Kolkata & the Hope Foundation w/ Mark Seymour

As a hard-working professional photographer with one eye on the commercial requirements that naturally come along with a commission there’s always the danger that you could become stale, stuck in a routine and going through the motions to a certain degree. There’s a serious need to introduce variety into the mix, to shake things up once in a while and to set yourself new challenges. It’s the perfect way to move yourself on and to ensure that the creative juices continue to flow.

Looking at the work of three times UK Wedding Photographer of the Year and Nikon representative and trainer Mark Seymour, you wouldn’t imagine that he would have any need for such added motivation, so clearly is he at the top of his game. He also has the advantage that, as one of the country’s top reportage specialists, he never really encounters two commissions that are exactly the same, so there’s always the spice of something new to drive him on.
However, Mark himself realised some time ago that, while he might have what many photographers would consider to be the perfect job, he couldn’t afford to sit on his laurels and stand still, and he still needed to be pushing on and trying new things on a regular basis.
Last autumn he got the chance to
do exactly that, signing up for a remarkable week-long workshop
run by London-based professional photographer Mark Carey. Over the past couple of years Mark has formed a strong relationship with the Hope Foundation, a charity that primarily exists to care for the street and slum children who live in Kolkata (previously Calcutta). This has led to opportunities being created for photographers to travel out to Kolkata to document some of the projects that the Hope Foundation is undertaking.

 “ The little knowledge I had of India... could not possibly prepare me for what I knew I was going to experience.” 

It’s a chance to not just hone street photography skills but to experience the lives of a resilient and remarkable group of people, and to support the work of a very worthwhile charity.
“ My photography travels have taken me to some of the most beautiful, interesting and diverse locations in the world,” says Mark, “but I can honestly say this was unknown territory for me, and before I left I really didn’t know what to expect. The little knowledge I had of India, from its unique colour and spices, through to its religious and cultural heritage and its lush landscapes, could not possibly prepare me for what I knew I was going to experience.
Kolkata is the principal commercial, cultural, and educational centre of East India, and the third most populous area in the country, and yet there is tremendous poverty to be found there.

What Mark’s workshops do is to provide photographers like myself with the most amazing opportunity to build their personal portfolios, whilst also enabling the Hope Foundation to raise some important funding as well as the profile of the valuable work that they carry out with local children.”

Desperate Poverty

It was a difficult experience for Mark, as it would be for anyone travelling from a wealthy western country to India for the first time, to believe the hardship that can exist there.
Over 250,000 children are forced to exist on the streets and in the slums of Kolkata, while a further 30,000 children are trafficked into the city on an annual basis to be forced into child prostitution, child labour and slavery.
The Hope Foundation provides support to over 60 projects including education, primary healthcare, child protection, children’s shelters, vocational training and drugs rehabilitation, and the workshop was designed to give a small group of five photographers the chance to see some of these projects in action.
“What confronted me was certainly challenging,” says Mark. “But what struck me most, and what I believe I captured, was the spirit of the adults and children as they lived their lives.

 “ But what struck me most, and what I believe I captured, was the spirit of the adults and children as they lived their lives.” 

I spent my time there photographing everyday moments and, for me,

the power of the images was in the expressions on the faces. There was so much joy and laughter in such difficult circumstances.

 " My favourite images are of the children at play, and they’re just like children all around the world, enjoying climbing, exploring and making up games. The difference was where they were found playing; not play parks and gardens, but rather railway lines and amongst the confined spaces between homes and makeshift buildings.” 

“Initially they were curious and taken aback by our presence as we wandered in and out taking photographs, but then they relaxed and engaged with our cameras, smiling and welcoming us into their world. I can honestly say these people touched me in a way I was not expecting: their sense of pride and joy was humbling.”

Mark’s usual approach is to convert his files into black and white, because that’s very much the way that he sees the world as a photographer. However, in India he was forced to change his style a little to take account of the vibrant colours that are such an integral part of Indian culture, and it was all part of the learning process he went through.
“My photos captured the very young through to the very old,” says Mark, “living, working and getting on with their daily lives. My favourite images are of the children at play, and they’re just like children all around the world, enjoying climbing, exploring and making up games. The difference was where they were found playing; not play parks and gardens, but rather railway lines and amongst the confined spaces between homes and makeshift buildings.”

 “ Mark’s usual approach is to convert his files into black and white,... However, in India he was forced to change his style a little to take account of the vibrant colours that are such an integral part of Indian culture. "  

Much as he does at a wedding, Mark worked with his regular Nikon D4s, paired with a 35mm f/1.4 and 28mm