Photographer of death by Mauro De Bettio

Photographing the dead is his job. Niraja, 20 year old, runs one of the photo-studios in the busiest streets of Varanasi, the oldest living city in the world.

Photographing the dead is his job. Niraja, 20 year old, runs one of the photo-studios in the busiest streets of Varanasi, the oldest living city in the world.

Niraja waits for the families during the procession that lead to the crematorium. If he’s lucky enough, he’ll get a few rupees from the clients who want a pictures of their loved ones. The Kashi Manikarnika Ghat is one of the holiest burial grounds alongside the river Ganga in India. According to Hindu mythology the burning of the bodies is the most sacred ritual because it symbolizes both creation and destruction of mankind. It is believed that being burned on the land of Varanasi, provides an immediate liberation from the cycle of births and rebirths. To be cremated along the banks of the Mother Ganga is seen as the highest honor to the people living in the community.

The smoke load with the smells of burned wood and skin is so thick that it penetrates your clothes and the odor stays there for days. The only sound in the air is the chant that echoes between the mud walls accompanying the body in its final journey: “Raam Naam Satya Hai” (the name of Ram is true). The Ghat is open 24 hours a day and more than hundreds of cremation ceremonies take place daily all year round. For the community, death is a form of livelihood. Among the people who live off the death of their neighbors and friends are wood merchants, barbers, Antyeshti (the priests performing rites and prayers), florists and groups of outcasts sifting through the mud searching for personal belongings of the deceased. Among the many jobs, there are also the photographers of death. Their job is to capture the last moments of the departed before they are turned to ashes. Photographing a dead person may seem unconventional and a little disrespectful to the families, but for the photographers of Varanasi, it is just another way to earn a living. The family of the deceased actually encourages pictures to be taken, not only as proof, but also as closure to families unable to make it to the funeral. Since crematoriums do not provide death certificates, the pictures are the only proof to the government to receive any type of inheritance.

Naraja is one of them for more than five years, a job that has been passed down to him and in his family for generations. He has two cameras, both broken. With one he’s able to get the shots but not to visualize the photos because of the damaged lcd screen. To see the images, then, he needs to transfer the memory card on the other camera that, instead, has a broken lens. Photographing a person on the death bed may seem awkward to most of us, but for the death photographers of Varanasi, it is just another way to earn a livelihood. And if somebody wonders why people would want pictures of the dead body, there are many explanations. Families want them for different needs. For family members who cannot attend and would like to see the final moments and show it to the coming generations. Or to prove that the person is dead for government records and inheritance. At this crematorium, families don’t get death certificates, so the photographs work as a proof. With the date and time printed on the photograph, people use them to claim their share in the deceased’s property.

When Niraja is done with the shooting and the family is satisfied with the photographs, the cremation ceremony can begin. The work of Niraja, however, is not finished yet.

The wood starts to flame and  it takes almost three hours for the body to rise up in ashes.

This is the only time Niraja has to run as fast as he can to be able to reach the lab right outside the city, to develop the pictures and come back. Supposing he will miss the family and leave without the pictures there will be no profit for him. This is the only time Niraja has to develop and deliver the pictures. Supposing he will miss the family and leave without the pictures there will be no profit for him. He needs to run as fast as he can to be able to reach the lab right outside the city, to develop the pictures and come back.

“Photography for me is not looking, it’s feeling. If you can’t feel what you’re looking at, then you’re never going to get others to feel anything when they look at your pictures. I love taking pictures, I love this job and I feel honored to do what I do.”

While I observe him, I can feel him struggling to grasp the essence of the shots. His ability to capture images that celebrate the interwoven ideas of life and death with elegance and grace is so inspiring. Two things that, as in no other place, are inseparable. A real honor for those people whose dream is, in their last years, to be brought here and cremated along the banks of the Mother Ganga.

About Mauro De Bettio

Born and raised in a little village in the Italian Alps, now based in Barcelona, Mauro already felt from a young age the desire to tell. He discovered that the camera was the right tool for him, the eye through which he could speak to the world. An instrument that began to walk by his side towards a long journey of discovery.

