11:00 PM

#SNAKECHARMING: to underline the point that this tradition is dying, the chief’s son - backing away in the doorway - has lost control of the snake, and has been saved by his friend. Mike Davis, the great picture editor, observed that he’s looking out and not at the cobra suggesting he’s more worried about what other people are thinking. #india #vadi #nomads #tribes #gujarat #snake #cobra

10:56 PM

#TRIBE: the chief of the #Vadi here is a magician and crack snake charmer. The tribe has suffered from the outlawing of snake charming - seven years in prison - without any alternative or assistance given by the government. I was upset to discover that in 2018, four women from this tribe were attacked and one was killed after accusations of child kidnapping. There is way too much to unpack in a single Instagram post, but it’s complicated. Outlawing traditional livelihoods is one thing - once you’ve seen the awfulness of dancing bears, you’d sign the legislation - but leaving people in poverty and starvation is another. #india #nomads #gujarat #photojournalism #snake #cobra #snakecharmer

7:01 PM

#TRIBES: human labour is cheap and abundant, and leaves room for little else in people’s lives. It took quite the fight to change this in Britain. #india #gujarat #nomads #photojournalism

10:49 AM

#TRIBES: the #Romani people originated in #India, and there are still many nomadic tribes wandering through Western India. #nomads #gujarat #photojournalism

10:42 AM

#NOMADS: I met a a very famous photographer whose style I spent the summer of 2009 ripping-off, and he was photographing many of the same subjects as me. He gave me tons of great advice and one key point was that he thought it very important that I show them on the move. I finally nailed it after many weeks. The men have already left with the cattle, the women pack up camp and travel to the next site, literally carrying their beds. #tribes #gujarat #india #photojournalism

1:14 AM

#TRIBES: Musicians are popular everywhere, but this photo is just about the colour. #nomads #india #photojournalism

1:12 AM

#TRIBES: several decades ago I made the fairly trite observation to my cousin that #India would never get anywhere until it addressed equality between men and women. We could clearly see that the practice of female infanticide would only lead to a problematic male-female ratio. And here we are, with one single woman somehow wangling her way into the community meeting, kinda illustrating that point. And many other points. #nomads #sexism #photojournalism

11:35 PM

#TRIBES: all the wonderful people in my pictures on this project were helpful, open and usually talkative. They’re all very aware of how the system has been stacked against them and appreciative of the work done by groups like #VSSM to get them their rights back. #india #nomads #gujarat #photojournalism #women

11:13 PM

#TRIBES: more re-grading from 2009, following the nomadic tribes of #Gujarat around the state. #india #photojournalism #nomads #tribes

Rather than lugging tons of gear and equipment around with me, I decided to go in the other direction this time, and started thinking about footwear yesterday. I’m wearing these incredibly thin-soled shoes from Terra Firma, effectively plimsoles, which are very light, water-un-resistant and unsupportive in the extreme, unlike my big walking boots which I’d normally bring. But, they are like the footwear the tribals wear, slightly more expensive of course, but nothing particularly comfortable in the western sense. But it does mean I experience the same sensations they do as they walk. And it might inspire me to look at things differently to how I normally would, as I’m not detaching myself from their world as much as I did last time. So what else is there that I could shed or minimalize. There’s a limit to how much empathy I can offer, but I can at least observe their world better.