Photosafari has been organising photography trips for the past six years and has travelled to many places around the world in search of the best photography experience. Each country provides different experiences. Street or human interest photography is one of the genres that the most traveller must take up if they want to travel the world.

Trying to rank the top five places for street photography and human interest has been a daunting task. There are simply too many to choose from. I have come up with a few parameters to rate the places, according to diversity, environment and friendliness of the subjects.

5. Siem Reap, Cambodia
Siem Reap, Cambodia always has a place in my heart as this is the first place we started our photosafari adventures. There are many places to shoot street and human interest photos. The main wet market in Siem Reap offers many subjects and photography opportunities. The best is our adopted village not far from the town. This is a community of rice farmers. I loved the children and people from this village. They were very friendly and treated us like friends. We have donated a couple of water wells to help the villagers get filtered water.

4. Sri Lanka
At number four is Sri Lanka. This country is still recovering from the civil war with the Tamil Tigers. The places out of Colombo are relatively free from the security checks. However, the main wet markets in Colombo are not so photography friendly especially if you are in a group. Fortunately, we were not stopped by the security forces when we visited the main market. One of the highlights is the stilt fishermen of Kathaluwa. The surrounding fishing villages offer many photography opportunities to capture the life of the fishing community. This is probably the only place in the world where you can find fishermen fishing on stilts. The 2004 tsunami has devastated many villages along this coast and now, stilt fishermen only perform for tourists.

3. Old Silk Road, Xinjiang, China
At number three on the list are the towns along the Old Silk Road in Xinjiang. The diversity of subjects along this more than 2,000-year-old ancient silk road, do not disappoint. It is the melting pot of cultures and people from the west, Europe and China in the east. The best towns to experience this are Turpan, Kucha, Aksu, Hotan and Khasgar. One just cannot get enough of this diversity overload. We have travelled this old silk road three times and each journey is different.

 

2. Kathmandu, Nepal
At number two on the list is Kathmandu. This is place is a heaven for street photography. Where ever you turn there are opportunities for a good street shot. The only problem is, there is not enough time to explore the streets of Kathmandu. Some of the places to explore are Thamel Bazaar, Patin Durbar Square, Kriktipur, Bungamati, Kathmandu Durbar Square, Freak Street, Bhaktapur and many other places. Incidently, I am organising an “Adopt a Village” Charity Aid for Nepal Earthquake recovery. Those who wants to help out can contact me.

1. Cuba
The best place for street and human interest photography must surely be Cuba. This is a place locked in a time capsule. For those who have not travelled to Cuba, the first few days will be spent learning about the social system and what made Cuban tick. Everything here is so different from the capitalist world. The internet is almost non-existent. Oh! the 50″s American cars are surely the main attraction. However, as one peels off the outer fabric of the Cuban society, you will be rewarded with the scenes seldom experienced by the outside world. The places to visit in Cuba are Havana, Santi Spiritus and Trinidad. I will be making another trip to Cuba this December, I just cannot get enough of it. Why not join me for this photosafari trip to Cuba and experience it for yourself.