I first visited India in 2009 on an eight-week scholarship. This introduction to India at a very personal level gave me a wonderful insight into the diversity of its cultures, people and ways of life.

When I decided to test my developing photographic skills by producing my first ‘real’ photobook, I chose India as its subject. One of my most awarded images, Spiritual Overseer (not displayed here), captures life on the Ganges in the aftermath of a cremation.

India was more than a subject for my photography; it helped shape how I see and interpret the world through a camera. It was here that I began to define my approach to photography around a simple question: “Why this shot, why now?”