Definitely, to grow by himself, without the influence of schools, courses and lessons has slowed down the process of technical knowledge, but because of this he learned his own way of seeing and been formed and shaped by the environment and the people who surrounded him in his long travels/trips.

“Although it is difficult to express, I think that the photograph represents my way of speaking and what I try to do through my language is to capture the sense of what I breathe and touch with my hands. Not only in appearance but also, and especially, in the essence; trying to express nuances and subtleties contained in a single frame. I think that’s part of my personality and my work fully expresses what I am. My story, my soul”. [Official Website]

More Stories

Mandala by Luigi Bussolati

Mandala by Luigi Bussolati

A selection of uncut flowers. Like a mandala constructing beauty before it is swept away. We follow the spiral down to the nucleus and its impulse to return us to the world.
Maren Klemp ; The darker sides of the human mind

Maren Klemp ; The darker sides of the human mind

My current interests in photography encompasses self portraiture, black and white photography in general and the use of vintage photographic equipment that infuses my images with a timeless dimension.
Cergy’s Faces by Jean-Pierre Duvergé

Cergy’s Faces by Jean-Pierre Duvergé

A picture is worth more than words, I decided to show it by photographing anonymous people who could be our neighbors, the retailer where we go every day, a person who passes in the street you look and who you look, a smile sometimes.
https://www.dodho.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/bannerpr.jpg

We invite you to participate in the first edition of the Portrait Photography Awards. Our call is open to any artistic interpretation of portrait photography.

https://www.dodho.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/BAnImage.jpg

ImageRights provides intelligent image search and copyright enforcement services to photo agencies and professional photographers worldwide.

https://www.dodho.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/mono2022.jpg

The best 100 images along with the winning images published in the yearly book “Monochromatic – Best Photographers of 2022”

Call For Entries #24 | After 23 editions and more than 100 published photographers, our print edition has proven to be a simply effective promotional channel.

Adam Buczek ; I don’t like politics but politics like me

Adam Buczek ; I don’t like politics but politics like me

I’ve met Porno Para Ricardo in 2010 in December when they have been refused to go to the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles for the 30th anniversary of Solidarity, the Polish trade union that was instrumental in leading to the collapse of communism in Europe.
Travel photography; Backpacking by Sofia Monzerratt

Travel photography; Backpacking by Sofia Monzerratt

A series of photographs taken on a no-budget backpacking trip over the course of three months, capturing the essence of humanity in different parts of the world as well as the rich culture that was experienced.
Self-portraits; Meditations on Being a Phoenix by Jessica Somers

Self-portraits; Meditations on Being a Phoenix by Jessica Somers

The Phoenix is reborn from its own ashes. It moves from one life stage to the next fearlessly and without much but a small ceremony of fire to carry it.
Narrative about a woman; Auntie Toothache by Giovanni Moran

Narrative about a woman; Auntie Toothache by Giovanni Moran

Let’s go back down to memory lane and remember a moment of nostalgia when we were young and experience our first minor toothache and the remission in that infected tooth
Salvi Danés – Black Ice, Moscow

Salvi Danés – Black Ice, Moscow

A thin and an invisible ice layer, which makes the free movement difficult and damages our self-confidence to choose a direction. An invisible barrier which has a fearful influence on us when moving from one place to another. Leaning in a kind of imaginary wall which makes our path easier and which makes decisions for us.
Fade Point by Lorenzo Papadia

Fade Point by Lorenzo Papadia

These images come into my beaches of southern Italy, a land of the south, called Salento. The work is titled "Fade point", which can also be intended as the point of disappearence.
(No) stories to be told by Afroditi Diamantopoulou

(No) stories to be told by Afroditi Diamantopoulou

The idea of my photo series (No) Stories to be told as well as the implementation of it, arose during the restriction period of the pandemic.
A country and her people; Armenian Wound  by Antonella Monzoni

A country and her people; Armenian Wound by Antonella Monzoni

Armenia was for me a real discover, with its oen wounds and its history, its bittersweet land, its proud, open and vital people. I felt as if Armenia asked me to go back many times, I traveled the whole country, walked around, met people who were willing to share their stories.
Female Fight Club Berlin; Lady Warriors by Marcello Perino

