How to Photograph a Yogi in India
Yogi in India by the banks of the Hooghly River, Kolkata.
I met and photographed this yogi in India in the grounds of a temple by the banks of the River Hooghly on the outskirts of Kolkata.
He was a gentle soul and I’m really happy the yogi allowed me to make his portrait.
The scene itself was mostly devoid of color, except for the shrubs which were dark green and not particularly inspiring.
Sunlit greens often display a yellow/green hue and are quite emotionally uplighting. But green foliage, in deep shade, is usually quite dank and uninteresting.
Next time you’re out and about, on a bright sunny day, make a point of looking closely at areas of sunlit grass compared to heavily shaded grass.
You could conduct a little experiment as follows:
Think about how you feel about what you see. If it’s really hot than the shaded grass might well feel cool and enticing.
Try to get past such notions of personal comfort and notice how much more life and energy seems to be present in the sunlight grass.
Depending upon our perspective there’s two ways to examine this particular learning.
What you see doesn’t govern your life. How you feel about what you see does.
There’s a very definite disconnect between the way we perceive the world and the way the camera records it.
This is the greatest challenge of photography and one that must be overcome if the photos you make are going to move from snapshot to art.
It seemed obvious that my photo of the yogi in India needed to be rendered into black and white.
By removing color the light, which is crucial to the success of the image, becomes even more dominant.
I may end up adding a deep sepia tone to the image.
I think the nostalgic feel associated with a sepia tone would be appropriate to this image and to the sense of calm and serenity this travelling yogi emanated.
What Is A Yogi?
A yogi is the name given to a wandering religious ascetic in India.
In Hindu mythology the god Shiva and the goddess Parvati are depicted as an emblematic yogi-yogini pair.
This pairing of masculine and feminine aspects is a key concept in Hindu religion.
If you’re looking for a definitive yogi definition you might be in trouble.
In fact there are a number of different meanings for the word yogi across Hinduism, Buddhism, Pali, Sanskrit and Marathi. Here’s just a few:
A transcendentalist or advanced practitioner of yoga
One who practices meditation
One of the 108 names of Krishna, the Supreme Master
I hope this post helps answer the question what is a yogi. While the written description may be useful I hope you’ll agree that it’s the photos I’ve made that bring the description to life.
After all there’s nothing better than a personal interaction and the story that surrounds it.
The Life of a Yogi in India
Some yogis live in ashrams and work as yoga and spiritual teachers known as swamis.
Most yogis in India live a relatively nomadic, less structured and more nature based lifestyle.
Yogis believe that substantial benefits to health and spiritual awareness are derived by living in harmony with nature.
During the summer months many yogis travel to the Himalayan region to live above the tree line. They do so to be closer to Shiva, the god of mountains and the original yogi.
It's a hard life without the security of a roof over your head and the regularity of meals that so many of us have come to expect in our own lives.
While the life of a religious ascetic may not be for you or me, we can all learn from the life of the yogi.
There's a lot to be said for living a minimalist life, free of possessions and closer to nature.
How to Approach Yogis in India
Seeming shy and living a relatively secluded life it's a fascinating experience to meet a yogi in India.
As a tourist you'll most likely observe yogis around temples and spiritually powerful places in nature like rivers and caves.
My view is that you should never be worried about approaching someone so different to yourself.
I overcame my own shyness as a photographer by telling myself that I’m at least as interesting or exotic to the people I’d like to photograph as they are to me.
And that’s true whether you’re in Kuwait City, Kansas City or Kolkata.
This simple change in mindset is very empowering and may be all that’s needed to motivate you to take action and create beautiful life affirming photos.
Clearly it’s important that your intentions are pure. After all you’re not there to invade anyone’s space or to take something away from them.
Rather by making the photo you’re participating in the act of creation and, in doing so, bringing some positivity into the world.
But it’s also important how you go about making your photos.
As long as you’re able to photograph quickly and without making your subject uncomfortable or overly self conscious you shouldn’t be concerned.
That’s precisely how I went about making the photo at the top of this post of the yogi in India and a key reason underpinning the success of that picture.
Garish colors depicting Hindu deities on a shrine in Chennai, India.
The Enlightened Yogi
Photography is all about light, but it was fading fast and I had to move quickly to make the photo.
The yogi was already sitting, so it was a simple matter to ask him to turn so that the low angled sun illuminated his eyes and the top part of his face.
Can you see how the line that separates light from dark is basically following the line of his beard.
Composition is important to me. It underpins the structure of all of my photos.
A camera with a large, bright and high resolution viewfinder makes it easier to identify important elements of composition within the frame.
By making subtle movements of the camera it’s then possible to control placement of those important elements.
If you don’t put your eye right into your camera’s viewfinder it can be really hard to judge the exact moment when the subject’s eyes and expression are optimal for the result you’re seeking.
Photographing A Travelling Yogi
But even with the aid of a large and bright camera viewfinder it's still possible to miss important details.
As he seemed shy by nature I made the photo of the yogi quickly and moved on.
It wasn't until I processed the image back in my studio in Melbourne, Australia that I realized that what looks like a tail coming out from his lower back was, in fact, a very long ponytail.
Incredible!
Where To Find Yogis
Kolkata is a city steeped in history with a rich culture. Photographing this quiet and gentle yogi was just one of many surprises that came my way as I explored this deeply spiritual city.
But yogis can be found all around India.
I remember speaking with a yogi as I witnessed the lighting of a funeral pyre on the cremation ghat by the banks of the River Ganges in Varanasi.
One of the holiest and oldest inhabited cities on Earth, Varanasi is a fully immersive, albeit somewhat chaotic experience for the traveller.
One city I haven’t yet visited is Prayagraj.
Formally known as Allahabad the city of Prayagraj is located at the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and Sarasvati Saraswati rivers.
It’s in Prayagraj where the world famous Kumbh Mela festival is held.
150 million pilgrims from all over India and around the world come to bathe in the holy Ganges during the festival.
Believe me there’ll be no shortage of yogis at the Kumbh Mela festival.
In Search of a Himalayan Yogi
If, like the Beatles, you find yourself spending time in Rishikesh in the foothills of the Himalayas you’ll likely meet yogis.
Considered by many to be the yoga capital of India many pilgrims travel to Rishikesh to immerse themselves in guided yoga practice and spiritual teachings.
In fact Rishikesh is where yoga, tantra, and mantras were said to have been created.
New India Photography Collection
If you haven't yet seen it just click to see my new India Photography Collection.
Where possible I recommend looking at these images on a tablet or, better still, a large screen monitor.
You’ll see lots of Kolkata street photography and portraiture from Kolkata and Chennai in this collection.
See the Yogi, Nice And Big
By the way the same is true for any of the photos appearing on my blog, including the photo of the yogi.
I display photos on this site as large as I can, but I also have to allow space for text and extra information within each blog post.
Clicking on any of the images in my regular blog posts will enlarge that image onto a clean, black screen where it can be viewed large and without interference.
I recommend you do this whenever you see a photo that you like.
I’ve photographed priests, nuns and monks from a variety of religions around the world. But it was during this trip to India that I had the good fortune to meet and photograph a yogi.
I hope you get just such a wonderful opportunity one day soon.
