There’s a special feeling you get when returning to a place you last visited many years ago. The emotions are a blend of nostalgia for who you were when you first visited and an appreciation for the journey of life you have taken to come back. Brooklyn-based photographer Michael Marquand had the chance to re-experience the city of Varanasi, India when writing and shooting for a feature in Lodestars Anthology travel magazine.
I had discovered their magazine and loved it, so I reached out to them and we collaborated on a piece for their issue on India.
Michael was already traveling to Bhutan when he contacted the publication. Initially, he offered to provide images from that trip. However, Lodestar Anthology focuses each issue on a single country, and they will focus their next issue on India. The editor, Liz Schaffer, had seen Michael’s images from a previous trip to Varanasi and suggested revisiting the city.
I had planned on spending a few days in India to witness and photograph the Holi festival and the timing of the article just happened to line up with my trip.
Once Michael and his client settled on a creative direction for their story, he was given a free hand. Since he had been there before, he had an easier time navigating the confusing maze of narrow cobblestone streets that wind from the riverfront through the city.
Varanasi is a stunning city. It’s built along the Ganges river and the area is considered a holy place for Hindus.
There are different Hindu temples lined up next to each other by the river. Each one has stairs — called ghats — that lead down to the water and are used during rituals.
Varanasi, revered as the spiritual capital of India, draws thousands of Hindu pilgrims who journey to the sacred waters of the Ganges for bathing rituals and funeral rites. While Michael respectfully chose not to capture these processions, he witnessed several private moments of prayer that spoke to the sacred healing of this place.
The waters near the temples were peaceful and serene. Michael found this atmosphere juxtaposed nicely with the lively tone of the festival and the inhabitants of the city. Contrasting the serene waters, Varanasi’s bustling streets teem with stray animals, playful monkeys, and travelers from around the globe eager to partake in the vibrant festivities of Holi.
It’s an incredible place to explore as a photographer!
During the festival of Holi, revelers joyously throw vibrant dyes and paint onto friends, family, and fellow festival-goers, marking the celebration of spring and renewal. Michael was eager to experience this moment authentically, despite the risks it posed to expensive photography equipment.
I was worried about my gear during the Holi festival, but I ended up putting some plastic bags around my camera with a hole for the lens to go through and it turned out great.
When trying to find subjects for this assignment, Michael wanted candid images that showed people genuinely participating in the festival. He found that the people of the city were either hesitant about being photographed or too eager to pose. This made it hard to strike a balance that felt natural. The moments he captured when people ignored his lens allowed him to take more authentic, documentary-style imagery.
I think the best shots I got were from the people who were indifferent to the camera.
Michael’s return to Varanasi left him a more confident and intentional traveler. He’s grown his ability to navigate foreign spaces, both logistically and respectfully with the cultures he engages with. This cyclical journey allowed Michael to reconnect with himself as a photographer as he revisited this special and sacred city.
I appreciated visiting a place that I had been to years before and having the chance to see it with fresh eyes.
See more of Michael’s work on his website.
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