Wandering Uttar Pradesh

I'm often asked how I decide where to travel and which stories to cover. My response usually refers back to a conversation I had with another humanitarian photojournalist Zoriah Miller. We discussed that it is sometimes essential to enter a region without seeking a specific story or having a targeted agenda. We both agree that if a photographer or journalist has their focus fixed on a specific story than such a narrow view can marginalize or obscure an equally important social justice issues being played out right in front of them.

Most recently, this question of how I go about my work was posed to me by a reporter for the Hindustan Times. It was then that I checked in with myself only to realized that for the past four months I had been traveling in search of a specific story. Realizing this, I decided to cancel the story that I was traveling toward and got off at the next train stop. The following week was spent wandering among rural villages in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. Not knowing what I would find, I decided to observe the societal struggles caused by hunger, poverty, and a lack of education and clean drinking water which effects everyday life in these secluded regions.

Man struggling against hunger - Ramtikawa village.

A man worried about low crop prices - Nadin Kurmiyan village.

Mother holding her child - Ramtikawa village.

A family gathered outside of their home - Soti Kaprawa village.