@sarahyltonphoto

Found some old rolls from the City of Joy. I’ve botched my film hundreds of times - water damage, x-ray streaks, light leaks, shutter button doesn’t release (but I think I’m making the best photographs of my career until I realize the roll is empty), oh and confiscation of film by authorities, you name it I’ve done it. How I love film. But a word to the wise, it’s one thing if you mess up your own film, but please choose a lab that will treat your material with the utmost care when developing your #mediumformat. These babies are like gold, we cannot get a do-over. No iPhone photos here. And while it takes a keen eye to notice details, with these rolls I immediately spot tonal inconsistencies, loss in highlight and shadow details, muted saturation, and an overall feeling of meh. But meh, film is still film baby. Here is the Mullick Ghat Flower Market, The Hooghly river under the Howrah Bridge, and a father holding his child while they dip into the Hooghly. Raise your hand if you still use film and never stop stressing✌🏻 @kodakprofessional #kodakportra400 #kolkata #cityofjoy #filmisnotdead

Oops! I missed posting on the ‘right’ day, so I’m making today World Environment Day. And actually how about tomorrow too, and the day after? And maybe every single day? The more I pursue stories related to climate change, global warming, environmental degradation, call it what you will, this at times difficult and intangible thing to grasp, I have found the images that most resonate with me are of people. It is often those that are most vulnerable, who already have sustainable practices inherent in their everyday lives out of tradition and necessity, that are the most impacted by climate change. These are a few images of Chidambaran Chithan, a 65-year-old fisherman whom I met while working on a story for @natgeo in Alleppey, Kerala. Chidambaran was a fisherman on Vembanad Lake for over 40 years. Just before the pandemic, he started selling saltwater fish to locals, a less laborious and steady job, he said. “The fish were very abundant in the lake…right now the availability is very low…we’re not getting anything from this lake” he said. He equates a dwindling fish population to pollution. But it is not only a decrease in fish population, which has seen a 40 percent drop in the last decade, drastic weather events, including floods and cyclones, are hitting the region at increasing rates. Chidambaran’s family’s ancestral home (pictured in image one, along with two of his grandchildren) was destroyed from a flood in 2018. When I asked Chidambaran what he hoped for, he began to tear up: “these torrential rains, corona and the flood, these things have destroyed entire people’s lives along with me…this must change…what I suggest is that we must be more careful in conserving nature, this lake, we need to conserve it otherwise this next generation is going to suffer…people must get out of this bad situation that’s what my wish is.” #worldenvironmentday #climatechange #fishing #kodakportra400

For @natgeotravel and with support from the Earth Journalism Network, I explored India's largest lake - Lake Vembanad - in the country's southernmost state of Kerala. A UNESCO Ramsar site which supports some 1.6 million people and a rich array of biodiversity, the lake flows through "God's Own Country" wedged between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats. The topography and climate of the region have created one of the country’s top tourist destinations - a lacy web of canals and backwaters surrounded by picturesque villages, rice patties, and fertile countryside. "Kerala is one of India’s top tourist destinations, anchored by the 1,000 or so houseboats in Lake Vembanad. Captained by local boatmen, kettuvallams move to old world agricultural rhythms. Travelers sleep and dine onboard, stopping in villages to eat fish curries or learn to weave coconut pulp into coir rope...But pollution, unethical fishing practices, and emissions from the idyllic-seeming houseboats threaten the whole region. In the last decade, the lake has seen a 40 percent drop in its fish population" writes @rachna_sachasinh. Solar panels are among a new green initiative meant to address environmental issues that plague the region and to make houseboat tourism more sustainable. But is enough being done to restore the health of the lake and its backwaters? For more on our story and @rachna_sachasinh nuanced text, see the link in my bio. Thank you to @maurafriedman for the support throughout and thoughtful edit. Big shoutout to @rajkeerthy123 and @manojleelaneelakandan for the collaboration and support on the ground. Caption continued in comments section. #renewableenergy #india #climatechange #solarpower #kerala

For @natgeotravel and with support from the Earth Journalism Network, I explored India's largest lake - Lake Vembanad - in the country's southernmost state of Kerala. A UNESCO Ramsar site which supports some 1.6 million people and a rich array of biodiversity, the lake flows through "God's Own Country" wedged between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats. The topography and climate of the region have created one of the country’s top tourist destinations - a lacy web of canals and backwaters surrounded by picturesque villages, rice patties, and fertile countryside. "Kerala is one of India’s top tourist destinations, anchored by the 1,000 or so houseboats in Lake Vembanad. Captained by local boatmen, kettuvallams move to old world agricultural rhythms. Travelers sleep and dine onboard, stopping in villages to eat fish curries or learn to weave coconut pulp into coir rope...But pollution, unethical fishing practices, and emissions from the idyllic-seeming houseboats threaten the whole region. In the last decade, the lake has seen a 40 percent drop in its fish population" writes @rachna_sachasinh. Solar panels are among a new green initiative meant to address environmental issues that plague the region and to make houseboat tourism more sustainable. But is enough being done to restore the health of the lake and its backwaters? For more on our story and @rachna_sachasinh nuanced text, see the link in my bio. Thank you to @maurafriedman for the support throughout and thoughtful edit. Big shoutout to @rajkeerthy123 and @manojleelaneelakandan for the collaboration and support on the ground. Captions continued in comments section. #renewableenergy #india #climatechange #solarpower

