In The Driver’s Seat In Delhi

Authentic, Ambient Documentary Footage Of A Round-Trip In India’s Capital

Youthful German-based street-photographer, Felix Schuster, has set his challenges high as he takes on the fast paced country of India in The Way to Delhi. Having spent 2014 studying and working in India on a portrait series, Felix travelled the country widely and fell in love with the chaotic tempo of the streets. “I travelled by road because that seemed the best way to see as much as possible,” he tells us. “I started shooting directly out of the vehicles, documentary style.”

Featured here is part 2 of Felix’s 5-part series, The Way to Delhi, a raw and unfettered depiction of journey that had Delhi as its start and end point. Felix captures a true image of the city’s transit-culture.

The way to Delhi Part2:

With the footage as our guide, we’re accompanied through the city’s manic roads, passing by faces quick enough merely to steal momentary glances as we’re suddenly whisked away again. The camera shakes up and down as we would were we there in the vehicle, creating a sense that we are right in the driver’s seat. It’s an unpretentious look at Indian travellers as they commute for whatever reasons; it’s an observation that makes no judgements. We’re looking forward to the release of part 3, which is already finished, and judging by its former video’s content, parts 4 and 5 will also arrive to much anticipation.

We caught up with Felix to find out more:

The Plus: Can you tell us about yourself and your artistic background?
Felix Schuster: I am a young photographer and film maker from Germany mostly engaged in music videos and documentary work. I studied in a petty-bourgeois town called Bayreuth.

TP: What was inspiring about the location?
FS: There are many great things about New Delhi as a location. In the North there are the huge mountains of Himachal Pradesh, in the South-West is the hot desert of Rajasthan and in the East there is Uttar Pradesh with the mysterious river Ganga – you can basically go any direction and see different kinds of landscape and different cultures.

TP: What were your expectations from your material?
FS: At the time of shooting I didn’t have a distinct idea what to do with the material. The idea to do something experimental, music-based was there since the beginning, but the collaboration with the beat-maker Made in M started when I noticed the hypnotic aesthetics of the floating images while editing. I wanted the viewer to sit on the travellers seat and just stare out of the window, like I did.

TP: How did you compose your images?
FS: I wanted the images to be authentic, so I framed the picture, reacted to whatever was coming and tried to be as steady as possible. Since the camera was supposed to be the passive observer, it was all about framing, reacting and just continuous recording.

TP: What was the most fun part of making the videos?
FS: Of course shooting as well watching the hours of material was great fun. A nice moment was when I was editing the first video while Made in M was working on a sample beat and everything fell into place.

TP: What’s next for you?
FS: I’m currently working on a short film portraying an artist from Athens. It is kind of documentary but less tied to conventional documentary styles.

The way to Delhi Part1: