Photographer: Masis Usenmez Bio: EFIAP honored, Armenian origin Turkish photographer based in France. Collection: 1/1 total 20 photographs. Portraits of India is a collection of street portraits, which I took all in natural light during my eight-day visit to India. I traveled to Varanasi, New Delhi, and Agra cities during my visit. My main goal was to understand Indian culture.

Growing up as a Christian minority in a Muslim majority Turkey, I am a product of two cultures. Still, experiencing India added another layer to my multicultural perspective. The people were so open, so colorful, and always welcoming when I wanted to photograph them. I usually shoot street photos with people in them, but the people are never the main subject. Asking people to photograph them intimidates me but in India, I felt at ease asking people for their permission. In this series, the people of India are my subjects and I want to honor them through my photographs.