I have published books in the past. My first book in India, Street Food of India, came out in 2010, won international acclaim and published worldwide. 

Now, after more than six years of work on my latest project, I am ready to publish my new book 'Behind The Indian veil – A Journey Through Weddings in India'. Designed by award-winning photo-book designer Tania Das Gupta, this exquisite coffee table album is filled with breathtaking photographs of wedding rituals in India and the astonishing stories behind them. A book I am truly proud of, and one I am certain you will appreciate and enjoy.

Despite all the changes of the digital age and in the publishing world, there is still no better medium for most artistic photography than a real book. I wish to take a more independent route this time, and self publish this book instead of going through a publishing house. However, independent publishing still unfortunately depends (and in that way not so “independent” as it appears to be) on funding.

I need your support in the final stages of production and you have an opportunity to be a part of a great project. If enough of us get behind it, we can make this happen.

Even if I do not manage to raise the entire amount from this campaign your contribution will get me one step closer to the target. The book will be published but it will be easier with your support.

Your help and support means the world to me!

Thank you so much,

Sephi Bergerson
Photographer

WHAT’S SO UNIQUE

After six years of working on this project, I have experienced, witnessed and documented a huge variety of Indian weddings.

Being a foreigner in India can be quite challenging at times, but it also has enormous advantages. As I traveled throughout India, I was invited into sacred places and intimate moments normally inaccessible to outsiders. The incredible array of stories I was able to capture reveals cultures, traditions, and legacies as complex and diverse as India herself.

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WE HAVE ALREADY BEEN FEATURED IN 

The idea is to start a conversation. Why? Because it’s an intriguing conversation to have. What we do is one thing. How we do it is another. Wherever in the world we call home, we share rituals similar in intention but unique in their expression. Behind the Indian Veil reveals the differences and similarities in Indian wedding traditions, while seeking the common essence of this grand, colorful, fantastic celebration. And in doing so takes us on a journey that in one way or another resonates with us whether we’re Indian or not.

The book features images and stories from a vast assortment of Indian communities such as Tamil Brahmin, Bengali, Sikh, Hindu Punjabi, Hyderabadi Muslim, Rajput, Kashmiri Pandit, Ladakhi Buddhist, Goan Catholic, Syrian Christian, Zoroastrian Parsi, Dawoodi Bhora, and Kodava Coorg. 

WHY ME

I am an established documentary and travel photographer with more than twenty-five years of experience. Before relocating to India, I was a commercial photographer in Israel, where I established a successful commercial photography studio and served as president of the Professional Photographer’s Association.

My family and I moved to India more than twelve years ago in search of somewhere to live our lives and fulfill our dreams. From the moment we arrived, we felt at home. So we made it ours. I have witnessed traditions buried so deep in the subconscious of the subcontinent that even people from India don’t necessarily know about them.

It is here in India that my body of work expanded into the most extraordinary places. My work has won awards and I have been published in international publications, including The New York Times, The Guardian, and Condé Nast Traveler. My first book, Street Food of India, received international acclaim, including the Best Cookbook Photography 2010 award in the UK, a nomination for Best in the World at the prestigious Gourmand Awards in Paris, and was a favorite in The New York Times top ten best cookbooks of 2010.

HOW YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Your participation enables me to share traditions that may, one day, become so diluted they are lost forever. Too many of these rituals from one of the oldest cultures in the world have already become shortened into representations of what they used to be.

Your collaboration also works towards empowering the self-publishing community. I learned so much from my experience of having my first book – Street Food of India – published by a publishing house here in India. The book, which won several international awards, taught me about the complications of relationships between publishers and artists, and that their different agendas don’t necessarily go hand in hand.

Intellectual property rights have always been a huge concern of mine. I want to be able to circumvent the often limiting and discouraging complexities of this relationship and demonstrate that self-publishing is a desirable and viable option for professional artists. I want to move towards being less dependent on mainstream publishing and more towards putting the power of the photo back into the hands of the photographer.

HOW MANY PAGES WILL THE BOOK BE?

The book is going to be size 10"x11" with 144 pages and printed on high quality IRIS paper. The book itself will be available in high resolution PDF form and as high quality offset printed 10"x11", 144 pages coffee table book.
We will also have a limited casebound special edition. 

$42,000 SEEMS LIKE A LOT OF MONEY FOR PRINTING A BOOK. HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THIS FIGURE?

Here is what I wish to accomplish from this IndieGoGo campaign: I wish to make a beautiful book you could not get any other way than making a full print run. I promise to over deliver and make a product that will make everyone really happy. I do not not have a room full of books at home after I've fulfilled all the rewards. Have enough money to overcome unexpected obstacles that will surely come up along the way.

Book printing is expensive as a lump sum. Shipping books is even more expensive. My time and the time of people who I need to hire to help me is even more expensive than that. To add to that I would really want to surprise you with little extras here and there. This is all factored into the goal and includes a small buffer to enable some level of comfort in meeting those priorities above. In those terms, the goal isn't actually that high. I think of IndieGoGo as a way to make something much better than what I'd be able to do without your support. Reaching the goal will bring me to a position to do great things and you've already proven that when people care and want it can actually happen. I am so proud and honoured to have you with me on this journey.

EXCEEDING OUR GOAL

Exceeding our goal will enable me to:

• Hire an experienced writer for the narrative sections of the book
• Engage a key public figure to write the foreword
• Launch in New York City, London, Rome..?
  
  

THE JOURNEY

My six-year journey to define the essence of an Indian wedding has been collaborative from the beginning. While shooting a wedding in Madurai, a holy city in south India, a guest approached me and asked if I had ever experienced a Syrian Christian wedding… and would I like to come to Coimbatore right now to do so. I hopped on board and that first 133-mile trip snowballed into countless last minute tips and just as many spur-of-the-moment trips to get that one more shot.

All the support and interest has been astounding – I was welcomed into spaces I never expected to see in my life. At one point I got caught sneaking shots at a mosque during a mass wedding of 319 Dawoodi Bhora couples in Mumbai. I was brought before the Mullah but Instead of kicking me out as I expected, he welcomed me in and blessed me.

I know people feel my conviction and the importance of this book’s cultural representation. They appreciate my absolute dedication to capturing the essence of one of the most important days of their lives. I feel their respect and gratitude towards me for taking the time, as a foreigner, to learn so much about their culture and care so deeply about their lives.

I end this amazing six-year journey with more than 50,000 photos and experiences my imagination could never have pictured. I begin a new one by stepping into self-publishing these poignant and provocative stories, paying tribute to the couples and their loved ones, and enabling future generations to witness the history that brought them to this present.

Even if you can’t financially support the campaign right now – no worries! You can also participate by passing along the link to anyone and everyone you know. Who knows who they might know and where this part of the journey may lead :)

Much gratitude and many blessings,

Sephi

* Here are a few images of some of the previous book titles I was involved in as author, photo editor or photographer.