Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Photography Guest Of The Week Zishaan Akbar Latif - India


Fingers symbolize struggle and a way of life for basket makers working off the streets in Mumbai, India. Severely underpaid, they are not daily wage laborers. Should these people sell one basket per day, they may earn up to Rs 20, or less than $0.50 USD.

Photo © Zishaan Akbar Latif All Rights Reserved - Follow Me On Twitter

India: Struggle, A Profession

"Today, 460 million Indians now live under the global poverty line of $1.25 USD per day. A staggering amount of people that consist of roughly 33%. of the global poor now reside in India. Of these, 75% live in rural areas, working as daily wagers, self-employed householders and landless laborers."

Photojournalist Zishaan Akbar Latif made these observations reporting from several locations throughout India and his unique view of this alarming state of affairs is the subject of his photo reportage India: Struggle, A Profession, now appearing on Gaia Photos. Comprised of 52 photojournalists from around the globe, each photographer shares Gaia's united mission of promoting quality and diversity in documentary photography worldwide.

Now just 24 years old, freelance photographer Zishaan Akbar Latif obtained a Commerce degree from the University of Mumbai and afterwards, as he explains, "Went on to work for a financial agency where I found myself confined by walls without any creative outlet. Two months into this monotonous job I quit!"

After being guided by two photography teachers who taught him the basic principles of shooting with a film camera, he found himself "at the right place at precisely the right time." In early 2006, he began working as a documentary photographer, doing NGO assignments for the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and hasn't looked back.

"Today I find myself passionately content with documenting reality, it’s my truth."

Zishaan Akbar Latif lives and works in India.

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