“The reason I photograph is to experience and share human existence beyond the precinct of words. It takes an adventurous spirit to venture out to the farthest corners of this Earth, but those handful who do that are obliged to bring back stories that haven’t been heard, to shine light on the responsibilities that come with sharing a planet, the importance and urgency of which I portray through my photographs.”
-SEJ SARAIYA
My photographic work has taken me to some of the remotest corners of this planet where not many dare to go, from the last tattooed headhunters of remote India to the medicine women of British Columbia; from the shamans of the Venezuelan Amazonas to globally revered leaders and humanitarians such Their Holinesses, the Dalai Lama and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar; I’ve captured, from behind my lens, the stunning landscapes of the United States to healers and Vedic scientists and yogis, all with the broader vision of preserving our world’s cultures and lands.
As an ethnographic and conservation photographer, I can say with full conviction that with every dying culture, precious and valuable wisdom is being washed away. Languages and ways of thinking are being forgotten, and unwritten centuries-old knowledge is fading. All of this is happening at an alarming rate, and part of my work is to keep humanity’s rich and polychromatic existence alive.
