinction between natural and moral evil . Other creatures and plants matter too.

Some creatures are easy to want to protect. The majestic bald eagle falls in that category for me. As I hike Idaho, it’s a treat to see the bald eagle elegantly fly above me, eyeing the territory, looking for resting spot.

We have many more bald eagles in Idaho than is apparent to most observers. Young bald eagles have no white head, and so they are difficult to distinguish from other eagles.

America nearly lost all of its bald eagles thanks to DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane). This chemical was introduced as an insecticide. But it interfered with eagle reproduction, causing the egg shells to be so thin they broke prematurely. For the most part, the American Bald Eagle is a conservation success story today. The US government banned DDT, and conservation groups worked to protect it. It is no longer an endangered species. Concerted efforts to conserve can make a difference.

Idaho has a half-dozen or so wild horse herds. The state has set aside large chunks of land for these horses, and it monitors herd sizes in proportion to the needs of other species.

Wild horses are not native to my state, however. They were brought to America from abroad. To a great degree, they’ve learned to adapt. Wild horses have some negative impact on the habitat of other ungulates. Environmentalists are not among those most concerned with the impact of horses. Ranchers who graze cattle on public land are most concerned. Wild horses use grazing land, sometimes break fences, and occasionally have negative effects on domestic horses.

I want to keep a small number of wild horses in America. They are a good example, in my mind, of how the value of creation can extend beyond even the intrinsic value of each creature. To me and to many, wild horses represent freedom—that “don’t fence me in” kind of freedom. And even this matters when it comes to discerning how best to be stewards of God’s good world and its creatures.

As I hike mountains, valleys, and deserts, I’m often amazed at the complex beauty of the world and its creatures. I often forget that the most diverse animals, birds, insects, amphibians, and more need something quite basic: H 2 O.

Hikers like me often think about water, of course, at least in terms of our needing to drink it. As a light-weight backpacker, I’m always trying to guess how little water I need to carry before I can get a refill. And as a photographer, I’m often thinking about how I might include water in my art.

A photo like this one—Jackson Lake near Grand Teton National Park—might make us think water is readily available. But water supplies are decreasing, and clean water is not available to many on this planet.

On the issue of water, my mind goes to a controversial subject: population growth. We live on a planet with many more people using much more water than ever before. Human population growth is exponential.

At what point will the majority of people decide we need to conserve water? When will the majority think population growth must be slowed? Or will famine, wars, disease, and other catastrophes—directly or indirectly caused by lack of water—be the population reduction mechanism? As I see it, love demands that we make difficult choices to reduce as much suffering as possible.

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Our Social World: Introduction to Sociology

Student resources, photo essay, religious and secular life in the us, although religious faith is very strong at the micro level in the u.s., public policy and the operation of organizations and government are secularized – based on principles of pluralism and rational deliberation. this town council prays as it opens its monthly meeting, after the supreme court ruled that prayers are allowed in this setting if there is a long tradition of having prayer., questions to consider:.

What do you think is the proper role of religion in public spaces in the U.S.? When you answered that question, did you have a particular religion in mind? If so, would your answer change based on the religion in question?

France does not allow any public display of religion. All religious activities, including the wearing of religious garbs like hijabs, must be kept out of public sight. Would you favor such a law in the U.S.? Why or why not?

Do you think questions over the appropriate place of religion in public spaces in the U.S. will fade away in your life time? Why or why not?

Keeping the faith: religious diversity in Australia – photo essay

For his project The Devoted, photographer Michael Wickham made portraits of religious leaders and spoke to them about their faith’s relevance in modern society

• Catholicism

Anthony Fisher, Catholic archbishop of Sydney – St Mary’s Cathedral

I want people to find in religion something that raises up their hearts, senses and minds to something more elevated, perhaps, than what they experience day-to- day; something in which they will find consolation and inspiration.

Regarding the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse, the shame, the disgust, the humiliation of what some of my fellow Catholics priests and fellow bishops have done, the way they have hurt people, it really rocks you especially when you talk to the victims and see how deep the hurt and how long the damage endures.

How could people who represented the church, who make themselves out to have high ideals, have been so cruel and self-serving? We have to change; we have to be better. My hope is the church will be reborn after this. I’m not naive that this will be the end of it but I feel that we will be a better church at the end of it.

• All photographs by Michael Wickham

Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohamed, grand mufti of Australia – Australian Islamic House

From time to time we hear from misinformed voices, resonating sounds of racism and hatred. They seek to portray Islam in a bad light, blaming all Muslims for extremism. What these voices fail to realise is that we are all aboard on the same ship and in order to keep it afloat we must all work together as one nation. Attacking any part of this ship would only cause us all to sink. The noble Qur’an asks all people to maintain kind relationships, if not for the sake of religion then it should be for the sake of humanity.

Superintendent Venerable Man Wang – Nan Tien Temple

Buddhist practice is said to eliminate stress and anxiety, and promotes happiness and peace of mind. This is exactly what the world needs today. As a child I always knew that there was another way: the materialistic world did not interest me. My motivation to devote my life to Buddhism is simply to see the ultimate truth.

Rabbi Dr Benjamin Elton, chief minister – The Great Synagogue, Sydney

Automatic adherence (to religion) is a thing of the past. People don’t just go to a synagogue or church because their parents went there. Everyone who goes now is there by choice, and they determine how they engage, not the way the leaders of the religion think they should.

Nicolas Faivre, bishop of the Leura Ward – Leura Church of Latter Day Saints

In the past 10 years I’ve had two stepbrothers and one aunty take their own lives because of mental illness, namely depression. I feel that they each lived on their own private island. They did not have much involvement with our church and were very private in their lives. I sometimes wonder if they suffered in silence. I often wonder what would have happened if they would have opened their hearts. Would their situations have been different? I know I tried to share hope with them but somewhere inside of me I feel I didn’t do enough. It hurts to know that I had something special that could have changed their lives but either it was dismissed as simply “one’s religion” or that they felt that this message of the gospel simply did not apply to them in their lives.

Anglicanism

Glenn Davies, Anglican archbishop of Sydney – St Andrew’s Cathedral

When I was a 21-year-old high school teacher, I explained to a class what a Christian believes and the importance, as well as the joy, of being a Christian. One Year 9 student said to me after class: “You don’t believe what you have said, do you, Sir?” Indignantly I answered: “Why do you say that?” He said: “Well, if you did, you would be telling people about Jesus full-time not standing here teaching us current affairs!” That was one of many points of conviction that led me to do what I am doing now.

Koviladi Sridhar Bhattar , preist of Vishnu – Sri Venkateswara Temple

As devotees and followers of the Hindu faith we do not expect the temple to offer solutions to problems of the world. Very often during moments of stress and conflicts within our mind we visit the temple to seek a peace of mind. Usually we find a way to meet any challenges.

Hillsong Worship

Pastor Brian Houston , founder of Hillsong – Hillsong church

The church can engage with people in the most ancient and asked questions: what is life all about and what am I here for? I always say that the message (the gospel) never changes, but the methods by which we deliver them have to change. In a society where loneliness, depression and anxiety are ever-increasing epidemics, where bullying and suicide are regular occurrences in schools and plaguing the lives of young people, where social media is dictating worth and status, my hope is that churches can be an inclusive, welcoming, hopeful and helpful place for all people.

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Christopher Finnigan

March 25th, 2019, photo essay: religion, secrecy and worship: inside the world of spiritual leader sharavana baba.

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Dhruv Ramnath began photographing the followers and ashrams of spiritual leader Sharavana Baba in 2007. His visual ethnographic project documents how the Guru – who many believe is the reincarnation of the Hindu god Murugan – is the centre of a devotional network that simultaneously venerates him as both Murugan and as Prem Sai Baba , the Indian spiritual master. Here Dhruv explains what he has found over the last 12 years.

Since 2007 I have been photographing Sharavana Baba and his followers in his ashrams in London and in Kerala . The Baba, believed to be the reincarnation of the Hindu god Murugan, is popular among Tamils around the world, but especially in London and Southern India. From my years of ethnographic fieldwork, I have gained access to a world in which Sharavana Baba is portrayed both as Prem Sai Baba, a saint from Manya in Karnataka, according to the apostolic literature of the Sai Baba movement.

What stands out in the movement’s recreation of the Baba’s persona is its attempt to conflate it with both the Hindu god Murugan and the Indian spiritual leader Prem Sai Baba. This means that he is respected as a self-realised master; in other words a Guru capable of containing and manifesting the ‘power’ of all the gods and goddesses.

The devotees that I have be able to capture treasure their relationship with the Baba. For the South Asian diaspora, especially in Britain, and for devotees around the world, he is a Society Guru: he caters to the needs, wants and aspirations of family-minded seekers, those striving for stronger relationships and more responsibilities, and those who believe women should look after the home while men work. The glorification of him as Prem Sai Baba is therefore nothing short of an act of creative propaganda.

These photos below not only attempt to deconstruct Sharavana Baba as the elusive Prem Sai Baba and Murugan, but also to offer a visual account of the two ways by which a contemporary Guru-led movement seeks to expand its devotional base.

Sharavana Baba’s organisation – the Prem Sai Baba movement “To Come” – is utilising the tools of image worship, the kitschy escapements of Murugan and Prem Sai Baba, as well as the three lands on which the Baba’s cultural and social terrains of bhajan (devotional singing), satsang (the sacred discourse by a self-realised saint) and darshan (a holy meeting with god-men or goddess-women) are noticeably shifting.

As a photographer who has chronicled and documented the changing language of his promotional material, I see the movement’s “ strategic ambiguity ” as a space to locate ideas of secrecy and affect.

This photographic collection captures the everyday life at his main ashram in Kerala. The Guru’s darshan , thirsty listeners, whispers, wandering monks, local Malayalee women and devotion.

The guru blessing his own mother with sacred ash (Sanskrit: vibhuti). Credit: Dhruv Ramnath

‘Quench my thirst’ sing the patient, listening ones on a hot afternoon in Sreekrishnapuram. Credit: Dhruv Ramnath

Covering one’s mouth when speaking to a genuine guru is not only an act of respect but also a way to hide the secrets. Credit: Dhruv Ramnath

Two malayalee women dressed in typical white kerala sarees. credit: dhruv ramnath.

A neophyte, a sadhu and a disciple wait in an old Kerala home in the ashram before satsang. Credit: Dhruv Ramnath A celibate priest looks over his shoulder as a devotee approaches to garland the guru. Credit: Dhruv Ramnath

This article gives the views of the author, and not the position of South Asia @ LSE blog, nor of the London School of Economics. Please read our   comments policy  before posting.

Dhruv Ramnath is a freelance journalist, filmmaker, photographer, asana practitioner, and researcher. He completed a Master of Arts in Social Anthropology at SOAS in 2018.

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Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism

Hinubog ng panata — a photo essay

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Has the Philippines created a garbage problem too big to dig its way out of?

BY PAU VILLANUEVA

Indigenous peoples have long been considered guardians of global biodiversity, who have accumulated intimate knowledge of the ecosystems in which they live. Villanueva’s photo essay shows how development aggression not only threatens indigenous culture that is deeply rooted in land, but also the extinction of an entire heritage, in the context of the Aetas in Capas, Tarlac.

Nature and biodiversity are more than just sources of food, water, energy, and raw materials for the Aeta communities of Capas, Tarlac. Their cultural identity, well-being, and spiritual traditions are grounded on their regard for the living world. Among Philippine indigenous groups, the Aetas are known for their extensive knowledge of herbs and indigenous healing methods. 

