Seven cities deep, photographed at street level
Delhi
The working city
Delhi stacks empires like sediment — Mughal domes, colonial avenues, Partition-era markets, glass-tower satellites — and all of them are open for business at once. Old Delhi is the concentrate: Chandni Chowk's wiring-loom sky, spice porters under jute sacks, and the Jama Masjid's courtyard emptying light into the lanes around it.
The city asks for stamina and repays it in access: chai stalls become studios, rickshaw rides become dolly shots, and every gali has an interior life visible from the street.
When to come
October–March; the winter fog turns dawn monuments into silver-plate photographs. Avoid May–June's loaded heat.
Positions worth holding
01Chandni Chowk & the spice marketKhari Baoli's porters and pyramids of colour from 7 a.m., before the carts jam.
02Jama MasjidCourtyard light at Friday prayers' edges — photograph the architecture always, the worshippers with care.
03Humayun's Tomb & Lodhi GardensMughal geometry in winter mist, joggers and parakeets included.
04Nizamuddin's qawwali eveningsThursday devotional music in the dargah lanes — small camera, big respect.
05Majnu-ka-TilaThe Tibetan quarter's monastery courtyards and momo kitchens.
Working notes
- The Metro's first trains beat both traffic and light to the old city.
- A local walking guide for the first morning pays for itself in unlocked doorways.
- Fog season autofocus hunts; manual focus on contrast edges saves the dawn.
Workshops — in preparation
No Delhi departure is on the calendar right now. Ask for one — or see every workshop in India.