A few posts ago, I mentioned that I was going back to India, this time on assignment — but I never gave any more details after that. Here’s what you’ve been waiting for.

I was contracted by a global corporation to travel to India for them to do some photo work with the goal of bringing back images they could use in meetings, presentations, etc. I was charged with documenting the garment supply chain — everything from growing the cotton, to turning it into thread, to making the fabric, to cutting, sewing, and packaging clothes to be shipped across the world.

The company also partners with NGOs such as the  HOPE Foundation, which runs training centers where factory workers can go to gain technical and life skills such as spoken English, sewing, computer training, etc. I photographed one such center, as well as a primary school. It was fascinating, and all of the people seemed quite happy to be there.

I also got a chance to go to a few workers’ homes to document how they live, which might have been the most interesting part of the trip. I’d been to India before, but I hadn’t been to India in an intimate way such as this. The people I met were very kind, welcoming, and generous — sometimes too generous… I can only drink so much orange soda, and no, I’m sorry, but I really do not like coffee!

It was a wonderful experience, and, from what I can tell, they are pleased with the images I brought back.

This was the first time I had traveled internationally with a full load of camera equipment, and although there were some snags, I made it there and back without breaking anything. I had one big scare, though: I had to check my main camera bag coming back from India. Long story short, Lufthansa’s 8kg limit on carry-ons is ridiculous. Somehow I went undetected on the way there, but I wasn’t so lucky on the way back. Luckily, my Naneu U220 held its own and nothing got broken…even though the airlines lost it. This trip was also the first time I’d shot exclusively in Manual and in RAW the whole time. And that’s not just 50 photos — I came back with over 6,000. I’m not sure if this was one small step or one giant leap, but at least it made me feel more like a pro…

Even though I was out shooting about 8-9 hours a day, I did find a little bit of free time while I was there. Miraculously, I also got to meet up with an old friend. When I went to India two years ago, my fiancé and I stayed at a Tibetan buddhist monastery for a month. The main monk who took care of us while we were there took an overnight bus to meet me in Bangalore on the first day of this trip. Even though I got to see him for less than a day, it made the day unforgettable, and we were both smiling the entire time. It was perfect.

I had a wonderful assistant from the company’s team, and because of him I was able to get all of my model releases signed fairly efficiently. But more importantly, he helped me have the best week of food I’ve ever had in my life. Spicy, delicious, savory Indian food. Three meals a day. It was heaven. I even learned the special trick to eating with your hands, and got much better at it over the course of the week.

P.S.: mushroom masala and butter naan is a wonderful combination, and I don’t even like mushrooms.

While I am unable to post the photos that I took for them here, due to contractual limitations, I can post the images that I took “on the side.” You can see the rest here on Flickr. They are mostly from the streets of Bangalore (mainly from inside a speeding rickshaw or taxi), but there are a few from Tirupur as well.

I hope I can return to that side of the world soon — be it in Tamil Nadu or anywhere else. Photographically, it’s a dream. But the food and the people are even better. If you haven’t ventured to India, I highly suggest it.