Cityscapes through the lens: Bengaluru's thriving photography culture

The period 2026-27 marks two centuries of photography. The first permanent photograph, captured by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, showed the sunlit rooftops and outbuildings of his family estate in Saint-Loup-de-Varennes, France.

In this landmark year, Metrolife speaks to photography groups in Bengaluru about how they view the city through their lens.

The city has a thriving photography culture, with clubs routinely organising photowalks through historic markets and neighbourhoods, studio meetups focused on improving technique, talks on photo printing, treasure hunt-style shoots, review sessions for beginners, and national and international salons.

Contrasting scenes

Manish S started IgersOfBangalore (IOB) 11 years ago as a solo pursuit to showcase his city. Because he is a “proud Bengaluru huduga”. His work attracted other budding photographers, and IOB grew into a community.

According to him, there is always something happening in Bengaluru. “As a photographer, you have the opportunity to document different cultures, food scenes, and events,” he says.

Zeeshan Mallick runs the much-younger group Bangalore PhotoWalks. He says the city’s green cover, walkable streets and pleasant weather allow photographers to shoot outdoors for longer hours compared to hotter cities such as Chennai. “Photography is how I embraced the city,” says Mallick, who moved here from north India.

The Newbies Photo Club, which has been running under the aegis of Bangalore Newbies since 2024, finds inspiration in the city’s contrasts. “Glass buildings and greenery, or street vendors beside tech parks — Bengaluru automatically frames itself to the photographer’s eye,” says one of its earliest members and current head, Sayak Sajith.

Bang BW (Bangalore Black and White), founded by Sabir Ahmed in 2004, is dedicated to analogue photography. The group documents the city in intimate ways, from the architecture of its buildings to craftspeople at work and how the city looks at different times of the day.

Changing perception

However, members across these groups say street and candid photography are no longer as easy as they once were. Mallick says people today are more wary of being photographed in public. Ahmed understands the hesitation. “Earlier, the public would ask curiously, ‘Where are you from?’. Now they often resist because there are one too many photographers out there,” he explains. Sajith insists that photographers must act responsibly because the camera holds power and “images shape people’s understanding”. He says photographers should approach sensitive subjects with empathy, remain aware of their own biases, and seek consent whenever possible.

Emotional quotient

The Youth Photographic Society, a non-profit club founded in Bengaluru in 1971, sees the bicentennial anniversary as a reminder of how far the medium has evolved. Its president, Vikas Sastry, says, “From glass plate negatives and film to digital and mobile photography, photography has become accessible to everyone.” And this matters because “photography changed memory forever,” says Sajith. “It preserves stories of families and cultures long after we are gone. The medium constantly changes, but we must still preserve the emotion,” he adds.

May 28 - 31: Show of photographic prints

Confluence 2026, an exhibition of handcrafted photographic prints, will be held from May 28 to 31, 11 am to 7 pm, at Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, Kumarakrupa Road. Featured artistes include Debanjan Das Gupta, Rajkumar Krishna, Raghavendra Udupa, Ramesh Adkoli, Sabir Ahmed, and Shankar Kiragi. The exhibition will have on display 70 works created using more than 10 alternative processes, from 19th-century cyanotype and salt printing to FerroBlend, a process developed by Udupa.