6 Feet of Separation

These pictures are all shot in the streets of India over the last few years. As I sifted through the pictures for this submission I contemplated how challenging it will be for the people of India at this unprecedented moment in time . I also pondered about how street photography will reinvent itself . The reason I say this is as we go through doing time for this pandemic the very nature of how we see others has changed dramatically. Masks , Social distancing and many more rules /recommendations that are not just for orthodox people but a world phenomenon unlikely going back to the old normal for the near future in my opinion. These picture depict the visual chaos normally found on the streets of India during festivals, rituals and daily life itself . I recently saw pictures from India’s nation wide lockdown with forced shelter in place and was amazed how chaos found order overnight.As a street photographer I thrive to bring order to this chaos in many different ways , enjoy the complexity of layered photography and frequently look for decisive moments. Given that the social distancing and covered faces will continue for the near future the very joy of candid moments will not be the same . In a state of flow I tend to lose myself in the moment but now have to very wary and aware of surrounding and this will create a fear and bias in the way I photograph the streets.Going up close as I have done in these photos is one great way to be in the midst of these street scenes which look scary to even think of attempting at this moment taking away my spirit . I for one certainly do not want to take pictures of people with masks and isolated people in a large environment standing in circles and squares with six feet of separation . I do hope street photographers reinvent ways to see differently again and life defeats this pandemic soon.