Photo of a woman in India.

Kristian Bertel was born on April 14, 1980 in Denmark. He grew up in the north west of Denmark and spend his time from early on with creativity. Originally he is trained as graphic designer from Aarhus Tech, but he took up photography in 2006, and started his photographic career aged 26 taking portraits in the streets of many different countries. Along with his passion for photography, he trained his skills by taking lessons and learning from skilled photographers and journalists. In 2007 he attended the Kier Photo Workshop with the press photographer Vagn-Ebbe Kier in digital photography and lighting techniques. Later on he attended Danish School of Media and Journalism.

Kristian is mostly known for his series of Indian images, which started as a long-term project on India in 2008. He took pictures of the Indian people and their life conditions. He has specialized in documentary photography and his work is published on Kristian Bertel | Photography which contains 12 galleries that describe common life in India. Kristian Bertel has received recognition for his work from members in numerous photo communities.

The approach
The approach to his photographs is primarily to tell stories and a curiosity to know more about cultural differencies. With a focus on humanity and diversity, the aim of his documentary photography is often to describe these topics in mainly people and cityscapes. And his imagery is often carried out in portraits, documenting social documentary issues.

The documentary tradition
His images from the northern part of India represent the documentary tradition of photography. Diversity and culture are themes in his own melancholic way. His photographs are often carried out in portraits with a strain of sadness.

Close-up portrait taken in Old Delhi.

Scenery of photographic moments
It was in India he particularly learned himself to observe and hunt down the scenery of photographic motives. Captions of the daily life from the neverending stories and neighborhoods of Delhi. His approach to the subjects, is to tell stories, which are not easily forgotten or discarded: Moments from the alleys and the streets.

A view from a local roof top in Jaipur.

Family in the outskirts of Varanasi.

Field trip through four Indian provinces
He started out his field trip in the chaotic Delhi, shooting portraits in the streets and went to the small mirage town of Mandawa. He stepped into the barren Thar Desert in Rajasthan from the city of Jaisalmer and travelled further on to the blue city of Jodhpur and to the intricate alleyways of Udaipur. Later on he went east to the holy city, Varanasi, situated at the River Ganges. On the outskirts of Varanasi, he was documenting the conditions of the families in a village.

Amber Fort.

Photo essays and editorial assignments
Kristian has traveled to more than 15 countries all over the world. His images, among others have been shown as photo essays online - documenting many aspects of the daily life particularly in India. He works as a freelance photographer and is available for editorial and NGO assignments all over Europe, in Asia, Africa and in the Middle East. For further information and inquiries please: contact the photographer


« BACK