Spirituality is a way for them to honor their worldview, which was adopted by their ancestors who had lived in the Luzon mountain ranges long before Spanish colonization. Aeta healers, locally called “mang-aanito,” are sought after. Considered custodians of ancestral knowledge and philosophies, these community elders are keen on preserving their indigenous ecologies. 

One of the local healers in Sitio Binyayan, Nida Cautibar, recalls how her calling began. “When I was sick with typhus, my Aeta neighbors took care of me and eventually taught me how to use herbal medicine,” says Nida. “Being entrusted with this knowledge, it has now become my responsibility to heal the sick without asking for compensation,” she adds. Aeta healers believe their mission is to share their healing experiences as a means of keeping society together rather than as a means of acquiring wealth. Healing, for them, is also a way to give back to the Aeta and the non-Aeta communities.

But the multi-billion New Clark City development project in Capas, Tarlac is threatening the indigenous ecology and continues its relentless path without free, prior and informed consent from the Aetas who live there. According to the website of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), the project’s implementing agency, New Clark City is designed to be “wrapped around magnificent views of the hills.” The change in landscape – from flora and fauna to roads and infrastructure – is rendering irreversible damage to the natural world that is the Aetas’ only source of information, passed on from one generation to another through oral tradition.

“We used to roam the forests freely but now, we are scared. We are restricted in our own lands,” says Rosette David, an Aeta healer who has been living in Sitio Bagingan for more than 28 years. “Nature is vanishing as roads are being paved.”

The world over, indigenous peoples have long been considered guardians of global biodiversity, as they have accumulated intimate knowledge of the ecosystems in which they live. Development aggression not only threatens indigenous culture that is deeply rooted in land, but also the extinction of an entire heritage.

A small native hut in Sitio Alli where an Aeta family lives is situated near one of the construction sites of New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac. The Aeta residents find it difficult to sleep whenever construction goes into the night.

An Aeta devotee of the Crusaders of the Divine Church of Christ in Sitio Kawayan kneels before the chapel’s altar to pray. Other religious orders and benevolent groups are recognized by Aeta communities in Capas, Tarlac. Even within these denominations, Aetas still practice spiritual beliefs instilled on them by their ancestors. 

Nida Cautidar, a local healer from Sitio Kalangitan, performs a diagnostic ritual by cracking a raw egg into a glass of water to be examined for any change in shape that might suggest the nature of one’s illness. Nida learned these healing practices from years of living in Capas, Tarlac, surrounded by Aeta communities.

An alternative diagnostic ritual performed by healers to identify maladies involves hovering a blank paper over a gas lamp. According to Nida Cautidar, the resulting burnt formations suggest that the sick person has unconsciously disturbed dwelling places of spirits.

Aeta resident Leah (name changed to protect her privacy) holds freshly picked hagonoy weeds while strolling along a flattened road in Sitio Alli, Capas, Tarlac. According to Leah, they used to roam freely in the area, which was covered with herbal plants and fruit-bearing trees. Security cameras have been installed to monitor intruders amid the construction of New Clark City.

Lily De Guzman, an Aeta healer from Sitio Gayangan, prays over medicinal plants to be used for her sick grandchild. As one of the senior Aeta healers from her community, Nanay Lily is revered for her spirituality and vast herbal knowledge.

Sambong leaves are pounded to extract juice, taken orally to cure stomach ache and diarrhea. The Aetas, who live in the mountains, have utmost respect for the living world. Their traditional medicine practices are deeply rooted in nature.

Lily De Guzman presses on hagonoy leaves mixed with salt onto her grandchild’s forehead after he shows flu symptoms. Lily and the Aeta community of Sitio Gayanon firmly believe that the hagonoy plant keeps them safe from the Covid-19 pandemic.

‘Anituhan’ is a kind of community healing ritual that is often performed by the healer along with family and relatives during a full moon. In Aeta culture, the ‘anito’ represent environmental spirits residing in the natural world. Aetas believe that their traditional dances and music make it possible for one to be in contact with caring spirits. ‘Pag-aanito’ is the purest and highest form of the ritual that they can perform to heal a person possessed by spirits. 

Oscar Capiz, an Aeta healer, chants as he performs the healing ritual of pag-aanito to his daughter Mary Grace (kneeling face down) and a grandchild. Oscar says he traveled for two hours to his daughter’s house in Sitio Flora after his personal spirit guide told him that his daughter was having a severe stomach ache. When medicinal plants don’t work, a healer is called to hold a ‘manganito,’ a séance, to ask the spirits for instructions to remove the cause of the illness.

Rosette David, an Aeta healer, walks back to her home with her children after gathering herbal plants. Medicinal herbal knowledge and spiritual culture are passed on to the next generation of Aetas through oral tradition.

An Aeta looks at a construction site that was once cultivated land in Sitio Alli, Capas, Tarlac. Aeta communities fear their natural cultural markers are being demolished with the construction of the New Clark City project.

This story is one of the twelve photo essays produced under the Capturing Human Rights fellowship program, a seminar and mentoring project

organized by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism and the Photojournalists’ Center of the Philippines. 

Check the other photo essays here.

Larry Monserate Piojo – “Terminal: The constant agony of commuting amid the pandemic”

Orange Omengan – “Filipinos face the mental toll of the Covid-19 pandemic”

Lauren Alimondo – “In loving memory”

Gerimara Manuel – “Pinagtatagpi-tagpi: Mother, daughter struggle between making a living and modular learning”

Pau Villanueva – “Hinubog ng panata: The vanishing spiritual traditions of Aetas of Capas, Tarlac”

Bernice Beltran – “Women’s ‘invisible work'”

Dada Grifon – “From the cause”

Bernadette Uy – “Enduring the current”

Mark Saludes – “Mission in peril”

EC Toledo – “From sea to shelf: The story before a can is sealed”

Ria Torrente – “HIV positive mother struggles through the Covid-19 pandemic”

Sharlene Festin – “Paradise lost”

PCIJ’s investigative reports

THE SHRINKING GODS OF PADRE FAURA | READ .

7 MILLION HECTARES OF PHILIPPINE LAND IS FORESTED – AND THAT’S BAD NEWS | READ   

FOLLOWING THE MONEY: PH MEDIA LESSONS FOR THE 2022 POLL | READ

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THE BULACAN TOWN WHERE CHICKENS ARE SLAUGHTERED AND THE RIVER IS DEAD | READ  

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Simerg Photos

Photo essay: sacred spaces through the lens of muslim harji.

BY MUSLIM HARJI

INTRODUCTION: A sacred space is any space or area that has been dedicated for a religious or sacred purpose. All world religions have places set aside that are treated as holy, and where individuals gather with utmost humility and respect to carry out prayers and rituals for spiritual development and growth. It is in these sacred spaces that individuals dedicate their time to detach themselves from the profane, and seek out special moments for peace and happiness by praying to their Creator.

The name for this sacred space differs according to faith. Christians have churches, monasteries, shrines, sanctuaries, and chapels. Muslims worship in mosques, as well as in khaneqahs and jamatkhanas, and Jews in synagogue. Buddhists and Hindus call their spaces temples. Often, mausoleums and burial sites of important saints become sacred places over a period of time, where people of different faith converge and offer their submissions to the saints for the resolution to their problems. In many instances individuals and families dedicate special rooms in their homes as sacred spaces, imitating the spaces in the same way as their prayer houses. The point remains the same: it is a place where believers can encounter God in a special way.

In my travels around the world, I have encountered numerous places of worship and sacredness, and I am delighted to share the pictures I have taken with readers of this blog. For the benefit of the readers I have compiled a very brief summary, where possible, of each world religion or faith in order to broaden the reader’s horizon of the photos that are shown.

Non-Abrahamic Traditions

Hinduism is generally regarded as the world’s oldest organized religion. It consists of “thousands of different religious groups that have evolved in India since 1500 BCE.” Most forms of Hinduism are henotheistic religions. They recognize a single Deity, and view other gods and goddesses as manifestations or aspects of that supreme God or Goddess. Hinduism has grown to become the world’s third largest religion, after Christianity and Islam. It claims about 950 million followers — about 14% of the world’s population. It is the dominant religion in India, where 95% of the world’s Hindus live.

Buddhism is a religion to about 300 million people around the world. It has its origins about 2,500 years ago when Siddhartha Gotama, known as the Buddha, was himself awakened (enlightened) at the age of 35. To many, Buddhism is more of a philosophy or ‘way of life’.

Taoism is the oldest religion in China and takes its name from the word Tao (the Way), the ancient Chinese name for the ordering principle that makes cosmic harmony possible. It is based on the teachings of the Tao Te Ching, a short tract written in the 6th century BC in China. It is estimated that about 300 million people practice Tao in its various forms. For example, the Chinese practice of Tai Chi exercise or Qiqong is considered as a form of Taosim.

Founded over 500 years ago by Guru Nanak, who was born in 1469, the Sikh religion today has a following of over 20 million people worldwide. The word ‘Sikh’ in the Punjabi language means ‘disciple’. Sikhs are the disciples of God who follow the writings and teachings of the Ten Sikh Gurus, the last of whom lived from 1666 to 1708. Sikhism preaches a message of devotion and remembrance of God at all times, truthful living, equality of mankind and denounces superstitions and blind rituals. Its core philosophy is that there is only One God and He is the same God for all people of all religions.

______________________________

Abrahamic Traditions

Judaism is an ancient monotheistic religion, centered on the conviction that there is only one God. The Torah is its foundational text (part of the larger text known as the Tanakh or Hebrew Bible which were recorded as early as 8th century BCE), and there is supplemental oral tradition represented by later texts such as the Midrash and the Talmud. Judaism was founded over 3500 (1500 BCE) years ago in the Middle East. Today, there are around 14 million people who identify themselves as Jews. Moses is the most important prophet in Judaism, and he along with Aaron led the Jews out of slavery in Egypt and led them to the Holy Land that God had promised them. Jews believe that God appointed the Jews to be his chosen people in order to set an example of holiness and ethical behaviour to the world.

CHRISTIANITY

Like Judaism (as well as Islam), Christianity is a monotheistic religion that grew out of Judaism as it was practiced between 200 BCE-100 CE. It is the name given to that definite system of religious belief and practice which was taught by Jesus Christ in the country of Palestine or the Holy Land 2000 years ago, during the reign of the Roman Emperor, Tiberius, and was promulgated, after its Founder’s death, for the acceptance of the whole world, by his disciples. Among the doctrines that were promulgated was that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah awaited by the Jews and that he was the Son of God because he was born to Virgin Mary, and that he died and was risen as a final sacrifice for humans’ sins.

Christianity is the largest of the Abrahamic religions by number of adherents, though it’s divided into many denominations and sects. It has three major branches: Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Protestantism. Of course, the variety of beliefs and practices between the branches and within the various denomination is huge. Primary disagreements include: the nature of God, the nature of Jesus, the role of Church authority, the validity of various texts, and the question of how people can “access” God.

Islam is the second largest religion in the world, with over 1.6 billion followers. It is a monotheistic faith based on revelations received by the Prophet Muhammad over a period of 23 years in 7th-century Saudi Arabia. The Arabic word Islam means “submission,” reflecting the faith’s central tenet of submitting to the will of God.

