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Kolkata Unscripted: Street Photography Workshop

Workshop dates: 24 to 29 November 2025 (5 days, 5 nights).
Instructors: Seng Mah and Shivam Pandey
Maximum 6 guests, minimum 5 guests

Kolkata, the City of Joy, is a street photographer’s paradise. Kolkata is a captivating fusion of old and new, where colonial-era architecture, bustling alleyways, sunlit ghats, and vibrant street life create the perfect setting for immersive street and documentary photography. Unlike India’s more touristic hotspots, Kolkata remains raw, authentic, and rich with untold stories—an unparalleled canvas for visual storytelling.

Join Seng Mah and Shivam Pandey for an intensive five-day workshop designed to elevate your street photography. You’ll explore Kolkata’s hidden corners, navigate its rhythmic chaos, and develop your photographic vision through expert guidance, hands-on practice, and insightful feedback.

Why Join This Workshop?

This workshop is for photographers who:

  • Have a passion for street and documentary photography, capturing singularly unique moments.
  • Love street photography and seek dynamic, layered environments rich in visual storytelling.
  • Want to master the use of light, composition, and connection in their photography.
  • Enjoy immersive, off-the-beaten-path experiences that foster deep cultural engagement.
  • Relish the opportunity to interact with Kolkata’s vibrant communities and people.

What You’ll Learn and Experience
  • How to compose compelling street photographs in dynamic, ever-changing environments.
  • Techniques for working with natural light to enhance mood and atmosphere.
  • Strategies for engaging with and photographing people respectfully.
  • The art of storytelling through street and documentary photography.
  • Personalised feedback and mentorship from two experienced photographers.
Your Instructors
  • Seng Mah – Accomplished travel and documentary photographer, educator, and mentor with extensive experience photographing India and beyond.
  • Shivam Pandey – Kolkata-based street and documentary photographer with deep local knowledge, ensuring an authentic and insightful experience.

This fully escorted and supported workshop ensures that you can focus entirely on your photography while we take care of the logistics. Prepare for five days of visual discovery, cultural immersion, and the chance to refine your craft in one of the world’s most vibrant and amazing cities — one that is brimming with vigour and authentic moments of life unfolding.


Workshop Highlights
  • The historic Bengali district of Lebutala, where the past and present intertwine. Here, hand-pulled rickshaws weave through narrow lanes, carrying locals and goods in a timeless rhythm. Hidden within the warren of streets, goldsmiths meticulously shape delicate jewelry by the warm glow of flickering lamps, their craft unchanged for generations.
  • The Hooghly River ghats, a confluence of devotion and daily life. Pilgrims arrive to pray and bathe, while barbers and priests tend to their rituals. Secular and spiritual energies intertwine against the breathtaking backdrop of the Howrah Bridge, glowing in the soft hues of sunrise.
  • The ever-bustling Mullick Ghat Flower Market, a riot of color and texture. Cascading bundles of marigolds, roses, and lotuses change hands in a vibrant symphony of commerce, where vendors and buyers engage in a rhythmic dance of barter and sale.
  • The Howrah Bridge, a throbbing artery of Kolkata’s ceaseless motion. Iconic yellow taxis jostle for space with crowded buses and cycle rickshaws, their honks blending into the hum of daily life. A rush of movement, color, and sound—perfect for those seeking the pulse of the city.
  • The potters’ quarter of Kumartoli, where sculptors breathe life into clay. In dimly lit workshops and winding alleyways, artisans mold and carve effigies of Hindu deities, their practiced hands shaping tradition into art. A place where the air is thick with clay dust and quiet concentration.
  • The Ambassdors Taxi garage, where Kolkata’s iconic yellow cabs are serviced and repaired. Drivers wait as mechanics tinker and hammer, their camaraderie filling the space with stories and laughter. A treasure trove for intimate, human-centered photography in an environment rich with character.
  • The traditional mud wrestlers of Kolkata, training each morning on the Hooghly’s banks. Coated in mustard oil, their muscular forms glisten in the golden dawn, clad only in saffron and red langots. The raw intensity and discipline of their practice offer a striking portrait of age-old athleticism.
  • The metal market, a labyrinth of passageways and stairwells leading through a towering world of steel and brass. Workers, who both toil and live within this maze, move seamlessly between labor and daily routines, granting an unparalleled glimpse into their intimate world of industry and resilience.
  • Kolley Vegetable Market, a vibrant nerve center of Kolkata’s culinary trade. Stalls brim with fresh produce, traders call out their wares, and the air buzzes with movement. A street photographer’s playground of textures, gestures, and raw human interaction.
  • The Onion and Potato Market—an entire marketplace dedicated to these humble staples. Yet, beyond its simple name lies an electrifying scene of frenetic trade, where stacked sacks create towering landscapes, and buyers and sellers engage in animated negotiations amid the scent of earth and spice.
  • The hidden backlanes and alleys of Kolkata, where life spills onto the streets. In places like Shyambazar, doorsteps double as gathering spots, artisans toil on the pavement, and children dart between parked auto-rickshaws. A living, breathing theater of daily existence, where every corner tells a story waiting to be framed.

Gallery of Images

These photographs offer a glimpse into the dynamic scenes waiting to be framed. Let these images inspire you for the unforgettable photographic workshop ahead.

Images by Seng Mah

Images by Shivam Pandey


Inclusions
  • 5 nights accommodation in both Kolkata (The Lalit Grand or similar). Accommodation is at single occupancy — you have your own room with private ensuite.
  • Breakfast, lunch and dinner during the course of the tour (unless otherwise noted in the tour itinerary).
  • Arrival and departure airport transfers in Kolkata.
  • Mini-bus transport in Kolkata.
  • Photography mentoring/guidance in street, documentary and travel photography by tour leaders.
  • Gratuities.

Exclusions
  • International flight to/from Kolkata. 
  • Comprehensive travel insurance. All participants are required to take comprehensive travel insurance for this tour.
  • Entry visa to India (around USD$25 for an eVisa if you’re an Australian).
  • Photographic equipment. You will need to bring/supply your own cameras, lenses, batteries, filters, memory cards and so on. A tripod is not required for this tour.
  • Insurance for your photographic equipment while on tour.
  • Travel vaccinations.
  • Alcoholic drinks.
  • All personal expenses and fees, including laundry, medication, incidental meals and snacks.
  • Any transport and fees outside of the tour itinerary.

Price
  • AUD$5600 per person with single occupancy.
  • A discount is available if you are attending this tour with a life partner who is also a participating photographer and will be sharing the room with you. Please contact us if you would like to discuss this.

(* Please note: price may be subject to change in the event of substantial shifts in the AUD to USD exchange rate and changes to the cost of the internal flight outlined in the Tour Inclusions.)


Reserve your Place

A deposit of AUD$1500 will secure your place on this workshop. The balance is payable by 31 August 2026. Note that deposits are fully refunded if the workshop is cancelled by its organisers (Venture Photography Workshops and Tours).

For details of the Terms and Conditions of our tours, including cancellation charges, please read our Photography Tours Terms and Conditions.

To join this tour or contact us with your questions, please use the form below or email seng [at] venturephotography.com.au or telephone 0417 604 614.

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