Connecting to a distant home through photography

Born and raised in New York City, Zayira Ray began her photography career documenting her home. Now, a decade later, she’s found that she and the city have landed in a creative stalemate. While her love for it will never leave, “the excitement of setting onto the streets to shoot doesn't come as naturally.” But when Ray travels, she “can hardly take a few steps without getting the urge to photograph someone or something.” She becomes a natural observer, and the act of experiencing a new or nostalgic place is a reminder of why she fell in love with photography in the first place. 

Ray has found that documenting her second home, India, helps break through this stalemate. She usually visits for months at a time, and while growing up, she often visited twice a year to spend time with family. Now, each trip back is an opportunity to not only reconnect with what she knows but to search for what she has yet to uncover. 

“These photographs were made from December 2024 to April 2026. In 2019, I started a personal project called 'Traces of Delhi,' where I photographed crowds in New Delhi with a slow shutter speed, reducing the figures to distorted paintings of color and light, each frame a mosaic. In some of these photographs, I took a similar approach as to continue the series but also reflect my evolving perspective and sensibilities.

India is often seen as a sensory overload – a beautiful and humbling one, where each of the senses is reached with vivid specificity. But with my camera, I find myself drawn to the quiet moments, where tenderness and stillness are at the forefront. Nuns holding hands while gazing out at the beaches of Goa, a rickshaw driver whizzing through the streets like a superhero, the orange glow of a carousel at night.”

“When photographing portraiture and fashion work, I typically am in the pilot seat, directing and guiding often, molding the shoot until the images take shape. Communication is essential, and I try to get to a rhythm where the back-and-forth relationship with whoever I’m photographing is fluid and rhythmic, like a game of table tennis. In these works, I took the backseat, letting the scenes orchestrate themselves, and leaning into where my sensibilities were drawn to. 

That said, I am visually drawn to much of the same visual and emotional qualities as that of my portraiture, fashion, or commercial work. There is a through line in the light, color and human connection. It feels gratifying to have that thread even with entirely different approaches to shooting. I strongly believe photography is a muscle I need to continue to train and practice, and the more variety in the ways I do that, the better.”

“In Juhu Beach, Mumbai, the view of people stretched out as far as the ocean. At first, I thought the heads of people were buoys, because of the sheer magnitude of the sight. It allowed me the opportunity to lens the scene in the genuine way I experienced it: with wonder and awe. It was wondrous that not only that day, but every day was exactly like this, a city-scene on sand. Except it didn’t feel like chaos, or an overwhelming crowd, it was some kind of organic poetry. So that’s how I approached making the photographs – expanding on the visual poetry of the scene that unfolded in front of me.”

"Along the Howrah Bridge in Kolkata, West Bengal, is the Mullick Ghat Flower Market (Malik Ghat). It is the largest flower market in India and over a century old. Every day, from dawn to dusk, thousands of vendors set up shop, carrying hefty bags of loose flowers to sort, sell, and barter. In their spare time, some sit cross-legged reading the daily paper, mindlessly picking stems and coating their fingers in natural dye.

There is a sense of ritual here. A daily choreography of the largest market in the country, with the delicacy of flowers anchoring it all, and I find that fascinating. Day in and day out, the same steps: packing, unpacking, transporting, and repeat."

"In the outskirts of Thrissur, Kerala, the world seemed to sit still. It is complete open air serenity, with lush greenery, mango and coconut trees, even peacocks. When you are in absolute stillness and serenity, even the smallest movements and gestures take on a life of their own.  Every evening, I went on a walk through neighboring paddy fields, open and vast, and seemingly completely empty.  Occasionally I would encounter a fisherman, a gardener, or a baby goat – everything and everyone sweet, patient, gentle.

Every trip to India reflects an evolution, where I feel myself growing and learning at a rapid pace, yet slowing down behind the camera. That dichotomy has lended itself to these photographs, and I look forward to seeing how it appears in my next trip.”

All photographs are by Zayira Ray.