Welcome

Thanks for visiting. I'm a photographer from the US, and I do social work in India. My photo library features 15,000 photographs from Alaska to the Amazon to Africa, that you can easily explore through keywords, galleries or search. I have a separate India Photo Library with 9,000 images. Major subjects include forest and wetland conservation, religion, wildlife, wild plants, farming, and all things India.

Explore ~ Buddhism, Amish, wheat, Willamette Valley, Cusco Peru, Ganges River, snow, baboons, fynbos, gold, more ...

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A woman prays at sunset along the Ganges River during Chhath Puja, Varanasi, India. Chhath Puja is a devotion to the Sun God Surya in which people gather at sunset and then on the following sunrise and offer prayers.
A girl falls asleep clutching a coin while panhandling for money or rice (left) at the Gangasagar Mela, a Hindu pilgrimage to Sagar Island in the Bay of Bengal in India, where the Ganges meets the sea. Not staged. Taken with permission of her parents.
Women visiting Pushkar, India watch carnival rides during the camel mela.
A boy begs for money in a hallway at the Bandra Railway Station, Mumbai, India.
A homeless man sleeps with the company of a family of stray dogs (a mother and three puppies total), Allahabad, India.
Night scene on the beach at the Gangasagar Mela, Sagar Island, India. Gangasagar is a Hindu pilgrimage to Sagar Island, where the Ganges meets the sea.
A dalit girl does a contortion act for no one at the Pushkar Camel Fair, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India. Such girls are deprived an education, make almost no money, and endanger their health with the routines they do. There wasn't even anyone watching.
Three mothers and their toddlers in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India
A girl with a "black-eye" smiles for a portrait while receving care at a free health clinic run by the French NGO Agir pour Benares, at the Burning Ghats in Varanasi, India.
Father and son in the Hooghly River during Mahalaya, Babughat, Kolkata, India
Children celebrate at a carnival at the Pushkar Camel Mela, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India.
An elerly sadhu (holy man) does yoga at the Gangasagar Mela, a Hindu pilgrimage to Sagar Island in the Bay of Bengal in India, where the Ganges River meets the sea.
A langur monkey that was electrocuted is cared for at a rescue center in Pushkar, India
A man lies bleeding on the Sealdah railway station platform in Kolkata, India. He remained there for about an hour before an ambulance arrived. The nature of the injury is unkown.
Muslim women and children in the Arabian Sea during a monsoon rain, Juhu Beach, Mumbai, India.
A desert girl at the Pushkar Camel Mela, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India.
Elephant at the 2013 Kumbh Mela, Allahabad, India.
A boy dribbles a soccer ball on a dusty, polluted road in Dhapa, Kolkata, India. Dhapa is the site of Kolkata's largest landfill, and numerous recycling and incineration operations.
Happy brothers at a shelter at Sealdah Railway Station, Kolkata, India
A girl stands near shimmering water on the Hooghly (Ganges) River, near Kumartoli Ghat, Kolkata, India
Girls receive karate lessons at the CINI (cinindia.org) girls shelter at Amader Bari, Kolkata, India
A mother walks with her daughter under her wing in Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
Albino girl panhandling during the Pushkar Camel Fair, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
A mother and her three children in the Fakir Bagan area of Howrah, India
Men who have either passed out drunk or are sleeping after a hard day's work at a construction site, or borh. On the street in Bandra East, Mumbai, India.
A man with leprosy bathes in the Hooghly River during Mahalaya, Babughat, Kolkata, India
A rough looking street dog sleeps next to an indigent man in Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
Sadhus and a tourist walk past a vibrant blue building in Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
Girls on a flower farm, Doomara village, Rajasthan, India. This is one of my absolute all-time favorite photos, as it perfectly captures how happy these hardy, hard-working people are.
A woman prostrates herself every few steps as an exercise in religious asceticism, Assi Ghat, Varanasi, India
Ajay is a boy living in the Paharganj area of Delhi, India. He's homeless and has polio, and is addicted to sniffing glue. He cuts himself to gain sympathy from tourists. This is after our doctor visit for dressing and a tetanus shot.
A man does a yoga pose in a tent camp community along the Ganges River, Haridwar, India
Cow skeleton in the desert in Baroon village - aka the middle of nowhere, Rajasthan, India
Elephant on a major road near the New Delhi Railway Station, Delhi, India
Beautiful Ganesh pandal decorated with candles and flowers during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Shekwalhi, Mumbai, India.
Happy women working in the beautiful flower fields that surround Amba village, Rajasthan, India
Nepalese immigrant women work at a construction site in Manali, India
Girl and her goat in the rural village of Kharekhari, Rajasthan, India
A homeless woman sleeps in the Paharganj area of Delhi, India. A personal favorite photo. I visited the woman the next morning (this was at 3am) and showed her the photo and gave her some alms. She was tickled.
Mother and son in Kullu, India
Hindus pray in the Hooghly River in observance of Mahalaya, a tribute to deceased relatives.
Goat herder and his grandson in the golden rays of sunset, Kharekhari village, Rajasthan, India
Hindu pilgrims stop at Babughat in Kolkata to rest and eat en route to the Gangasagar Mela on Sagar Island, India.
A boy sits with his younger brother on a cold morning at the fort in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India
A boy takes the heads off of religious idols at Babughat in Kolkata, India, during the Durga Puja festival. The idols are immersed into the nearby Hooghy River during the festival, but are immediately taken out by the government to avoid polluting the river.
A boy dressed as Shiva poses for photos with tourists during the Pushkar Camel Fair, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
A woman carries a lantern during a marriage procession, Badi Basti, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India. Low caste adults are paid just 10 cents per hour to do this work.
Beautiful scene as pigeons fly near a female peacock on a wheat farm in late light, Kharekhari village, Rajasthan, India
Clocks fill a shop in Chor Bazaar, also known as the Thieves Market, Mumbai, India.
A boy dressed as Spider-Man at a carnival in Pushkar, Rajasthan, India.
© 2018 Brett Cole. All Rights Reserved.