Jodhpur’s stark beauty and brilliant regal splendour, caught in the lens of the camera’s eye offers a whole new perspective to this desert outpost.

If you remember, back in the day, you could catch those vignettes on film, and then the photo would be produced on photo-sensitive paper. With what impatience we would wait for the entire roll to be developed before we could see the results of our endeavours in capturing the ‘right shot’.

Today our smart phone cameras allow us to view an image file quickly on our screens and share the photos digitally with friends and family. Wow, the power of technology!

To get the best shots on your visit to Jodhpur, you need to have honed your tech skills to take advantage of the play of light and shadow, for sure, but you also need to marry this with an artistic eye to get truly amazing shots of the ‘Blue City’.

And yes, light and shadows are definitely alive in this desert city, where the architecture is driven by the need to protect the inhabitants from the extremes of the elements: sun, wind, and sandstorms.

The blue-tinted houses and marketplaces of Jodhpur are connected with a tightly held lacework of shadowed alleyways and serpentine lanes that keep the fierce rays of the desert sun at bay. So do keep this in mind when you set out to photograph this historic capital of the Marwar kings. Yet, it can be an intriguing prospect to go on a photo-led adventure, where every twist and turn in the Walled City reveals some delightful scenes to capture some striking images on your lens.

Get all your stuff ready the night before to hit the road early in the morning to get some great shots.

With its over 6000 shops and stalls the Sardar Market, near the iconic clock tower is a lively, vibrant place with all manner of action at the start of the day…. Fresh produce arriving in assorted vehicles, vendors turning up to set up their stalls, the cleaners at work in the lanes linking the market in one bustling world of commerce and culture…. And that’s just for starters!

Turn your attention to the Walled City as it wakes up for another day…Vignettes aplenty wait to be captured… priests attending to the shrines, housewives packing off the kids to school, Brahmins venturing out to pay obeisance to the deities… shopkeepers doing puja in their shops before the first customers arrive….

As the day progresses and the sun’s rays angle into darkened alleys a storm of images await to be captured amidst the dense cluster of tightly packed houses painted a traditional blue to keep them cool even in the hottest part of the day. Chat with locals over chai and snacks…. get some nice shots of the kids at play…elders chilling on charpoys… menfolk gossiping over a hookah… women chopping veggies for a meal for the family… the architecture of the houses and the squiggly lanes that interconnect them.

Check out the other public spaces like construction sites where even women are at work. The antique marketplace offers its vibrant hues and action as housewives haggle for goods and vendors valiantly resist. Folk from the rural areas around Jodhpur, dressed in traditional clothes, the men in colourful turbans, the women in swirling skirts and adorned with silver jewellery, browse the shops for their daily needs before heading back to the village.

Let your wandering lens find local craftsmen at work over puppets and leather bags, woodwork and textiles, which are stocked in the shops around the market with other sundry items.

Stop by at the roadside eateries in the different markets and capture locals and visitors gorging on traditional savouries like fiery mirchi badas, kachoris, chaat, shahi samosas and the like— all washed down with cooling lassis. Get some shots of the dishes themselves and hone your skills as a culinary photographer! Late in the evening the markets are a-sizzle with even more of a buzz as residents come out to enjoy their favourite eats.

Lead your camera lens into a fabulous journey of the spice market where it gets to do a deep dive into the local vibe of this always bustling city hotspot. Don’t miss the legendary Mathania chilis.

Mark your footstep to the city’s iconic stepwells, a crucial source of its water requirements— and a water conservation tradition in these desert environs which goes back for centuries. A short walk from the Clock Tower through winding streets lined with blue-toned houses leads you to the popular Toor Ji Ka Jhalra, another water resource. Having been cleaned up thoroughly, now this abandoned stepwell, built with local red sandstone, has revived the entire neighbourhood, now a bustling touristy hub with cafes, hotels and trendy shops. Kids love to sneakily dive in for a swim in the stepwell.

Near the Clock Tower again is another spot you should visit. This is the Gulab Sagar Lake, established in 1788 by Gulab Rai, the concubine of Maharaja Vijay Singh. This elaborate complex also houses a jhalra and the Kunjebihari temple. It is considered a sacred spot and religious ceremonies are also conducted at the site. It’s a colourful spot during the annual women-centric Gangaur festivities. Close to the Mehrangarh Fort, the Ranisar and Padma Sagar are excellent spots for some lively camera work!

This ancient fortress perched atop a craggy ledge is one of the most iconic images of Jodhpur as its rears head and shoulders high above the old city. It’s time now to get a closer view of this magnificent medieval fort. Wind your way up slowly to get some exceptional shots from its ramparts of the Walled City spread out below. You might catch some pictures of the more adventurous tourists enjoying a ziplining experience at Mehrangarh.

The Umaid Bhavan Palace, partially run as a super luxurious hotel, is one of the world’s biggest living residences and is still home to the Jodhpur royals.

The desert landscape around the city offers much fodder for your lens to gobble up hungrily… the temple sites amidst the golden dunes, the camels wading their way through the sand to an unknown destination… a line of women returning home with water from a faraway source…All iconic pictures…but with plenty of space for you to weave in your personal creativity with some technical skill and an artistic vision to capture some unique shots of these classic scenes.

Jodhpur offers such an incredible range of subjects for the intrepid photographer so don’t be surprised if you want to extend your visit longer than you intended. Not only is it perfect for colour photography, if you love to experiment with a black-and-white medium, it is equally rewarding…