Miller relies on extensive research to identify where to take photographs. “This is a combination of census data, maps, news reports, and talking to people,” he said. For Mumbai, he referred to slum maps prepared by architect PK Das. Miller has been to Mumbai a couple of times, and though he finds the city “incredibly busy,” it isn’t overwhelming. “In fact, I feel very comfortable there,” he said.

India-photos
An aerial view of Dharavi.
Image: Johnny Miller

Once he zeroes in on an area, Miller uses Google Earth to get a sense of the geography and maps out a flight plan. “This includes taking into account air law, air safety, personal safety, battery life, range, weather, angle, time of day and many more factors,” he said. “Not to mention all the logistics that go into taking aerial photographs around the world—hotels, rental cars, different languages. Oftentimes, I’ll have a friend, or a colleague, or even a co-worker who will help me out—but sometimes I’m totally on my own.”


Miller found several parallels between the way inequality finds visual manifestation in Mumbai and African countries, primarily through housing density and size. “Unequal Scenes has always been about creating visual juxtapositions that work as metaphors—so I’m sure there are some rich people in the slums I photograph, and some poor people in the nice-looking buildings,” he said. “But the point is to say, these divisions really exist, they are massive, and they affect millions of people around the world. Let’s do something about it!”

India-photos
A closer view of Dharavi shows the immense density of the slum cluster.
Image: Johnny Miller

Photography wasn’t what Miller always set out to get involved with. A student of political science, he first picked up a camera when he was 29, and taught himself how to use it. According to an interview in The Huffington Post, Miller discovered drone imagery by chance, while taking a video of his friends who were with him on a hike to the Table Mountain in Cape Town.

Miller believes photography is a powerful tool because it creates a literal as well as emotional distance. “This is also why I think Unequal Scenes is important—it allows us the distance to really reflect on the fact that we have allowed our societies to become so unequal. Traditional portraiture and photography on the ground rarely allow for that sort of contemplation. This is really what I intended and desired to happen—that the photos would spark conversations, and through these conversations, we could begin to understand the scope of the problem, and through that understanding, we could develop solutions.”

Dharavi and the Mahim Nature Park, one of the city’s few green lungs.
Dharavi and the Mahim Nature Park, one of the city’s few green lungs.
Image: Johnny Miller

Miller’s work has been covered by the global media and won him several awards. He established africanDRONE.org, a non-profit organisation, through which he promotes and supports drone journalism and other related initiatives. According to its website, drones boost storytelling by going “where humans cannot, giving journalists cheaper and safer access to conflict zones and other hazardous areas, from the epicentre of a natural disaster to conflict zones, (and) to industry’s toxic no-man lands”.

With additional inputs from Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri. We welcome your comments at ideas.india@qz.com

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