He calls himself “a travel junkie, caught between the dream world and the real world.” Indeed, look through Arjun Purkayastha's portfolio and you'll notice two things. One, that he's been to more countries than possibly anyone you've ever known and two, Purkayastha has a distinct style that makes him seem more like an artist than a photographer. With a passion for both travel and fine art photography, he marries the two in a way that you have to see to fully understand.
When asked to define the phrase “travel junkie,” here is what Purkaysatha told us: “I am addicted to travel. It makes me more creative as I am inspired by the unfamiliar and the unknown. Travel makes me want to create images which tell a story. To me, photography is fiction. An imaginary tale that I am narrating. A figment of my imagination. An exaggerated moment that I see with my Third Eye. My work is about bringing out the moment that I ‘see' and want to ‘show'. More often than not, it is not close to what ‘reality' was when I took it.”
Purkayastha picked up digital photography back in 2005 and since then has been pursuing it, not as his full time profession, but as his “full time passion.” His work is held internationally by private collectors and his photos have been published and featured in magazines like Cond Nast Traveller, B&W Magazine and Better Photography.
Here, we've put together 20 of our favorite photos from his portfolio. Notice the strong emphasis on color and composition.
Luxor, Egypt
Brooklyn Bridge, New York, USA
Newark, NJ, USA
Jodhpur, India
Varanasi, India
Gurgaon, India
Selenge Aimag, Mongolia
Near Buriram, Thailand
Krabi, Thailand
Amman, Jordan
Luang Prabang, Laos
Santorini, Greece
Chinatown, Singapore
East Coast Park, Singapore
Beijing, China
Kowloon City, Hong Kong
The Peak, Hong Kong
What tips could this travel photographer give to the rest of us? “Get up early, stay out late. Be friendly. Don't take the photos that others are taking. Edit and review your work each evening. Enjoy the travel as much as the photography!”