According to Islamic tradition, the angel Gabriel appeared to the Prophet revealing to him many messages from God. These revelations are contained in Islam’s Holy book, the Qur’an, which is regarded as God’s final message to mankind.

All Muslims affirm the fundamental Islamic testimony of truth, the Shahada, that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) is His Messenger. They believe that Muhammad was the last and final Prophet of Allah, and that the Holy Qur’an, God’s final message to mankind, was revealed through him. Muslims hold this revelation to be the culmination of the message that had been revealed through other Prophets of the Abrahamic tradition before Muhammad, including Abraham, Moses and Jesus, all of whom Muslims revere as Prophets of God.

Following the death of the Prophet Muhammad divisions arose within Islam that resulted into two primary Muslim denominations — the Sunnis and Shias. The Sunni position is that the Prophet nominated no successor, and that spiritual-moral authority belongs to those who are learned in matters of religious law. Thus the Sunnis do not accept the idea of continuity of religious leadership by members of the Prophet’s family, as is the case with the Shias.

The Shias believe that after the Prophet, his cousin and son-in-law Ali, became the first Imam — the spiritual leader — of the Muslim community and that this spiritual leadership (known as Imamat) continues thereafter by hereditary succession through Ali and his wife Fatima, the Prophet’s daughter. Through history, the Shias divided into numerous branches. The Twelver Shia believe in Twelve Imams, and revere a “hidden” Imam who will return on the Day of Judgment to take part in the final judgment. The Ismaili Shias are the only Shia Muslims to have a living Imam, namely His Highness the Aga Khan, who is the 49th Imam.

In addition, millions of Muslims  associate themselves with Sufism, which focuses on the inner or esoteric dimension of Islam. There are many Sufi orders around the world, and they have a following among both Shias and Sunnis.

Today, the Sunnis constitute 75-90% of the world’s Muslim population.

Date posted: Friday, November 18, 2016. Last updated: November 24, 2016.

Copyright: Muslim Harji. 2016.

___________

We welcome feedback/letters from our readers. Please use the LEAVE A REPLY box which appears below. Please share this travelogue with your friends!

For profile of Muslim Harji and links to his essays, please click Contributors .

For a complete list as well as links to fantastic photo essays published on this blog please click on Table of Contents or visit the Home Page .

Textual material for this photo essay was compiled from the following sources:

• http://www.religioustolerance.org/hinduism.htm
• http://wikipedia.org
• http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/5minbud.htm
• http://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/taoism.htm
• http://www.sikhs.org/

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Post navigation, 42 thoughts on “ photo essay: sacred spaces through the lens of muslim harji ”.

The photos are excellent and the writing concise. They reflect as much the beauty of the places and objects captured, as the character of the person who has put it all together. Harji Bhai, you are an inspiration…. and one of a kind!

Beauty requires no ornaments; that is the only comment we can make on this writing.

This essay on “Sacred Spaces” is wonderful. We could never have seen or learned about various faiths’ holy places if it hadn’t been for your wonderful work. Thank You Muslim

This is a great gift of various faiths’ holy places as we mark the beginning of the new year, 2017, and I trust that the devotees would feel blessed beyond imagination. Hemant Thaker.

Dear Muslim

An excellent presentation that should be preserved for posterity. Good job friend and hope to receive further posts directly. When in Toronto, please get in touch for tit a tat over coffee.

Raza Kara Town of Richmond Hill Ontario.

Hello Muslim:

Once again you succeeded in blowing me away with your journalistic approach to photography and enhancing it with facts about religions. Your approach is passionate but nonpartisan and your photos are so personal and alive. You never fail to captivate me.

Congratulations on this photo essay on Simergphotos, extremely valuable to any person wishing to learn about religions. Well done.

Giles (Photographer, Lakeshore Camera Club)

Dear Harjibhai: What a feast you have provided for my eyes! What are you planning to do with this great treasure of your photos of different countries, and their cultures as seen through these photos? Please start writing and putting these things together as many people must view what you have to show.

I feel very grateful to you for sharing these sights with me. I am now 95 years old and am not sure when I would be called upon to face the Heavenly power. Fortunately, my mind continues to work fairly well and am able to appreciate what you send me. God bless you. Akka  (Vijaya Mulay)

Editor’s note: A woman of accomplishment, Vijaya Mulay is a filmmaker, film historian, writer, educationist and researcher whose work has shaped how India is viewed by Indian and non-Indian filmmakers. We are very honoured to receive this comment from such an esteemed personality. She is 95, and lives in Delhi. We wish her continued good health.

Congratulations for such an informative and educational piece. Hopefully during your future travels you will visit other sacred sites related to other religions, for example Jainism, Zoroaster as well as ancient Chinese and Japanese religions.

What a phenomenal treat you have given me…taking me to the places I could only dream of…thank you. You possess a unique talent and a special eye to capture the innate essence of your subjects. Many blessings to you!

These are very informative and impressive images of different faiths, and will attract many new readers to the website. Keep up the good work! M. N. Pirzada Miracle Media Vancouver; BC

I am looking at Muslim Harji’s latest photo essay about Sacred Spaces and congratulate him for the vast amount of work he has covered. It took me about an hour well-spent to see the photos and learn about other faiths. Also, looking at the table of contents I see a vast task ahead of reading articles I have overlooked. Keep up the good work and service to mankind who read your website.

Thank you for enabling us to see what we could never have seen ever, never. God bless you all. Thank you once again.

You missed one the oldest religion of India – Jainism

The accompanying text relates to the photos that were published. For that matter, there are many other faiths and religions that were not mentioned in the write-up. Perhaps, Muslim’s trips in the coming years will cover many more sacred places and other religions.

It’s a privilege and honour to go through such an informative and fantastic photo essay on religion. Mr. Muslim Harji is indeed an excellent photo journalist.

Loved it. Thank you for sharing.

Wonderful pictures as well as very informative and brief summary of the major faiths around the world.

Bravo Harji bhai, the most beautiful pictures and the details about them, Subhan-Allah. Thank you so much for this .

Very well done.

A wonderful photo essay with some incredible pictures!

Pingback: Photo Essay: Sacred Spaces Through the Lens of Muslim Harji | gulzara

Muslim, you always create “magic” with the high-quality photos you seem to always take, a true gift. You must have been invisible (or very polite) to have taken a few of these private scenes without being intrusive. And of course it certainly covers a wide range of religions, as was its purpose. The subject itself makes us stop and think – how similar people are, even as the religions themselves are different. This was an excellent presentation – thanks for including me – I am humbled….

Salam Dear Muslim Harji.

Your photo essay “Sacred Spaces” is one of the most wonderful essays that I have ever read! It is so beautifully photographed and narrated. Thank you very much for sharing it . Our Best regards to Nevin.

Waheed Siddiqui.

Muslim, the photos as usual are stunning , thought provoking and educates us on various religions of the world at a glance.

Muslim, I’m grateful to our mutual friend, Anwer Omar, for having forwarded these amazing photos which are well researched illustrations. Well done. May you continue to journey our beautiful planet & take many more photos.

Thank you both Muslim Haji and Malik Merchant for sharing the wonderful photos and the crisp explanation of the different faiths that are followed by different people of our planet- but basically pray to one God all in their own way of interpretation.I particularly liked the pictures of Badakshan and Pamirs.

Stunning images with important information about world religion everybody should know about. This is the kind of essay teachers should use in schools to inform and teach religious knowledge and tolerance.

I agree, Christina!

Amazing photography! Excellent! Priceless memories shared with us. Thank you

Majestic, vivacious, celebrated and breath taking photos which will endure for generations to come. Very educational, inspirational and beautiful color presentation of pictures of excellent quality and a very good description of each photo. We would like to receive more postings of these celebrated photos on Simerg and more publicity be given to these photos in magazines and if possible an academic book to be published in time to come for wider circulation.

Thank you so much, Bhaijan, for sharing the knowledge about the sacred spaces of different religions of the world through spectacular pictures as well as written details.The photographs are really stunning and so explicit that it gives me the feeling of having a good visit there.

I looked at your brilliant, beautiful and poignant pictures with great relish. It is as if I am there (imagine all the trips you saved me!) enjoying the beauty and serenity of the moment.

More than the pictures, I commend you for this great effort to illustrate the universality that exists among all the religions. It is only the fools that attempt to divide what is not divisible.

Jalaluddinibhai, Research & the text that is shown were produced with my close collaboration with the Editor of Simerg, Malik Merchant. This joint effort added life to the photo essay. Love,Light & Cheers Muslim Harji

Excellently written and well-researched. I wish the author and publisher give it wide publicity. We need to raise the spirit of tolerance and the desire to, “Live and let live”. In short, we need to bring our humanity back.

This is superb. What I read and see is the history of Islam which we never see it in any magazines of the world. Bravo Muslim. This is a good seva.

One of the finest and most informative photo essays on this great blog! Thank you, Muslim, for this superb and illuminating work.

May you travel for another 100 years and keep taking (and posting) such great pictures. Suresh Chawla

Merci Sophie, Big credit to the editor of Simerg Mr. Malik Merchant for beautifully dressing my photo essay with well laid out information.

Just beautiful. Thank you for taking the time to create this. The informative documentation under the photos shows your wordy knowledge.

Kamal ke foto, kamal ke bayan!

Very beautiful collection. Thanks for sharing.

A very well presentation of photos with appropriate descriptions. Keep up the good informative photo essays. Really enjoyed reading the text. Will be forwarding to my friends.

Great photos of excellent quality and clarity.

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Photo essay: Freedom, Religion, and Dambulla

on 04/30/2012

Navin Weeraratne’s photo essay around the recent violence in Dambulla has already been shared widely on Facebook, and elsewhere on the web. Describing himself to us as “an amateur photographer, toy painter, and pub quizzer”, Navin has succeeded in capturing some of the best photos on the controversy surrounding the mosque ostensibly within the “sacred grounds” of the Dambulla Temple. As journalist Dharisha Bastians avers  on Navi’s Facebook page, “This story needs to be told. It really is a wonderful piece of journalism at a time when mainstream reporting can only say so much.”

When going through the album , make sure to read the captions.

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How to Create an Engaging Photo Essay (with Examples)

Photo essays tell a story in pictures. They're a great way to improve at photography and story-telling skills at once. Learn how to do create a great one.

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Photography is a medium used to tell stories – sometimes they are told in one picture, sometimes you need a whole series. Those series can be photo essays.

If you’ve never done a photo essay before, or you’re simply struggling to find your next project, this article will be of help. I’ll be showing you what a photo essay is and how to go about doing one.

You’ll also find plenty of photo essay ideas and some famous photo essay examples from recent times that will serve you as inspiration.

If you’re ready to get started, let’s jump right in!

Table of Contents

What is a Photo Essay?

A photo essay is a series of images that share an overarching theme as well as a visual and technical coherence to tell a story. Some people refer to a photo essay as a photo series or a photo story – this often happens in photography competitions.

Photographic history is full of famous photo essays. Think about The Great Depression by Dorothea Lange, Like Brother Like Sister by Wolfgang Tillmans, Gandhi’s funeral by Henri Cartier Bresson, amongst others.

What are the types of photo essay?

Despite popular belief, the type of photo essay doesn’t depend on the type of photography that you do – in other words, journalism, documentary, fine art, or any other photographic genre is not a type of photo essay.

Instead, there are two main types of photo essays: narrative and thematic .

