Photobombing Ujjain: A Visual Offering in Rural India
Ujjain—one of India’s most ancient cities—rests along the Kshipra River in Madhya Pradesh. Steeped in spiritual tradition and shaped by rural poverty, the city was at once overwhelming and deeply compelling. I spent several months living between the town of Ujjain and the nearby village of Lekoda, working with a newly founded university.

As a foreigner and guest, I was acutely aware of the ethical weight of documenting others’ lives. I questioned how to witness without imposing, and how to create something meaningful without perpetuating colonial or extractive narratives. I was seeking a form of connection—immediate, portable, and reciprocal.

So I began walking, running, and biking through streets and farmland, taking hundreds of photographs over six months. Every person I photographed received a printed copy. If I couldn’t find them again, I posted their image near where it was taken, in hopes it would find its way home.

The response was unexpectedly moving. Families gathered at bus stops, waiting to be photographed. People introduced me to relatives and neighbors. For many, it was the first portrait they’d ever received.

This quiet act of “photobombing”—not as a joke, but as a deliberate, visual offering—evolved into a practice rooted in modesty, presence, and mutual recognition. It was a way to give something small and tangible in return for being allowed to look, to witness, to belong briefly.

As Hans Jonas reminds us: “Act so the effects of your actions are compatible with the permanence of human life.” This work was a meditation on dignity, reciprocity, and the enduring power of a shared image.