STREET IS LIFE

With a precise sense of timing, light and composition, Jignesh Chavda documents life on India's streets

- Kim Bunermann

Picture a street scene in your mind - narrow bustling lanes, vibrant colours of people in local dress, vehicles of all types, maybe a traditional market featuring all kinds of exotic produce and there's a good chance that the scene you're imagining could be a snapshot from India.

A modern, multicultural, yet traditional nation, Indian society comprises people from many different religions and ethnicities speaking a variety of languages and observing a wide range of traditions. Streets in India are more than just a route for traffic, they are places where work and social life come together and major interactions take place.

For the past six years, Jignesh Chavda has been documenting life on the streets of India. With his fine appreciation of the effect of light, he offers an extraordinary view of Indian culture and its people through his lens. For Jignesh, photography is more than just a medium for documenting people and places. It enables him to convey his impressions and visually represent his personal reflections of a rapidly changing society. "In India, you can say home is where the work is," says Jignesh. "In my hometown of Ahmedabad, every home has a story, every house has a shop and the people do business in a festive mood."By combining creative compositions with unusual elements and layers, Jignesh creates memorable photographs that instinctively captivate the viewer. His work focuses on everyday human life and working people, but also near-extinct art and ancient traditions.

Hey Jignesh, what first inspired you to pick up a camera and start photographing on the streets of India? It's all about the feeling. Wherever I am, when I feel something, I take a photograph. There's something poetic about street photography. It's not just about being there at the right time, it's about imagination, feelings, observation and many more things.