Female Fight Club Berlin; Lady Warriors by Marcello Perino

On the outskirt of Berlin there is a small garage where few women meet each other for fighting. It's called "Female Fight Club Berlin", and it's been established in 2010 by Anna Konda, and Red Devil.
Life after death by Edgaras Vaicikevicius

Life after death by Edgaras Vaicikevicius

After the death of a person remains only what he created during his lifetime. Trees also are born and die. However, only people can extend the natural life of the tree. When the arm of creator touches the tree, the tree is reviving.
Dimensions : Amorfo by Žilvinas Kropas & Guillermo Alvarez

Dimensions : Amorfo by Žilvinas Kropas & Guillermo Alvarez

The essential feature of photography is to capture and reflect a reality in which the dimensions of space, time, authentic being, of mind and feelings are equally prominent, linking in an easily discernible way all those in the area: photographer, viewer, environment, its it’s details and other members involved in it.
The Space in between by Milad Safabakhsh

The Space in between by Milad Safabakhsh

There is evidence to suggest that our world and everything in it-from snowflakes to maple trees to falling stars and spinning electrons-are also only ghostly images, projections from a level of reality so beyond our own it is literally beyond both space and time.
Seascape of Francesco Gola

Seascape of Francesco Gola

Francesco Gola was born 1981 in Pavia, Italy. He currently lives and works in Italy. After taking his Master Degree in Electrical Engineering he started travel for his company, and he found in photography the perfect escape to the chaotic world.
Pestilentia Populi – Will Carnival Cure Populism? by Davide Germano

Pestilentia Populi – Will Carnival Cure Populism? by Davide Germano

The days of Fasnacht, the Basel Carnival – one of Europe's oldest and best-loved carnivals – just ended. Dating back to 1376 and becoming UNESCO World Heritage only in 2017
Garden of Eden 2525 by Ari Bafalouka

Garden of Eden 2525 by Ari Bafalouka

Garden of Eden 2525, is a photo series for a post-apocalyptic dystopian space, where, a “meta” sapiens humanity, faces the debris and the deserted landscapes, as a result of its past decisions and actions.
Upper West Side Story: Street Photography By Kalliope Amorphous

Upper West Side Story: Street Photography By Kalliope Amorphous

Best known for her work with creative self-portraits, the artist has recently begun to turn her camera outward to capture the people and places around her on the streets of New York City.

Featured Stories

The Iberians by Candy Lopesino

The Iberians by Candy Lopesino

The Iberian Peninsula is a geographical concept formed by Spain and Portugal, two geographically united countries but separately by an invisible border. 
The state of britain by David Barrett

The state of britain by David Barrett

The state of Britain project was intended to be a study of Americanisation within the UK, however ,The result of the Brexit referendum signaled to me that Britain was about to change more significantly , Britain was about to exchange its liberal European past for a survival of the fittest ”Wild West” culture . 
Photographs; North Carolina State Fair by Avery Danziger

Photographs; North Carolina State Fair by Avery Danziger

I have been photographing the North Carolina State Fair since the early 70's. One of my oldest memories was the yearly outing of my family going to the State Fair in North Carolina, starting when I was 6 year old.... 
Anže Godec; Austro-Hungarian army complex abandoned by Yugoslav forces finds a new artistic life

Anže Godec; Austro-Hungarian army complex abandoned by Yugoslav forces finds a new artistic life

Army complex from the time of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It lies by Metelkova Street in the center of Ljubljana, Slovenia. It was abandoned in the early 1990s, when Yugoslavia collapsed.
Body art – a tribal ritual by Trevor Cole

Body art – a tribal ritual by Trevor Cole

The Suri tribe in the Northern Omo valley of Ethiopia, for example, use the paints for camouflage, tribal rituals or ceremonies and also now to show travellers. The tribes in the highlands of Papua New Guinea and along the Sepik river adorn themselves with paint for ‘Sing Sings’,
The Wat Phra Kaew’s Guide Book by Artyt