As you have probably already guessed, the thematic one presents images pulled together by a topic – for example, global warming. The images can be about animals and nature as well as natural disasters devastating cities. They can happen all over the world or in the same location, and they can be captured in different moments in time – there’s a lot of flexibility.

A narrative photo essa y, on the other hand, tells the story of a character (human or not), portraying a place or an event. For example, a narrative photo essay on coffee would document the process from the planting and harvesting – to the roasting and grinding until it reaches your morning cup.

What are some of the key elements of a photo essay?

• Tell a unique story – A unique story doesn’t mean that you have to photograph something that nobody has done before – that would be almost impossible! It means that you should consider what you’re bringing to the table on a particular topic.
• Put yourself into the work – One of the best ways to make a compelling photo essay is by adding your point of view, which can only be done with your life experiences and the way you see the world.
• Add depth to the concept – The best photo essays are the ones that go past the obvious and dig deeper in the story, going behind the scenes, or examining a day in the life of the subject matter – that’s what pulls in the spectator.
• Nail the technique – Even if the concept and the story are the most important part of a photo essay, it won’t have the same success if it’s poorly executed.
• Build a structure – A photo essay is about telling a thought-provoking story – so, think about it in a narrative way. Which images are going to introduce the topic? Which ones represent a climax? How is it going to end – how do you want the viewer to feel after seeing your photo series?
• Make strong choices – If you really want to convey an emotion and a unique point of view, you’re going to need to make some hard decisions. Which light are you using? Which lens? How many images will there be in the series? etc., and most importantly for a great photo essay is the why behind those choices.

9 Tips for Creating a Photo Essay

Credit: Laura James

1. Choose something you know

To make a good photo essay, you don’t need to travel to an exotic location or document a civil war – I mean, it’s great if you can, but you can start close to home.

Depending on the type of photography you do and the topic you’re looking for in your photographic essay, you can photograph a local event or visit an abandoned building outside your town.

It will be much easier for you to find a unique perspective and tell a better story if you’re already familiar with the subject. Also, consider that you might have to return a few times to the same location to get all the photos you need.

2. Follow your passion

Most photo essays take dedication and passion. If you choose a subject that might be easy, but you’re not really into it – the results won’t be as exciting. Taking photos will always be easier and more fun if you’re covering something you’re passionate about.

3. Take your time

A great photo essay is not done in a few hours. You need to put in the time to research it, conceptualizing it, editing, etc. That’s why I previously recommended following your passion because it takes a lot of dedication, and if you’re not passionate about it – it’s difficult to push through.

4. Write a summary or statement

Photo essays are always accompanied by some text. You can do this in the form of an introduction, write captions for each photo or write it as a conclusion. That’s up to you and how you want to present the work.

5. Learn from the masters

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Making a photographic essay takes a lot of practice and knowledge. A great way to become a better photographer and improve your storytelling skills is by studying the work of others. You can go to art shows, review books and magazines and look at the winners in photo contests – most of the time, there’s a category for photo series.

6. Get a wide variety of photos

Think about a story – a literary one. It usually tells you where the story is happening, who is the main character, and it gives you a few details to make you engage with it, right?

The same thing happens with a visual story in a photo essay – you can do some wide-angle shots to establish the scenes and some close-ups to show the details. Make a shot list to ensure you cover all the different angles.

Some of your pictures should guide the viewer in, while others are more climatic and regard the experience they are taking out of your photos.

7. Follow a consistent look

Both in style and aesthetics, all the images in your series need to be coherent. You can achieve this in different ways, from the choice of lighting, the mood, the post-processing, etc.

8. Be self-critical

Once you have all the photos, make sure you edit them with a good dose of self-criticism. Not all the pictures that you took belong in the photo essay. Choose only the best ones and make sure they tell the full story.

9. Ask for constructive feedback

Often, when we’re working on a photo essay project for a long time, everything makes perfect sense in our heads. However, someone outside the project might not be getting the idea. It’s important that you get honest and constructive criticism to improve your photography.

How to Create a Photo Essay in 5 Steps

Credit: Quang Nguyen Vinh

1. Choose your topic

This is the first step that you need to take to decide if your photo essay is going to be narrative or thematic. Then, choose what is it going to be about?

Ideally, it should be something that you’re interested in, that you have something to say about it, and it can connect with other people.

2. Research your topic

To tell a good story about something, you need to be familiar with that something. This is especially true when you want to go deeper and make a compelling photo essay. Day in the life photo essays are a popular choice, since often, these can be performed with friends and family, whom you already should know well.

3. Plan your photoshoot

Depending on what you’re photographing, this step can be very different from one project to the next. For a fine art project, you might need to find a location, props, models, a shot list, etc., while a documentary photo essay is about planning the best time to do the photos, what gear to bring with you, finding a local guide, etc.

Every photo essay will need different planning, so before taking pictures, put in the required time to get things right.

4. Experiment

It’s one thing to plan your photo shoot and having a shot list that you have to get, or else the photo essay won’t be complete. It’s another thing to miss out on some amazing photo opportunities that you couldn’t foresee.

So, be prepared but also stay open-minded and experiment with different settings, different perspectives, etc.

5. Make a final selection

Editing your work can be one of the hardest parts of doing a photo essay. Sometimes we can be overly critical, and others, we get attached to bad photos because we put a lot of effort into them or we had a great time doing them.

Try to be as objective as possible, don’t be afraid to ask for opinions and make various revisions before settling down on a final cut.

7 Photo Essay Topics, Ideas & Examples

Credit: Michelle Leman

• Architectural photo essay

Using architecture as your main subject, there are tons of photo essay ideas that you can do. For some inspiration, you can check out the work of Francisco Marin – who was trained as an architect and then turned to photography to “explore a different way to perceive things”.

You can also lookup Luisa Lambri. Amongst her series, you’ll find many photo essay examples in which architecture is the subject she uses to explore the relationship between photography and space.

• Process and transformation photo essay

This is one of the best photo essay topics for beginners because the story tells itself. Pick something that has a beginning and an end, for example, pregnancy, the metamorphosis of a butterfly, the life-cycle of a plant, etc.

Keep in mind that these topics are linear and give you an easy way into the narrative flow – however, it might be difficult to find an interesting perspective and a unique point of view.

• A day in the life of ‘X’ photo essay

There are tons of interesting photo essay ideas in this category – you can follow around a celebrity, a worker, your child, etc. You don’t even have to do it about a human subject – think about doing a photo essay about a day in the life of a racing horse, for example – find something that’s interesting for you.

• Time passing by photo essay

It can be a natural site or a landmark photo essay – whatever is close to you will work best as you’ll need to come back multiple times to capture time passing by. For example, how this place changes throughout the seasons or maybe even over the years.

A fun option if you live with family is to document a birthday party each year, seeing how the subject changes over time. This can be combined with a transformation essay or sorts, documenting the changes in interpersonal relationships over time.

• Travel photo essay

Do you want to make the jump from tourist snapshots into a travel photo essay? Research the place you’re going to be travelling to. Then, choose a topic.

If you’re having trouble with how to do this, check out any travel magazine – National Geographic, for example. They won’t do a generic article about Texas – they do an article about the beach life on the Texas Gulf Coast and another one about the diverse flavors of Texas.

The more specific you get, the deeper you can go with the story.

• Socio-political issues photo essay

This is one of the most popular photo essay examples – it falls under the category of photojournalism or documental photography. They are usually thematic, although it’s also possible to do a narrative one.

Depending on your topic of interest, you can choose topics that involve nature – for example, document the effects of global warming. Another idea is to photograph protests or make an education photo essay.

It doesn’t have to be a big global issue; you can choose something specific to your community – are there too many stray dogs? Make a photo essay about a local animal shelter. The topics are endless.

• Behind the scenes photo essay

A behind-the-scenes always make for a good photo story – people are curious to know what happens and how everything comes together before a show.

Depending on your own interests, this can be a photo essay about a fashion show, a theatre play, a concert, and so on. You’ll probably need to get some permissions, though, not only to shoot but also to showcase or publish those images.

4 Best Photo Essays in Recent times

Now that you know all the techniques about it, it might be helpful to look at some photo essay examples to see how you can put the concept into practice. Here are some famous photo essays from recent times to give you some inspiration.

Habibi by Antonio Faccilongo

This photo essay wan the World Press Photo Story of the Year in 2021. Faccilongo explores a very big conflict from a very specific and intimate point of view – how the Israeli-Palestinian war affects the families.

He chose to use a square format because it allows him to give order to things and eliminate unnecessary elements in his pictures.

With this long-term photo essay, he wanted to highlight the sense of absence and melancholy women and families feel towards their husbands away at war.

The project then became a book edited by Sarah Leen and the graphics of Ramon Pez.

Picture This: New Orleans by Mary Ellen Mark

The last assignment before her passing, Mary Ellen Mark travelled to New Orleans to register the city after a decade after Hurricane Katrina.

The images of the project “bring to life the rebirth and resilience of the people at the heart of this tale”, – says CNNMoney, commissioner of the work.

Each survivor of the hurricane has a story, and Mary Ellen Mark was there to record it. Some of them have heartbreaking stories about everything they had to leave behind.

Others have a story of hope – like Sam and Ben, two eight-year-olds born from frozen embryos kept in a hospital that lost power supply during the hurricane, yet they managed to survive.

Selfie by Cindy Sherman

Cindy Sherman is an American photographer whose work is mainly done through self-portraits. With them, she explores the concept of identity, gender stereotypes, as well as visual and cultural codes.

One of her latest photo essays was a collaboration with W Magazine entitled Selfie. In it, the author explores the concept of planned candid photos (‘plandid’).

The work was made for Instagram, as the platform is well known for the conflict between the ‘real self’ and the one people present online. Sherman started using Facetune, Perfect365 and YouCam to alter her appearance on selfies – in Photoshop, you can modify everything, but these apps were designed specifically to “make things prettier”- she says, and that’s what she wants to explore in this photo essay.

Tokyo Compression by Michael Wolf

Michael Wolf has an interest in the broad-gauge topic Life in Cities. From there, many photo essays have been derived – amongst them – Tokyo Compression .

He was horrified by the way people in Tokyo are forced to move to the suburbs because of the high prices of the city. Therefore, they are required to make long commutes facing 1,5 hours of train to start their 8+ hour workday followed by another 1,5 hours to get back home.

To portray this way of life, he photographed the people inside the train pressed against the windows looking exhausted, angry or simply absent due to this way of life.

You can visit his website to see other photo essays that revolve around the topic of life in megacities.

Final Words

It’s not easy to make photo essays, so don’t expect to be great at it right from your first project.

Start off small by choosing a specific subject that’s interesting to you –  that will come from an honest place, and it will be a great practice for some bigger projects along the line.

Whether you like to shoot still life or you’re a travel photographer, I hope these photo essay tips and photo essay examples can help you get started and grow in your photography.

Let us know which topics you are working on right now – we’ll love to hear from you!

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Ana Mireles is a Mexican researcher that specializes in photography and communications for the arts and culture sector.

Penelope G. To Ana Mireles Such a well written and helpful article for an writer who wants to inclue photo essay in her memoir. Thank you. I will get to work on this new skill. Penelope G.

Herman Krieger Photo essays in black and white

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23 Photo Essay Ideas and Examples (to Get Your Creative Juices Flowing!)

A Post By: Kevin Landwer-Johan

Looking for inspiration? Our 23 photo essay ideas will take your photography skills to new heights!

