Instagrammers We Like: Sankar Sridhar

Sankar Sridhar (@sankar.sridhar), an ace travel and adventure photographer, has been one of OT’s dearest contributors. We salivate over his landscapes, but also cannot get over his startlingly well-shot portraits of ethnic Indian communities. Sometimes, he combines the two—as in this photograph of sheep shearers in Jammu & Kashmir, who must also keep the animal relaxed throughout the process.

Specialised shearers who set up shop on the bakarwals’ migratory route make short work of the full winter coat of the sheep. Like hairdressers, these shearers are gain clients not just because they work well and swiftly; they are also expected to be sheep whisperers, keeping the animal relaxed through the entire process. A master shearer even manages to get the entire coat out in one piece.

A post shared by Sankar Sridhar — iris & ink (@sankar.sridhar) on Apr 28, 2017 at 10:08am PDT

The shawl of a bakarwal pastoralist becomes the pennant for the Armada of storm clouds riding wild winds. Exposed above the treeline, however, is not cause for panic for these brothers. It offers them a reason to smile, wondering what I had planned to wait out the storm. Thankfully the rock under which they took spurious shelter was wide enough to hold three people.

A post shared by Sankar Sridhar — iris & ink (@sankar.sridhar) on May 6, 2017 at 10:37am PDT

An awkward ballet plays itself out on the Dal each morning, as buyers and sellers weave through a scrum of shikharas haggling over the prices of vegetables. Most of the action gets done soon after sunrise, but with spring’s bounty, the market lingers even after first light.

A post shared by Sankar Sridhar — iris & ink (@sankar.sridhar) on Apr 2, 2017 at 9:32pm PDT

There are spaces where introspection and humility come easier than breathing, and the Himalayas undeniably top that list. Our team, just shy of 5,300m, ploughs through snow to get to the summit camp of Stok Kangri in Ladakh.

A post shared by Sankar Sridhar — iris & ink (@sankar.sridhar) on Mar 17, 2017 at 10:48am PDT

Pangong Tso. Ladakh. #lake#landscapes #travels #mountains #himalaya #india #blue #Ladakh #patterns #colors #sankarsridhar #colorpop #theworldguru #thegreatoutdoors

A post shared by Sankar Sridhar — iris & ink (@sankar.sridhar) on Nov 10, 2016 at 2:01am PST