The Wat Phra Kaew’s Guide Book by Artyt

This Project is about “Wat Phra Kaew”. Wat Phra Kaew is regarded as the most sacred buddhist temple in Thailand. Everyday, Wat Phra Kaew is full of tourists from around the world.
Anthracite by Nick Gandano

Anthracite by Nick Gandano

Anthracite is the most metamorphic mineral coal and has the highest carbon content. Its colour ranges from black to metallic grey
The magical hidden world by Georgi Georgiev

The magical hidden world by Georgi Georgiev

The magical hidden world project was selected and published in our print edition 23. These photos are one of my personal best from the past few years. Most of them are from one place where I spend every spare moment to take photos.
The Sideshow by Francisco Diaz and Deb Young

The Sideshow by Francisco Diaz and Deb Young

The Sideshow is the unique new series from The International Collaboration Project duo Deb Young of New Zealand and Francisco Diaz of the United States. Diaz and Young designed their new series to usher the viewer into a fictitious seaside carnival.
The soul of photography by Maria Svarbova

The soul of photography by Maria Svarbova

I am Maria Svarbova also known as Aria Baró. I am 25 years old woman home based on Slovakia. I have graduated archeology this year. My first artistic attempts falls down back to my early child hood what is later in 2010 transforming in to photography dedication entirely.
Collodion Portraiture by James Walker

Collodion Portraiture by James Walker

James hopes simply to change the viewers mind in some way than what it was before they saw the work in a positive meaningful experience. Either to learn, or question something about themselves
180 beats per minute by Ivaylo Yorgov

180 beats per minute by Ivaylo Yorgov

180 beats per minute’ celebrates the determination of the millions of runners around the globe who push through sweat and tears to achieve their goals.
Bill Gekas ; Fine art portrait photographer

Bill Gekas ; Fine art portrait photographer

Bill Gekas is a multi awarded and published photographer that was born and resides in Melbourne Australia.
Sacred destinations : Borobudur by Aga Szydlik

Sacred destinations : Borobudur by Aga Szydlik

As the first rays of light break through the thick mist covering the ground, slowly and gracefully, Borobudur temple comes into the view. I close my eyes, deeply breathing in scent of jungle and lyrical call of Adhan, calling faithful to a Morning Prayer.
Still lifes by Belén Argüeso

Still lifes by Belén Argüeso

More or less three years gave me my first camera ...... I'm not a professional photographer ... just a simple fan trying learn and improve every day,. I started taking pictures of my dog, and uploading them to a pet forum
The 10 Commandments by Dina Goldstein

The 10 Commandments by Dina Goldstein

The narrative seeks to examine the socio-political makeup of America through its political icons - the presidential figures that mark the most notable and controversial chapters in American history.

Trending Stories

Interview with Mike Berenson

Interview with Mike Berenson

This is what motivates me to not just go out and shoot landscapes, but to go out and capture the wonders of Colorado (and beyond) in a way that screams beauty and leaves a genuine lasting impression.
The World from Afar by Trevor Cole

The World from Afar by Trevor Cole

The Afar tribe live in a very isolated and barren part of the Earth, yet they make a living from the extraction of salt and exporting it to the Ethiopian highlands.
Space and tranquillity; Long exposure by Jeff Vyse

Space and tranquillity; Long exposure by Jeff Vyse

I'm based on the north east coast of England and I spend a lot of my spare time outdoors as that's what I enjoy. I'm lucky enough to live in an area with remote sandy beaches and big sand dunes where you can find space and tranquillity.
Social photography of Honger Li

Social photography of Honger Li

I was born in Fuyang, Hangzhou, China in 1987, and studied at the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts in design and decoration.
Industrial towns; Bor, Serbia by Milos Bicanski :

Industrial towns; Bor, Serbia by Milos Bicanski :

Bor is town with 40,000 citizens. Buildings are covered with recoil dust unique for all industrial towns. Some hundreds meters from the center of town there is a huge cavity 10 kilometers in diameter
Tomassco ; Fashion photography

Tomassco ; Fashion photography

The fashion photography is not only about nice clothes, fashion magazines and advertising.It is not ‘a portrait of someone wearing a dress’, as David Bailey described. For me it is all about the feelings. In the photography as in real life­ everywhere we need deep emotions, we desire big love, to be able to create something miraculous.
Five minutes with Yura Kurnosov

Five minutes with Yura Kurnosov

I shoot a people, ordinary people. I love to tinker with them, spend time on them. I coming to them in houses, apartments, rooms and so on.
B&W : 40 days of high and low tides by Ekaterina Vasilyeva

B&W : 40 days of high and low tides by Ekaterina Vasilyeva

It happened that exactly the place of the last 40 days of my residence in UK became a small town at the North Sea coast Herne Bay.
New York; Subway by Roman Kruglov

New York; Subway by Roman Kruglov

I loved photography as a child, my grandfather showed me how to measure the light, the F stops and all the basics
Glacier Exit

Glacier Exit

Trekking the slopes of another planet had been on our list for a long time. The silence and majesty of the mountains surrounding us, the bluest ice we had ever seen and the steady rush of ice turned to water.
The Concept of Visual Parataxis by Raju Peddada

The Concept of Visual Parataxis by Raju Peddada

I am a writer by passion and a photographer by design. What I mean by this is that writing requires a lot of practice, dedicated labor every day, just to attain mediocrity. It is a very discouraging avocation.
Visual impairment by Magdalena Grela

Visual impairment by Magdalena Grela

Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment or vision loss, is a decreased ability to see to a degree that causes problems not fixable by usual means, such as glasses.

Other Stories

stay in touch
Join our mailing list and we'll keep you up to date with all the latest stories, opportunities, calls and more.
We use Sendinblue as our marketing platform. By Clicking below to submit this form, you acknowledge that the information you provided will be transferred to Sendinblue for processing in accordance with their terms of use
We’d love to
Thank you for subscribing!
Submission
Dodho Magazine accepts submissions from emerging and professional photographers from around the world.
Their projects can be published among the best photographers and be viewed by the best professionals in the industry and thousands of photography enthusiasts. Dodho magazine reserves the right to accept or reject any submitted project. Due to the large number of presentations received daily and the need to treat them with the greatest respect and the time necessary for a correct interpretation our average response time is around 5/10 business days in the case of being accepted.
- Between 10/30 images of your best images, in case your project contains a greater number of images which are part of the same indivisible body of work will also be accepted. You must send the images in jpg format to 1200px and 72dpi and quality 9. (No borders or watermarks)
- A short biography along with your photograph. (It must be written in the third person)
- Title and full text of the project with a minimum length of 300 words. (Texts with lesser number of words will not be accepted)
This is the information you need to start preparing your project for its presentation
To send it, you must compress the folder in .ZIP format and use our Wetransfer channel specially dedicated to the reception of works. Links or projects in PDF format will not be accepted. All presentations are carefully reviewed based on their content and final quality of the project or portfolio. If your work is selected for publication in the online version, it will be communicated to you via email and subsequently it will be published.
Contact
How can we help? Got an idea or something you'd like share? Please use the adjacent form, or contact contact@dodho.com
Thank You. We will contact you as soon as possible.
Submission
Dodho Magazine accepts submissions from emerging and professional photographers from around the world.
Their projects can be published among the best photographers and be viewed by the best professionals in the industry and thousands of photography enthusiasts. Dodho magazine reserves the right to accept or reject any submitted project. Due to the large number of presentations received daily and the need to treat them with the greatest respect and the time necessary for a correct interpretation our average response time is around 5/10 business days in the case of being accepted. This is the information you need to start preparing your project for its presentation.
To send it, you must compress the folder in .ZIP format and use our Wetransfer channel specially dedicated to the reception of works. Links or projects in PDF format will not be accepted. All presentations are carefully reviewed based on their content and final quality of the project or portfolio. If your work is selected for publication in the online version, it will be communicated to you via email and subsequently it will be published.
Get in Touch
How can we help? Got an idea or something you'd like share? Please use the adjacent form, or contact contact@dodho.com
Thank You. We will contact you as soon as possible.