A single, strong photograph can convey a lot of information about its subject – but sometimes we have topics that require more than one image to do the job. That’s when it’s time to make a photo essay: a collection of pictures that together tell the bigger story around a chosen theme.

In the following sections, we’ll explore various photo essay ideas and examples that cover a wide range of subjects and purposes. From capturing the growth of your children to documenting local festivals, each idea offers an exciting opportunity to tell a story through your lens, whether you’re a hobbyist or a veteran professional.

So grab your camera, unleash your creativity, and let’s delve into the wonderful world of photo essay examples!

What is a photo essay?

Simply put, a photo essay is a series of carefully selected images woven together to tell a story or convey a message. Think of it as a visual narrative that designed to capture attention and spark emotions.

Now, these images can revolve around a broad theme or focus on a specific storyline. For instance, you might create a photo essay celebrating the joy of companionship by capturing 10 heartwarming pictures of people sharing genuine laughter. On the other hand, you could have a photo essay delving into the everyday lives of fishermen in Wales by following a single fisherman’s journey for a day or even a week.

It’s important to note that photo essays don’t necessarily have to stick to absolute truth. While some documentary photographers prefer to keep it authentic, others may employ techniques like manipulation or staging to create a more artistic impact. So there is room for creativity and interpretation.

Why you should create a photo essay

Photo essays have a way of expressing ideas and stories that words sometimes struggle to capture. They offer a visual narrative that can be incredibly powerful and impactful.

Firstly, photo essays are perfect when you have an idea or a point you want to convey, but you find yourself at a loss for words. Sometimes, emotions and concepts are better conveyed through images rather than paragraphs. So if you’re struggling to articulate a message, you can let your photos do the talking for you.

Second, if you’re interested in subjects that are highly visual, like the mesmerizing forms of architecture within a single city, photo essays are the way to go. Trying to describe the intricate details of a building or the play of light and shadows with words alone can be challenging. But through a series of captivating images, you can immerse your audience in the architecture.

And finally, if you’re aiming to evoke emotions or make a powerful statement, photo essays are outstanding. Images have an incredible ability to shock, inspire, and move people in ways that words often struggle to achieve. So if you want to raise awareness about an environmental issue or ignite a sense of empathy, a compelling series of photographs can have a profound impact.

Photo essay examples and ideas

Looking to create a photo essay but don’t know where to start? Here are some handy essay ideas and examples for inspiration!

1. A day in the life

Your first photo essay idea is simple: Track a life over the course of one day. You might make an essay about someone else’s life. Or the life of a location, such as the sidewalk outside your house. 

The subject matter you choose is up to you. But start in the morning and create a series of images showing your subject over the course of a typical day.

(Alternatively, you can document your subject on a special day, like a birthday, a wedding, or some other celebration.)

2. Capture hands

Portraits focus on a subject’s face – but why not mix it up and make a photo essay that focuses on your subject’s hands?

(You can also focus on a collection of different people’s hands.)

Hands can tell you a lot about a person. And showing them in context is a great way to narrate a story.

3. Follow a sports team for a full season

Sports are all about emotions – both from the passionate players and the dedicated fans. While capturing the intensity of a single game can be exhilarating, imagine the power of telling the complete story of a team throughout an entire season.

For the best results, you’ll need to invest substantial time in sports photography. Choose a team that resonates with you and ensure their games are within a drivable distance. By photographing their highs and lows, celebrations and challenges, you’ll create a compelling photo essay that traces their journey from the first game to the last.

4. A child and their parent

Photographs that catch the interaction between parents and children are special. A parent-child connection is strong and unique, so making powerful images isn’t challenging. You just need to be ready to capture the special moments as they happen. 

You might concentrate on a parent teaching their child. Or the pair playing sports. Or working on a special project.

Use your imagination, and you’ll have a great time with this theme.

5. Tell a local artist’s story 

I’ve always enjoyed photographing artists as they work; studios have a creative vibe, so the energy is already there. Bring your camera into this environment and try to tell the artist’s story!

An artist’s studio offers plenty of opportunities for wonderful photo essays. Think about the most fascinating aspects of the artist’s process. What do they do that makes their art special? Aim to show this in your photos.

Many people appreciate fine art, but they’re often not aware of what happens behind the scenes. So documenting an artist can produce fascinating visual stories.

6. Show a tradesperson’s process

Do you have a plumber coming over to fix your kitchen sink? Is a builder making you a new deck?

Take photos while they work! Tell them what you want to do before you start, and don’t forget to share your photos with them.

They’ll probably appreciate seeing what they do from another perspective. They may even want to use your photos on their company website.

7. Photograph your kids as they grow

There’s something incredibly special about documenting the growth of our little ones. Kids grow up so quickly – before you know it, they’re moving out. Why not capture the beautiful moments along the way by creating a heartwarming photo essay that showcases their growth?

There are various approaches you can take, but one idea is to capture regular photos of your kids standing in front of a distinct point of reference, such as the refrigerator. Over a year or several years, you can gather these images and place them side by side to witness your childrens’ incredible transformations.

8. Cover a local community event

A school fundraiser, a tree-planting day at a park, or a parade; these are are all community events that make for good photo essay ideas.

Think like a photojournalist . What type of images would your editor want? Make sure to capture some wide-angle compositions , some medium shots, and some close-ups.

(Getting in close to show the details can often tell as much of a story as the wider pictures.)

9. Show fresh market life

Markets are great for photography because there’s always plenty of activity and lots of characters. Think of how you can best illustrate the flow of life at the market. What are the vendors doing that’s most interesting? What are the habits of the shoppers?

Look to capture the essence of the place. Try to portray the people who work and shop there.

10. Shoot the same location over time

What location do you visit regularly? Is there a way you can make an interesting photo essay about it?

Consider what you find most attractive and ugly about the place. Look for aspects that change over time. 

Any outdoor location will look different throughout the day. Also think about the changes that occur from season to season. Create an essay that tells the story of the place.

11. Document a local festival

Festivals infuse cities and towns with vibrant energy and unique cultural experiences. Even if your own town doesn’t have notable festivals, chances are a neighboring town does. Explore the magic of these celebrations by documenting a local festival through your lens.

Immerse yourself in the festivities, arriving early and staying late. Capture the colorful displays and the people who make the festival come alive. If the festival spans multiple days, consider focusing on different areas each time you visit to create a diverse and comprehensive photo essay that truly reflects the essence of the event.

12. Photograph a garden through the seasons

It might be your own garden . It could be the neighbor’s. It could even be the garden at your local park.

Think about how the plants change during the course of a year. Capture photos of the most significant visual differences, then present them as a photo essay.

13. Show your local town or city

After spending several years in a particular area, you likely possess an intimate knowledge of your local town or city. Why not utilize that familiarity to create a captivating photo essay that showcases the essence of your community?

Delve into what makes your town special, whether it’s the charming streets, unique landmarks, or the people who shape its character. Dedicate time to capturing the diverse aspects that define your locale. If you’re up for a more extensive project, consider photographing the town over the course of an entire year, capturing the changing seasons and the dynamic spirit of your community.

14. Pick a local cause to highlight

Photo essays can go beyond passive documentation; they can become a part of your activism, too!

So find a cause that matters to you. Tell the story of some aspect of community life that needs improvement. Is there an ongoing issue with litter in your area? How about traffic; is there a problematic intersection?

Document these issues, then make sure to show the photos to people responsible for taking action.

15. Making a meal

Photo essay ideas can be about simple, everyday things – like making a meal or a coffee.

How can you creatively illustrate something that seems so mundane? My guess is that, when you put your mind to it, you can come up with many unique perspectives, all of which will make great stories.

16. Capture the life of a flower

In our fast-paced lives, it’s easy to overlook the beauty that surrounds us. Flowers, with their mesmerizing colors and rapid life cycles, offer a captivating subject for a photo essay. Try to slow down and appreciate the intricate details of a flower’s existence.

With a macro lens in hand, document a single flower or a patch of flowers from their initial shoots to their inevitable wilting and decomposition. Experiment with different angles and perspectives to bring viewers into the enchanting world of the flower. By freezing these fleeting moments, you’ll create a visual narrative that celebrates the cycle of life and the exquisite beauty found in nature’s delicate creations.

17. Religious traditions

Religion is often rich with visual expression in one form or another. So capture it!

Of course, you may need to narrow down your ideas and choose a specific aspect of worship to photograph. Aim to show what people do when they visit a holy place, or how they pray on their own. Illustrate what makes their faith real and what’s special about it.

18. Historic sites

Historic sites are often iconic, and plenty of photographers take a snapshot or two.

But with a photo essay, you can illustrate the site’s history in greater depth.

Look for details of the location that many visitors miss. And use these to build an interesting story.

19. Show the construction of a building

Ever been away from a familiar place for a while only to return and find that things have changed? It happens all the time, especially in areas undergoing constant development. So why not grab your camera and document this transformation?

Here’s the idea: Find a building that’s currently under construction in your area. It could be a towering skyscraper, a modern office complex, or even a small-scale residential project. Whatever catches your eye! Then let the magic of photography unfold.

Make it a habit to take a photo every day or two. Watch as the building gradually takes shape and evolves. Capture the construction workers in action, the cranes reaching for the sky, and the scaffolding supporting the structure.

Once the building is complete, you’ll have a treasure trove of images that chronicle its construction from start to finish!

20. Document the changing skyline of the city

This photo essay example is like the previous one, except it works on a much larger scale. Instead of photographing a single building as it’s built, find a nice vantage point outside your nearest city, then photograph the changing skyline.

To create a remarkable photo essay showcasing the changing skyline, you’ll need to scout out the perfect vantage point. Seek high ground that offers a commanding view of the city, allowing you to frame the skyline against the horizon. Look for spots that give you an unobstructed perspective, whether a rooftop terrace, a hillside park, or even a nearby bridge.

As you set out on your photography expedition, be patient and observant. Cities don’t transform overnight; they change gradually over time. Embrace the passage of days, weeks, and months as you witness the slow evolution unfold.

Pro tip: To capture the essence of this transformation, experiment with various photographic techniques. Play with different angles, framing, and compositions to convey the grandeur and dynamism of the changing skyline. Plus, try shooting during the golden hours of sunrise and sunset , when the soft light bathes the city in a warm glow and accentuates the architectural details.

21. Photograph your pet

If you’re a pet owner, you already have the perfect subject for a photo essay!

All pets , with the possible exception of pet rocks, will provide you with a collection of interesting moments to photograph.

So collect these moments with your camera – then display them as a photo essay showing the nature and character of your pet.

22. Tell the story of a local nature preserve

Ah, the wonders of a local nature preserve! While it may not boast the grandeur of Yosemite National Park, these hidden gems hold their own beauty, just waiting to be discovered and captured through the lens of your camera.

To embark on this type of photo essay adventure, start by exploring all the nooks and crannies of your chosen nature preserve. Wander along its winding trails, keeping an eye out for unique and captivating subjects that convey the essence of the preserve.

As you go along, try to photograph the intricate details of delicate wildflowers, the interplay of light filtering through a dense forest canopy, and the lively activities of birds and other wildlife.

23. Show the same subject from multiple perspectives

It’s possible to create an entire photo essay in a single afternoon – or even in a handful of minutes. If you don’t love the idea of dedicating yourself to days of photographing for a single essay, this is a great option.