Found paradise in a corner of Karnataka overlooking the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats. There’s a lot going on in the world, sometimes it’s easy to forget that we all need to find ways of replenishing and reconnecting with ourselves. That should not be a privilege, but a God-given right. For a few short, sweet days, I was offered an exhale amidst nature, kindness, and environmental consciousness with one of my favourite people. Thank you @kahani_paradise. May all beings experience such an embrace. Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu #kodakportra400 #karnataka #mediumformat #istillshootfilm #kahaniparadise #sustainabletourism

Sharing more work from our story on India’s battle to clean up its holiest river, the Ganges, in the April 2022 issue of @natgeo Magazine. Our story began in 2019 when I accompanied an expedition made up of scientists, engineers, and support staff supported by @insidenatgeo. The team traveled the full length of the river twice (and I much of it), before and after the monsoon. Researching plastic along one of the most culturally significant rivers in South Asia, the team sought to understand why, how, and what kind of plastic was getting into the Ganges, and eventually flowing into the Indian Ocean. “The Ganges River is one of the world’s largest, worshipped by a billion Hindus as Mother Ganga, a living goddess with power to cleanse the soul. The headwaters emerge from the Gangotri Glacier high in the western Himalaya, just a few miles from Tibet, and then drop down steep mountain canyons to India’s fertile northern plain. There the river meanders east across the subcontinent into Bangladesh, broadening as it absorbs 10 large tributaries. Just after it merges with the Brahmaputra, the Ganges empties into the Bay of Bengal. It’s the world’s third largest freshwater outlet to the ocean, after the Amazon and the Congo. It supports more than a quarter of India’s 1.4 billion people, all of Nepal, and part of Bangladesh…Most of the research about plastic waste has focused on plastic already in the oceans and its potential for harm—it poses a lethal threat to a wide range of wildlife, from plankton on up to fish, turtles, and whales. Less is known about how the waste gets to the ocean. But it’s clear that rivers, especially rivers in Asia, are major arteries” writes Laura Parker. See the link in my bio. A huge thank you to @insidenatgeo for supporting a large chunk of this work, the incredible champion of an editor @dominiqueanneh and all the amazing collaborators @ravimishraindia @dreamersid @shridhar_sudhir @roobaroowalks who were integral to making this work possible with their wisdom and expertise, through a pandemic no less. I’ll be sharing more images over the coming days. Captions are in the comments section. #ganges #river #india #plastic

Sharing more work from our story on India’s battle to clean up its holiest river, the Ganges, in the April 2022 issue of @natgeo Magazine. Our story began in 2019 when I accompanied an expedition made up of scientists, engineers, and support staff supported by @insidenatgeo. The team traveled the full length of the river twice (and I much of it), before and after the monsoon. Researching plastic along one of the most culturally significant rivers in South Asia, the team sought to understand why, how, and what kind of plastic was getting into the Ganges, and eventually flowing into the Indian Ocean. “The Ganges River is one of the world’s largest, worshipped by a billion Hindus as Mother Ganga, a living goddess with power to cleanse the soul. The headwaters emerge from the Gangotri Glacier high in the western Himalaya, just a few miles from Tibet, and then drop down steep mountain canyons to India’s fertile northern plain. There the river meanders east across the subcontinent into Bangladesh, broadening as it absorbs 10 large tributaries. Just after it merges with the Brahmaputra, the Ganges empties into the Bay of Bengal. It’s the world’s third largest freshwater outlet to the ocean, after the Amazon and the Congo. It supports more than a quarter of India’s 1.4 billion people, all of Nepal, and part of Bangladesh…Most of the research about plastic waste has focused on plastic already in the oceans and its potential for harm—it poses a lethal threat to a wide range of wildlife, from plankton on up to fish, turtles, and whales. Less is known about how the waste gets to the ocean. But it’s clear that rivers, especially rivers in Asia, are major arteries” writes Laura Parker. See the link in my bio. A huge thank you to @insidenatgeo for supporting a large chunk of this work, the incredible champion of an editor @dominiqueanneh and all the amazing collaborators @ravimishraindia @dreamersid @shridhar_sudhir @roobaroowalks who were integral to making this work possible with their wisdom and expertise, through a pandemic no less. I’ll be sharing more images over the coming days. Captions are in the comments section. #ganges #river #india #plastic

