Missing Persons

Three shots from 2023 represent a divergent turn from street photography.

Street photography will always be a passion of mine. If anything, 2023 has opened my eyes to making art from my street photography and creating images that wouldn't really be considered street photography to more than a few pundits. In the end, what you call a genre and how one may restrict or broaden its boundaries do not matter. What matters are the images and the intentionality behind them.

I used to think that all of my shots would have to include people because I'm a self-proclaimed people photographer. But this is limiting. I think there's a lot to be said of imagery that calls attention to the fact that someone is missing. And doing it this way, one needs a frame that hints at a missing person. You can construct such a scene like a homicide detective trying to piece everything together: we have circumstantial evidence but we don't have the body. Where's the body? Habeas corpus.

I've been searching for an angle or new perspective for my street photography sessions. All too often we street photographers graciously accept what the gods give us, which is fine. We shouldn't deny such gifts. And shouldn't we occasionally look for other things too, like the absence of what our main themes are, in my case, people? How would you go about shooting the inverse, opposite, or antithesis of your main theme while remaining true to your photography? It's an interesting question worth exploring, I think.

Image 1:

A pile of pyramid salt at Bhandup Salt Pan in Mumbai. I don't think many would guess what this is until zooming in perhaps. Presenting the case in an abstract or a minimalist way helps create a whodunnit scenario, at least in my mind. But because of the presentation, there's not such a strong case. A missing person may not be needed and is only part of the mystery of the just-what-in-the-hell-am-I-looking-at-here vibe.

Image 2:

Clothes hanging on a line at Versova Beach, Mumbai. A few missing persons?

Image 3:

Another shot from Bhandup Salt Pan. Definitely a strong case for a missing person here. One of the tools of the trade left out under the open sky.