Simply find a subject you like, then endeavor to capture 10 unique images that include it. I’d recommend photographing from different angles: up above, down low, from the right and left. You can also try getting experimental with creative techniques, such as intentional camera movement and freelensing. If all goes well, you’ll have a very cool set of images featuring one of your favorite subjects!

By showcasing the same subject from multiple perspectives, you invite viewers on a visual journey. They get to see different facets, textures, and details that they might have overlooked in a single photograph. It adds depth and richness to your photo essay, making it both immersive and dynamic.

Photo essay ideas: final words

Remember: Photo essays are all about communicating a concept or a story through images rather than words. So embrace the process and use images to express yourself!

Whether you choose to follow a sports team through a thrilling season, document the growth of your little ones, or explore the hidden treasures of your local town, each photo essay has its own magic waiting to be unlocked. It’s a chance to explore your creativity and create images in your own style.

So look at the world around you. Grab your gear and venture out into the wild. Embrace the beauty of nature, the energy of a bustling city, or the quiet moments that make life special. Consider what you see every day. What aspects interest you the most? Photograph those things.

You’re bound to end up with some amazing photo essays!

Now over to you:

Do you have any photo essay examples you’re proud of? Do you have any more photo essay ideas? Share your thoughts and images in the comments below!

Read more from our Tips & Tutorials category

Kevin Landwer-Johan is a photographer, photography teacher, and author with over 30 years of experience that he loves to share with others.

Check out his website and his Buy Me a Coffee page .

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PHOTO ESSAY: RELIGIOUS LIFE IN BON SKOR, AN A MDO TIBETAN COMMUNITY, PR CHINA

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Rdo rje dpal 'byor. 2023. Photo Essay: Religious Life in Bon Skor,

an A mdo Tibetan Community, PR China. Asian Highlands Perspectives 63:288-314.

This photo essay documents religious activities and sites in Bon skor (Wangshenke) Community, Bya mdo (Shagou) Township, Mang ra (Guinan) County, Mtsho lho (Hainan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Mtsho sngon (Qinghai) Province, PR China. Key aspects of community religious life include creating Buddhist clay images for stupas, turning prayer wheels, and offering butter lamps and water at a local ma Ni Hall where annual community religious rituals are held. Changes in local religious rituals are rapid, highlighting the value of this essay and its twenty-three images in recording local religious life in the first and second decades of the twenty-first century.

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PHOTO ESSAY: RELIGIOUS LIFE IN BON SKOR, AN A MDO TIBETAN COMMUNITY, PR CHINA

2023, ASIAN HIGHLANDS PERSPECTIVES

Rdo rje dpal 'byor རྡོ ་རྗེ ་དཔལ་འབྱྡོ ར། (Duojihuanjiao 多吉环角). 2023. Photo Essay: Religious Life in Bon Skor, an A mdo Tibetan Community, PR China. Asian Highlands Perspectives 63:288-314. This photo essay documents religious activities and sites in Bon skor (Wangshenke) Community, Bya mdo (Shagou) Township, Mang ra (Guinan) County, Mtsho lho (Hainan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Mtsho sngon (Qinghai) Province, PR China. Key aspects of community religious life include creating Buddhist clay images for stupas, turning prayer wheels, and offering butter lamps and water at a local ma Ni Hall where annual community religious rituals are held. Changes in local religious rituals are rapid, highlighting the value of this essay and its twentythree images in recording local religious life in the first and second decades of the twenty-first century.

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Pad+ma rig 'dzin པདྨ་རིག་འཛིན།

Personal experiences, observations, preparations, daily activities, including recreational events, and interviews with locals, inform this study of a community A mdo Tibetan Smyung gnas held on the fourteenth to sixteenth days of the fourth (Chinese lunisolar calendar) in Yo lag (Zhiyue) Village, Mdo ba (Duowa) Town, Thun rin (Reb gong, Tongren) City, Mtsho sngon (Qinghai) Province, PR China during the mid-twentieth to the early twenty-first centuries. Cultural preservation is served by this study, which is also a model of how local rituals might be presented at a time of rapid cultural transformation. Why are many locals intimately and regularly involved in religious practice? As a local community member, I share my own experiences and interactions over the years with my maternal grandmother (Sgro b+ha, 1923-2010), sister (Bzung 'dus mtsho, b. 1985), sister-in-law (G.yang mo, b. 1985), and neighbor women. They are quietly confident that religious practice on sacred dates leads ...

Asian Highlands Perspectives JOURNAL

Tshe ring skyid. 2015. Rka gsar, a Monguor (Tu) Village in Reb Gong (Tongren): Communal Rituals and Everyday Life IN Gerald Roche and CK Stuart (eds) Asian Highlands Perspectives 36: Mapping the Monguor, 251-275, 301-332. ABSTRACT This article introduces Rka gsar, one of four villages in Reb gong (Rma lho [Huangnan] Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Mtsho sgnon [Qinghai] Province) where the Mongolic Bonan (aka Bao'an, Manikacha, Dor skad) language is spoken. The text provides information on the village's location and population; language; livelihood; clothing; and religion and communal festivals, focusing particularly on elements that distinguish Rka gsar from nearby Tibetan-speaking communities. The final section provides information about a significant event in recent local history – a landslide that occurred in 2009. A map and twenty-seven images are provided. KEYWORDS Bao'an, Bonan, Monguor, Qinghai, Reb gong, Tongren, Tuzu

Kengo KONISHI

ASIAN HIGHLANDS PERSPECTIVES

'Jam dbyangs skyabs. 2023. Tibetan Artifacts: Prayer Wheels, Worn Religious Items, Tibetan Tents, and Personal Ornaments in 2022. Asian Highlands Perspectives 63:98-149. Personal experiences and histories of local older Tibetan religious practitioners illustrate the religious and cultural practices of Stag lung Mtha' ba, Khang sar Township, Gcig sgril (Jiuzhi) County, Mgo log (Goulou) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Mtsho sngon (Qinghai) Province, PR China. Highlighting the significant roles that religious items, personal ornaments, Tibetan tents, and the memories of their use play in local lives, the article provides insights into the importance of the community's religion and traditions. Interviews with local elders about their life experiences, religious items, and personal ornaments enrich our understanding of how symbols of faith connect individuals to their cultural heritage and history, offering a deeper appreciation of the significance of these items, including their symbolism and function. By showcasing the importance of personal experiences and histories in understanding the significance of religious practices and objects in a specific Tibetan community, this paper contributes to the literature on Tibetan religion and culture, offering a unique perspective on the diverse and rich traditions locally maintained and practiced and highlighting the importance of cultural heritage and history in shaping local identity and values.

My paternal grandmother, Lha sgron (b. 1946), was a herder for most of her life. A dedicated Buddhist, she became a nun in 2012. In the summer of 2020, I interviewed her in Bon skor (Wangshenke) Community, Bya mdo (Shagou) Township, Mang ra (Guinan) County, Mtsho lho (Hainan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Mtsho sngon (Qinghai) Province, PR China. Bon skor is an agro-pastoral Tibetan community in A mdo, located about 190 kilometers (three hours by bus) from Zi ling (Xining) City, the capital of Mtsho sngon (Qinghai) Province.

Pad+ma rig 'dzin (Wanmerenzeng). 2023. Hats in an A mdo Pastoral Community, PR China. Asian Highlands Perspectives 63:150-177. Hats and other apparel in a herding community (Mdo ba (Duowa) Town) in the east of Reb gong (Tongren City), Rma lho (Huangnan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Mtsho sngon (Qinghai) Province, PR China are the focus of this paper. Locally worn hats, including their names, materials, where they were obtained, and the time of their popularity, were drawn from discussions with local culture bearers who shared their experiences and memories of what they had learned from their elders. Twelve photographs are included.

Memoirs of the Research Department of the Toyo Bunko

Asian Highland Perspectives

Multi-ethnic Chu cha Village in Mchod rten thang Township, Dpa' ris Tibetan Autonomous County, Gansu Province, China is described in terms of location; population; clothing; language; religion; history; and personal, family, and community rituals. Photographs provide additional information.

Rahel Tsering

Labtse constructions are understood as abodes and places of veneration for local territorial gods and are at the center of communal rituals. In recent years, there has been a revival of these cults in Amdo. Based on a field study in an Amdo Tibetan village, this paper suggests that part of the attraction of those deity cults is found in their potential to allow for multiple interpretations and adaptations in the face of shifting circumstances. Labtse rituals reinforce the exclusive relationship between a mountain deity, “his” local community, and territory. The mountain deity is understood to be involved in a social relationship on an individual level with single villagers but also on a community level. On the other hand, Buddhist clerics use mountain deity cults to establish and stabilize a hierarchical relationship between the monastery and the village. This article explores the relevance of the deity cult for the village of Fudi and the social relationships involved in it.

Weiner, Benno. 2014. Review: Monastic and Lay Traditions of North-Eastern Tibet. Asian Highlands Perspectives 35:237-242. Review of Yangdon Dhondup, Ulrich Pagel, and Geoffrey Samuel (eds). 2013. Monastic and Lay Traditions of North-Eastern Tibet. Leiden and Boston: Brill. viii. +244. Four Maps, fifteen illustrations, preface, index. Volume 33, Brill's Tibetan Studies Library. ISBN: 9789004255692 (hardcover, 112.50USD). ______ Monastic and Lay Traditions in North-Eastern Tibet, edited by Yangdon Dhondup, Ulrich Pagel, and Geoffrey Samuel, is the product of a 2011 workshop convened at St. Michael's College, Llandaff, Cardiff. Although the conference's focus was the tantric practitioner community of the Reb kong region (Ch. Tongren), the resultant volume expands the scope of inquiry to include surrounding areas as well as monastic communities. The editors have organized the volume's nine chapters into three sections, the first on the Dge lugs pa monastic establishment, the second on Rnying ma pa and Bon tantric communities, and finally 'Ritual and Performance in Contemporary Reb kong'. While the chapters are all informative and scholarly, providing new, important empirical detail on an under researched subject, several tend toward the descriptive. The most successful contributions, however, present their findings within larger analytical and contextual frameworks, giving their chapters explanatory weight beyond the more narrow confines of their studies.

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Creating Photo Essays About Community: A Guide to Our Where We Are Contest

Step-by-step directions for depicting what’s memorable and meaningful about groups and the places where they gather.

By Katherine Schulten

It’s hard not to be inspired by the immersive 2023 photo-essay series Where We Are .

As you scroll through and are introduced to young female wrestlers in India , rappers in Spain , band kids in Ohio and Black debutantes in Detroit , you can’t help but think about the communities you have been a part of — or have noticed in your own neighborhood or school.

That’s why we hope you’ll participate in our new contest , which invites teenagers to use these photo essays as mentor texts to document the local, offline communities that most interest them.

How do you go about that? The steps are outlined below.

Have fun, and if you are submitting to our contest, make sure you do so by March 20.

How to Create Your Photo Essay

Step 1: read the where we are series closely., step 2: decide what local community will be the subject of your photo essay., step 3: take photos that show both the big picture and the small details., step 4: interview members of the community about why it is special., step 5: give your photo essay context via a short written introduction., step 6: write captions for your photos that give new information or add depth or color., step 7: edit all the pieces together and submit..

Immerse yourself in several of these photo essays, using our related activity sheet to help you start to notice and name some of the things that make this series special.

When you’re done, we’ll help you use those same strategies to document the community you have chosen.