I’m honored to share my latest body of work, nearly three years in the making, for the April 2022 issue of @natgeo Magazine. Our story on India’s battle to clean up its holiest river, the Ganges, began in 2019 when I accompanied an expedition made up of scientists, engineers, and support staff supported by @insidenatgeo. The team traveled the full length of the river twice (and I much of it), before and after the monsoon. Researching plastic along one of the most culturally significant rivers in South Asia, the team sought to understand why, how, and what kind of plastic was getting into the Ganges, and eventually flowing into the Indian Ocean. “The Ganges River is one of the world’s largest, worshipped by a billion Hindus as Mother Ganga, a living goddess with power to cleanse the soul. The headwaters emerge from the Gangotri Glacier high in the western Himalaya, just a few miles from Tibet, and then drop down steep mountain canyons to India’s fertile northern plain. There the river meanders east across the subcontinent into Bangladesh, broadening as it absorbs 10 large tributaries. Just after it merges with the Brahmaputra, the Ganges empties into the Bay of Bengal. It’s the world’s third largest freshwater outlet to the ocean, after the Amazon and the Congo. It supports more than a quarter of India’s 1.4 billion people, all of Nepal, and part of Bangladesh…Most of the research about plastic waste has focused on plastic already in the oceans and its potential for harm—it poses a lethal threat to a wide range of wildlife, from plankton on up to fish, turtles, and whales. Less is known about how the waste gets to the ocean. But it’s clear that rivers, especially rivers in Asia, are major arteries” writes Laura Parker. See the link in my bio. A huge thank you to @insidenatgeo for supporting a large chunk of this work, the incredible champion of an editor @dominiqueanneh and all the amazing collaborators @ravimishraindia @dreamersid @shridhar_sudhir @roobaroowalks who were integral to making this work possible with their wisdom and expertise, through a pandemic no less. I’ll be sharing more images over the coming days. Captions are in the comments section.

Sometimes I get really creatively blocked. Unmotivated, depressed, I can’t see the frame, I can’t see the point. But life isn’t a perfectly curated instagram feed, and it takes work as an artist, you know? (ps. see all the amazing answers you all shared in my stories about what keeps you motivated). I was in this hollow space, and my sister, the brilliant @annie.hylton instructed me to take my camera out for thirty minutes a day at the same time, without the pressure to succeed or without any assignment. I used to do this effortlessly for my own joy, but then burnout and exhaustion happened (and, well, a pandemic). Anyway, here are a few images I made during my walks, just seeing life unfold. They aren’t perfect, because life is not perfect, but it’s all a process and it got me to see again - the reflections in the mirrors, the golden light, the birds taking flight. Sometimes we miss the small stuff which is actually the big stuff. What tools help you recover your creativity and get over burnout? Bless!

Keeping myself inspired on this Sunday, post Covid (round two), by remembering all the spectacular places I’ve breathed in. This a view of Devprayag, Uttarakhand, where the mighty Ganges river officially begins. ‘Devprayag’ in Sanskrit means ‘divine’ or ‘holy’ confluence, according to Hindu scriptures. If one looks close enough, the different hues of blue can be seen as the Alakananda and Bagirathi rivers officially converge to create the Ganges. According to mythology, a third river, Saraswati, flows underground and meets these two rivers at the confluence. Our world is a magical, wondrous place, don’t forget it! Photographed while on assignment for @natgeo #India #ganges #riversong

Kolkata, one of my favorite places to photograph. Image 1) Outside of the Victoria Memorial during the Durga Puja festival, hundreds of people lined up outside of the memorial to enter and the streets were bustling with traffic; Image 2) Early morning at the Bara Bazar, a wholesale market selling a slew of items from spices to electronics. On assignment for @natgeo a few weeks back. Thank you to my collaborator and early morning walking partner who knows this city inside and out @dreamersid and to @dominiqueanneh for the support throughout.

Sometimes that 4 am wake-up call makes all the other feeble and unsuccessful attempts worth it. Sometimes, but rarely, the groggy, I don't know whether it's going to rain or shine, lack of sleep, seeking that golden light landscape that can grasp even a fraction of the earth's magnificence, wake up call works out...as I said, rarely. *** The one thing I've learned for certain about the craft of photography over the years, the one thing, is that it's a continuous practice of surrender, surrender of control, of yourself to what the moment is sharing with you rather than what you think it should be, of outcome, and to the unpredictability of even the best laid out plans. But mostly, it's surrendering to failure, and trying anyway. *** I share this landscape made along the Ganges river just south of Devprayag in the hills of Uttarakhand, because for one moment, it felt as if the elements came together. As I said, rarely. Thank you to @shridhar_sudhir for all the early mornings during this trip, and to @dominiqueanneh for getting me out there. Photographed on assignment for @natgeo