Night Street Photography in Kathmandu, Nepal

I live about 50 minutes on foot from the city center, in the Banasthali neighborhood. There aren’t many historic sights or old buildings here, so I didn’t pay much attention to the area for photography. But one day I decided to try shooting at night - and once I started, I got completely hooked.

I've walked this street many times on the grocery-hotel route and never noticed this niceness. But the camera in my hands awakens this attentiveness - a nose for cuteness in ordinary things.

Another everyday scene. Whether it worked or not, I wanted to capture the moment when you are crossing the street at night and are blinded for a short moment by the headlights.

A sudden portrait - a passenger notices with curiosity that someone is taking pictures of their night journey.

Waiting for a bus on an uncomfortable night highway (the Ring Road) - tensely peering into the distance.

The darkness cuts off everything unnecessary, and the jumping light of the headlights creates new pictures every moment.

The wonderful scenery of Kathmandu, rich in charming shabbiness and

all sort of old-fashioned stuff:

A rumbling dusty transport artery but so lively - you can just stand to the side and blend in with the bushes in the dark — people here are too busy to look closely into the shadows.

Each photo is a result of anticipation - a mix of calculation and intuition - and then I press the button just when my gut suddenly nudges myself from inside, saying: "This is it! Now!"

It’s enough to surrender to that intuition - and the once dull streets become a stage where colorful lights flash, shimmer, and fade; faces flicker by, and mysterious silhouettes emerge out of nowhere. A game and a theatre, in which I too have been assigned a role: a foreigner in shorts standing in the dark by the side of the road with a strangely large camera, and clicking... It's wierd, not normal at all.

On this street, a man approached me and asked, "Why are you taking pictures?" I answered, "Because it’s beautiful," and chuckled, knowing how hard it is to see the beauty in a formally boring, shamefully broken road.

Wandering around like this in search of beautiful moments isn't the most practical pastime.

But - fun and powerful antidepressant.

After walks like that, I am always excited and happy.

All photos were taken by me with a Nikkor 50mm on a full-frame DSLR Nikon D750 on July 21, 2025 (but #6 from the bottom on July 18), around the Ring Road in Banasthali, Kathmandu, Nepal