Here are free links to the entire series:

1. The Magic of Your First Car 2. At This Mexican Restaurant, Everyone is Family 3. Where the Band Kids Are 4. In This Nigerian Market, Young Women Find a Place of Their Own 5. At Camp Naru, Nobody Is ‘an Outlier’ 6. For Black Debutantes in Detroit, Cotillion Is More Than a Ball 7. At This Wrestling Academy, Indian Girls Are ‘Set Free’ 8. In Seville, Spain, These Young Rappers Come Together to Turn ‘Tears Into Rhymes’ 9. For a Queer Community in Los Angeles, This Public Park Is a Lifeline 10. In Guatemala, a Collective of Young Artists Finds Family Through Film 11. On a Caribbean Island, Young People Find Freedom in ‘Bike Life’ 12. At This Texas Campus Ministry, ‘Inclusive Love’ Is the Mission 13. For Young Arab Americans in Michigan, the Hookah Lounge Feels like Home

A local band and its fans? The kids who hang out at a nearby basketball court? The people who tend a community garden? Your grandpa’s weekly breakfast with old friends at a local diner?

Our related Student Opinion forum will help you brainstorm ideas and then encourage you to detail what’s special about the people and place you choose. Remember that our rules allow you to work with up to three other people on this project, so consider sharing ideas with others to find a project that excites all of you.

Though we will allow you to choose a community you are a part of, we encourage you not to. Approaching a group as an outsider can help you notice and document aspects of that community with relative objectivity, capturing details that insiders may be too close to see.

Once you’ve chosen a group to photograph, begin by introducing yourself to ensure the participants are open to your project. Make sure they understand that, if you are a finalist, the pictures you take may be published on the New York Times website. You should also be sure to get contact information from each member of the group for any follow-up questions.

Next, spend a day or so just observing, noticing how and where the members of this community spend time, what they do together and how they relate to one another. Start to plan your piece, keeping in mind that, via six to eight photos, photo captions and a short introduction, you’ll need to impart the following:

What is this community?

Who is in it?

Where and when does it meet?

How did the community come to be? How does it operate?

Why does it matter to its participants? What is it about the connections people make in this space that makes it special? Why should it matter to viewers?

If there’s one thing to notice about the Where We Are series, it is that the photos and the writing both “zoom out” to provide a big picture and “zoom in” to focus on the meaningful details. If you have followed our related activity sheet , you’ve already noted how individual pieces do that.

You might have also observed that in each photo essay there are images that show the physical space; images that spotlight the people who gather there; and close-up images that focus on meaningful objects or details, like food, clothing, tattoos, jewelry, hair or hands.

Here are some steps you can take to do this too.

1. Ground your piece in a specific physical space.

Keep in mind that our contest allows you to submit only eight photos, so the more specific you can be about the place you choose, the easier it will be to tell a story. For example, rather than trying to document everything about the boys’ soccer team at your school, you might focus on their Wednesday practices at a local field.

Take photos that establish that space, perhaps at different times of day, from a variety of angles, with and without people. Here, for instance, is Sarapes, a Mexican restaurant in a quiet Connecticut suburb that is a “headquarters” for a group of 20-somethings.

As you look at this image and the ones below, ask yourself:

What can you tell about this space from the photograph?

What can you guess about the people who gather here, and what might this place might mean to them? What do you see that makes you say that?

Here is a meeting area at the Texas Wesley Foundation , a Methodist campus ministry group at University of Texas at Austin.

And here is the caption that comes with it:

“We call ourselves a Methodist group, but we are enthusiastic to accept people of other faiths, people who might not have any faith, or who are questioning their faith,” said Brandon. “We really like to meet people where they’re at.”

How do the caption and image echo and build on each other?

Next is one of many shots of Camp Naru , a summer camp for Korean American youth, where fostering a “strong, secure sense of identity and community is one of the main goals.” How can you see that in this image?

Finally, here is a big-picture look at the Southern California landscape that is the setting for “ The Magic of Your First Car .” What adjectives come to mind? Before you read the full piece, what can you already imagine about the teenagers who “get away from the prying eyes of parents” by driving? What additional images might you expect to see in the full essay?

2. Focus on the people who gather there.

Community is all about people, so consider the ways you can document both the ways they come together and the ways they might experience the group individually.

For instance, here is an arresting close-up image from “ For a Queer Community in Los Angeles, This Public Park Is a Lifeline .” What is interesting about it to you? How does the photo speak to the title of the piece?

Here is an image from “ Where the Band Kids Are .” What adjectives would you use to describe this community based on what you see here?

Here is another group shot. What adjectives would you use to describe this community? What would you expect individual portraits of its members to show?

Now, look at the related photo essay to see how close your answers were.

Here are some of the people that call Sarapes , the Mexican restaurant, their refuge. Action shots like this one often tell a viewer more than posed photos. What does this one say to you?

Finally, here is an image from “ On a Caribbean Island, Young People Find Freedom in ‘Bike Life.’ ” Though we don’t see any faces, the composition of the photo tells us a great deal. What do you think is going on here? What do you see that makes you say that? After you make your guesses, click into the photo essay and see how accurate your ideas were.

3. Zoom in on telling details about the people and the place.

You looked at a “zoomed out” image above from “ The Magic of Your First Car .” Here is a close-up. What does it tell you? What compositional elements give you that information? Why do you think the photographer chose this focus?

If you’ve already looked at several of the photo essays, you may have noticed that many, like this one, contain close-ups of hands. Why do you think that is?

Next, can you guess which photo essay the image below is from?

Before we reveal the answer, here is another close-up from the same photo essay, this one taken at night. Are you getting warmer?

Answer: “ At Camp Naru, Nobody Is ‘an Outlier.’ ” If you got it right, what clues in the photos helped? How do the images echo the idea expressed in the title?

Below is a photo that focuses on one member of a queer community in Los Angeles . What do you notice? What do you admire about the composition, the lighting, the angle or anything else? Why?

Now let’s look at a big-picture image and a close-up to see how they work together. Here is a shot from “ For Black Debutantes in Detroit, Cotillion Is More Than a Ball .”

Finally, here is a close-up. What do the two tell you together? What would be missing if you only took one type of shot?

4. Don’t forget to experiment and have fun.

If you’ve mastered the ideas above, now it’s time to play. As you worked through the images, you asked yourself, “How does composition convey meaning?” even if you didn’t realize that was what you were doing.

Our detailed photo guide , developed for an earlier contest, encourages you to think about how to experiment with basic composition techniques like rule of thirds, angle, depth of field, leading lines, framing and distance. It also helps you think about lighting, color and cropping, as well as making the best use of the tools available on most smartphones.

Read through it before and after you have documented your community and then look through the images you have taken. Do you have enough variety? Can you identify techniques like rule of thirds and leading lines in the images from the Where We Are series? If you haven’t used them in your own work, could you experiment?

Below are a few more images from Where We Are essays for inspiration. What do you notice? What compositional choices did the photographer make? How would different choices change the meaning?

Last question: Two of the four images above are from the same photo essay. Which are they, which piece do they come from, and how did you know? What unites the two images?

According to the rules of our contest, you only need one quote from a member of the community you have chosen, but, of course, you are allowed to use many more. We encourage you to weave them into both your captions and your introduction, just as the authors of the Where We Are series did.

Never conducted an interview before? We have advice. Scroll down to Steps 3 and 4 in this guide we created for our Profile Contest to find many practical tips from Times journalists for preparing for and conducting an interview.

But to start, you just need a few good questions. For example, you might ask:

What’s special about this community for you?

What do you like to do here?

What are some of your favorite memories or stories about this group?

What would an outsider to this community not understand or notice?

Is there history about this place or these people that I should understand?

If you were photographing this community, what important places, objects or moments would you try to capture? Why?

Finally, many journalists end interviews with this question: “Is there anything I didn’t ask that you wish I did?” Sometimes the most interesting information is elicited that way!

Then look over what you wrote down and choose the best quotes. Maybe they give information that your photo essay needs, maybe they are colorful and show personality or maybe they do all of those things.

To see how this works, we’ll look at one of the essays, “ At This Texas Campus Ministry, ‘Inclusive Love’ Is the Mission .”

Here is how the first quote was used, in the introduction:

Sydney had grown up Methodist and thought she knew what to expect from a Christian student organization. But she was surprised by just how welcoming the Wesley was. The students and adult leaders seemed genuinely invested in drawing her out of her shell and getting to know her, with no agenda. “It’s really not about getting people into this religion,” she said. “It’s just about being a community who supports others and loves others. And that was huge to me.”

How does it both paraphrase Sydney’s words and directly quote her? What does that quote tell the reader up front about this community? Why is that information important, and why might a participant’s own words be a compelling way to express this?

Later we meet Ethan. What does his experience — again, both paraphrased and directly quoted — add to your understanding of the inclusivity of this community? What colorful description does he offer for what happens in this group? How does this description add information to what is depicted in the photos?

Ethan’s parents are Buddhist and were surprised when their son started spending so much time with a Methodist organization. For his part, Ethan describes himself as agnostic and says he hasn’t felt any pressure from the Wesley to change that, but he appreciates the camaraderie the group offers. “There was this one worship where, when there was a swell in the music, someone burst into tears, and then they hugged one of their friends. I am not sure what was going on there, but it was definitely a very profound experience,” he said.

Listen for the same things as you interview. How can one person’s description of an experience add necessary information, depth, history or background to what you have depicted in images? Did you get any quotes that are too good not to use? How could you highlight them? Do they belong in your introduction or as a photo caption?

The essays in the Where We Are series are longer than the introductions you will write if you are participating in this contest. Many of those essays are about 600 words, double what we have allowed student participants. (You have up to 300 words, but you can use fewer if you can still convey what you need to.)

But you can use the first few paragraphs of each essay — what appears before the first photos — as mentor texts for your own introductions, and we’ll show you how, below.

First though, let’s remember your broader goals. As we wrote at the top of this post, together, your introduction, photo essay and captions should answer these questions:

Why does it matter to its participants? Why should it matter to viewers?

Take a look at “ In This Nigerian Market, Young Women Find a Place of Their Own ” as an example. Here is the introduction, the first 200 or so words before the photo essay begins to scroll:

At the bustling Yaba Market in Lagos, Nigeria, there is something for everyone. Chatter rises from the traders, whose stalls sprawl over miles of cracked gray concrete and packed earth. They might be selling baskets of fresh fruit, wheelbarrows stuffed with phone cases, piles of sequined fabrics or racks of second-hand clothes. If you’re lucky, you might find a vintage jacket you’ve been searching for, or a pair of long-lasting Levi’s jeans. But you’re never going to be as lucky as Dencity : the coolest of the cool kids of Lagos. These skaters, often clad in a uniform of baggy pants and crop tops, head to the market to go thrifting each week. They’re armed with fashion knowledge only the young, fun and determined can possess and seek out the best streetwear they can find. Founded by 26-year-old Blessing Ewona in 2020 in response to the dearth of spaces for young queer people and female skaters in Nigeria, Dencity skate, dream and thrift together. From their trips to the market to regular skate meet-ups at the dilapidated National Stadium or Tarkwa Bay beach, they have traced their own map of the city.

How many of the questions we listed above do these paragraphs answer? How do they work with the top image, which we’ve embedded above this section? What descriptions stand out? What context and background does it provide?

Now let’s break your task down.

