Capturing photo tours

Abhishek Hajela, Travel Photographer, Eastbound, talks about the growing impact of photography tours and how they started this division at Eastbound.

Nisha Verma

Eastbound is offering photography tours to its clients, and the main idea behind these tours, according to Abhishek Hajela, Travel Photographer, Eastbound, is to build strong community-based trips that unite participants due to a shared passion. “Over the years, I have seen growth in our database, friendships forming and growing, and participants wanting to come back on different trips together. This really brings to life the idea of showcasing a destination through photos. A picture speaks a thousand words and that is our USP. We market a trip just by showing how amazing the destination or a trip is via images,” he says.

Developing a photo trip is an organic process. The photo critique and one-on-one sessions are the backbones of our trips

Hajela insists that the highlight of these tours is to get a much deeper experience compared to a normal cookie-cutter trip. “Developing a photo trip is an organic process. You can’t just go into a village and start taking pictures. It’s all about building a bond first and then photographing during the trips, which might take several years and that is what we offer to participants when they take one of our trips. We discuss different cameras, lenses, editing software, camera gear, filters, etc. The photo critique and one-on-one sessions are the backbones of our trips. I have also carefully selected guides, drivers, hotels, time of the year, etc., to come together in a seamless itinerary. Our escorts and guides then take the group to the right spots and are always on the ground to ensure the group’s safety and give them the conducive atmosphere to photograph to their heart’s content,” he claims.

Popular destinations for such tours include Varanasi, small tribal villages in Rajasthan, Ladakh, Kolkata, Kochi and Madurai. They also keep adding destinations like Bangladesh, Indian festivals and walking tours.