1. Make your writing as vivid and varied as your images.

Much of the writing in these essays is just as interesting as the photos, as the example above shows. Here is another, the opening of “ At This Wrestling Academy, Indian Girls Are ‘Set Free’ ”:

As the winter sun ascends over a mustard farm, pale orange bleeding into sharp yellow, a line of 36 girls all dressed alike — T-shirts, track pants, crew cuts — emerges into an open field, rubbing sleep from their eyes. Under a tin shed, they sit on their haunches, bent over stone mortars. For the next 20 minutes, they crush raw almonds into a fine paste, straining out a bottle of nut milk. They will need it to regain their strength.

And here is how “ On a Caribbean Island, Young People Find Freedom in ‘Bike Life’ ” begins:

On a warm evening in October 2021, Enzo Crispin mounted his cobalt motorcycle and set off into the night. Hundreds of others joined his caravan, the rumbles of their engines filling the air of Fort-de-France, the capital of the French Caribbean island territory of Martinique. The riders popped up on one wheel, stood up on their bikes, brushed their hands along the ground — all while zooming along at top speed. Completely exhilarating. Potentially illegal, at least on public streets. This is “cabrage,” which roughly translates from French as a rodeo on wheels.

How do these introductions both “zoom out” and “zoom in”? How do they play on your senses, helping you see, hear, taste, touch and smell this place and what happens in it? How could you do those things in your introduction?

2. Offer background to help viewers understand what they are seeing and what it means.

Here is the introduction to “ For Young Arab Americans in Michigan, the Hookah Lounge Feels Like Home ”:

Coming of age is marked by a series of firsts. Your first kiss. Your first job. Your first drink. Many who grew up in Dearborn, Mich., would add to the list: your first hookah. Located just outside downtown Detroit, Dearborn is home to one of the United States’ largest Arab American communities: Nearly 50 percent of residents identify as having Arab ancestry, according to the U.S. census . Middle Eastern shops, where you may find portable hookah cups , dot the streets. There is also the Arab American National Museum (which sells hookah-themed socks) and the Islamic Center of America , one of the nation’s oldest and largest mosques. And then there is the long list of hookah lounges, where locals spend hours leisurely smoking flavored tobacco through water pipes while catching up, watching soccer games or enjoying a live Arabic music performance. “A spot like a hookah lounge, it’s sacred,” particularly for immigrants and refugees far from home, said Marrim (pronounced Mariam) Akashi Sani, 25, who is Iraqi-Iranian. “And it’s something you have to create for yourself when you’re displaced, and you might not ever be able to go back home because you don’t really know what home is anymore.”

How do the opening two lines grab your attention? How does the demographic information in the third paragraph explain the focus on hookah lounges? How does the quote at the end offer important information that complements the demographic data and gives it meaning?

Next is the introduction to “ For Black Debutantes in Detroit, Cotillion Is More Than a Ball ”:

In a heady swirl of bright white silk and lace, the young ladies of the Cotillion Society of Detroit Educational Foundation are presented as debutantes. The Society’s annual ball is the culmination of eight months of etiquette lessons, leadership workshops, community service projects and cultural events. As the girls take to the dance floor, they become part of a legacy of Black debutantes in the city and beyond. Debutante balls, which traditionally helped girls from high society find suitable husbands, emerged from Europe in the 18th century. Black Americans have adopted a unique version of them since at least 1895 . Responding to the politics of the Jim Crow era, these balls, which emphasized women’s education, echoed the work of the racial upliftment movement and women’s clubs, said Taylor Bythewood-Porter, the curator of a recent exhibition on Black cotillions at the California African American Museum. Organizers saw the balls as a way to “dismiss the idea of Black people not being smart enough, or good enough, or worthy enough.” For today’s debutantes, many of whom grew up in predominantly white neighborhoods of Detroit, gaining an informal network of Black adult mentors was “life-changing,” said Sage Johnson, 17. “Signing up for debutantes, I thought it was just one big ball. But there were a lot more layers to it.”

How do the second and third paragraphs add key context and history to this photo essay? How does the quote at the end bring these cotillions into the 21st century, and help you anticipate what is to come?

Ask yourself, What background will my viewers need to understand what they are seeing, and appreciate its nuances? Do I need to add that information myself, or can some of the quotes from participants do that work for me?

In most traditional newspaper articles, you will find a caption under each photo explaining more detail about the image and its relationship to the story. As you scroll through Where We Are, however, you’ve probably noticed that, thanks to the elegant way these pieces are produced, the captions float up on or around the photos.

In these essays, the captions continue the story. Your captions will do that too. But in the Where We Are pieces, photo captions are interspersed with more of the written essay. Because you are doing a “mini” version of this project, however, after your initial introduction, the only writing we will read will come from your captions. Make sure they continue to tell your story in a way that makes sense to the reader and helps build meaning.

For instance, here is an image from “ In Guatemala, A Collective of Young Artists Finds Family Through Film .”

The caption?

The team has quickly become a family, meeting up for dinners and to celebrate each other’s birthdays. They are, said Sebastián, a community first and a production house second.

Notice how those words work with the image. Can you see “family” and “community” and “team” conveyed in the way this image is composed, the looks on the faces, the colors and light? How?

Here is another example, from “ In Seville, Spain, These Young Rappers Come Together to Turn ‘Tears Into Rhymes’ .” Before you read the caption, what do you imagine is happening in this picture?

Here is the caption, which both offers some background about the group and includes a wonderful quote:

Luis Rodríguez Collado, at right, the youngest of the group, grew up in Spain, the child of Mexican immigrants. “We aren’t just emoting with language, but with song and dance, with sounds and rhythm,” said Luis, a.k.a. Luis 3K. “At 19, I sincerely don’t know anything more liberating than this.”

As you construct your captions, ask yourself:

What information do I need to add to these images to make the meaning and nuances clear?

Can using quotes from participants work? What might they add?

How do these captions continue the story I started in my introduction? Do they build on one another and make sense both separately and together? Do they avoid repetition, with each other or with the introduction? Do they strengthen the key ideas of my piece? How?

At this point you may have dozens of images, and pages of notes. How do you put it all together?

Way back when you were first analyzing the Where We Are series, we called your attention to the fact that the images, essay and captions don’t repeat information exactly the same way . Each element adds something new.

We also talked about how, from the very first image, the one the authors chose for the top, a theme is hinted at, and then echoed in the introduction and continued in the captions. Whatever key ideas about this community you want to get across — maybe that it is a refuge or home, that it offers freedom or that it challenges participants creatively or athletically — look through your images and writing and find all the ways you think you have done that. Do you need more emphasis on this theme? A variety of ways of showing it?

Speaking of variety , that’s another lens to look through when considering your piece as a whole. In terms of both the photos and the writing, have you “zoomed out” enough to establish a place and a context? Have you “zoomed in” to show detail? Are your images taken from different angles and points of view? Do they show both the group and individuals? Are they dynamic and interesting and surprising?

Then, show your work to others, and, perhaps, ask them to analyze it using the last four questions on our related activity sheet . That will prompt them to tell you what is working, but make sure to also ask them if there is anything confusing about your piece, or if they think there is information missing.

Then, go back and fill in anything your piece needs, and play with the sequence of your images until they tell the story you want to tell.

Good luck. We can’t wait to see the results!

Katherine Schulten has been a Learning Network editor since 2006. Before that, she spent 19 years in New York City public schools as an English teacher, school-newspaper adviser and literacy coach. More about Katherine Schulten

THE WIDER IMAGE

For islanders, india election is about climate change and survival.

A man catches fish in a pond while his wife stands at the edge, on Ghoramara Island in the Sundarbans, West Bengal, India, May 17, 2024. REUTERS/Avijit Ghosh

By Avijit Ghosh

Filed May 30, 2024, 10 a.m. GMT

Photography and reporting by Avijit Ghosh Writing by Sudipto Ganguly

Filed: May 30, 2024, 10 a.m. GMT

As voters across India cast their ballots in the general election on issues ranging from the cost of living to jobs and religion, the residents of a tiny, ecologically sensitive island have only one concern: Survival.

The residents of Ghoramara in the Sundarbans delta on the Bay of Bengal are fighting to save their homes from disappearing into the sea in the face of rising sea levels and increasingly fierce storms, putting climate change front and centre for politicians trying to win their vote.

Home to more than 4.5 million people, the Sundarbans is the largest mangrove forest in the world and regarded as a climate change hotspot as the planet gets warmer. The region is shared by India and Bangladesh.

“For us, the protection of the island is the main issue in this election,” said Bimal Patra, 60, one of just over 3,700 registered voters in Ghoramara, an island in the delta.

India is holding a massive general election over seven weeks. The people of Ghoramara go to the polls on Saturday, the final day of voting, as part of the Mathurapur constituency.

The plight of the island’s inhabitants highlights the broader concerns about the impact of climate change on the environment and the urgency for solutions.

Situated 150 kilometres (94 miles) south of Kolkata, media has dubbed Ghoramara the ‘sinking island’. It has lost nearly half of its area to soil erosion in the last two decades and could completely disappear within a few decades more if a solution is not found. In the decade to 2020, the population has fallen to around 4,000 from 7,000.

“We want the banks reinforced with stone boulders or rehabilitation in other places. Probably rehabilitation is the only answer,” said Patra, who once had acres of land that have now been lost to the sea.

Patra said his house was once a kilometre from the river’s edge but now stands just 150 metres away.

Way of life

Researchers say as climate change has forced a rise in sea surface temperatures, seasonal, cyclonic storms barrelling in from the Bay of Bengal have become more fierce and frequent, particularly in the last decade.

The island’s inhabitants were once predominantly dependent on agriculture, with most families farming rice and betel leaves. But cyclones in 2020 and 2021 flooded the fields with water high in saline, leaving the soil barren.

As people have migrated away from the island, especially youths, transport links with the mainland have fallen to just five ferries a day.

Patra lives alone. His wife works as a nursemaid in Kolkata, his two daughters, who are married, and his teacher son live on the mainland.

“It’s encouraging to see people in this rural area prioritising this issue (environment). It’s unfortunate that no one is listening to them,” said Sugata Hazra, the former head of the school of oceanographic studies at Jadavpur University in Kolkata.

“Cities across India are already facing drinking water scarcity. They (urban dwellers) should be more conscious of (the) environment and make it a primary issue alongside the economy and jobs.”

Some Ghoramara residents have planted mangrove saplings to try to reduce waterfront erosion, while the local administration displays notices across the island banning single-use plastic and polystyrene. A solid waste management system has been put in place.

Candidates from both Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Trinamool Congress party (TMC), which won the 2019 polls for Mathurapur, visited the island recently.

“I am aware of their main issue, which is erosion,” said BJP candidate Ashok Purkait, promising to find a permanent fix.

The TMC-run state government recently announced a project, supported by the World Bank, to strengthen the embankments of the islands in Sundarbans.

“Our priority is rehabilitation. People cannot survive an entire lifetime fighting natural disasters,” said Bankim Hazra, the state’s minister for the Sundarbans.

Many villagers are sceptical the promises will turn into action, but Patra hopes for the best.

“Elections may not be a celebration for us, but it still brings hope and everyone here actively participates in the voting process,” he said.

The Wider Image

Photography and reporting: Avijit Ghosh

Writing: Sudipto Ganguly

Photo editing and design: Eve Watling and Maye-E Wong

Text editing: Neil Fullick

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