Let the camera speak!
Ace photographer Girish Mistry, who recently showcased his work in town, talks about what got him addicted to photography
Tell us about your romance with the camera?
I was interested in sketching and painting. My first camera was given to me when my brother shifted to the US for further studies. In photography, I found that I could create images that satisfied the artist in me. So began the tryst to learn the art and craft of using the camera, and the medium as a lifetime romance to create images that made my heart warm and to a career spanning 27 years.
What inspires you?
Initially, I had no knowledge of the science behind photography and asked the local studio guy to load a film in my camera and to tell me how to click images. The result was disastrous, the film was so badly underexposed that it was practically blank. The bruised ego of a Virgo perfectionist inspired me to learn photography and started me on my journey with destiny to be an image-maker.
Did it begin as a hobby?
Yes, it started as a hobby. But, I finally found that this was my true calling in life.
Was there a defining moment when you decided to take up photography seriously?
When on a school assignment, I was told to shoot Indian handicraft. I made a deal with the cottage industry showroom at Colaba to shoot their handicraft on the condition that I will give them a print of whatever I shoot. On completion I handed them a set of prints, the manager was so impressed by the images that he gave me a professional assignment to shoot 30 handicrafts for an American client. I knew then that this was going to be my life path.
Any photo that you particularly hold close to your heart• why?
Photography is a realistic medium; the camera captures what it sees. Period. I experimented extensively the use of photographic camera techniques without the use of darkroom to create surrealistic images. One of the images "lost" is an image that still has a profound effect on me today. It is an image showing an Angkor Vat type statue in the foreground that is partially lit with another in the distant background being seen unlit. A Mayan calendar disc in the top of the frame is shown breaking apart and slowly disintegrating. The image depicts the rampant destruction and looting of our heritage and the slow and steady destruction of nature and our environment. Today, when I see that image it rings so true for today when you see the Bamiyan Buddha statues that were destroyed by the Taliban, the Taj Mahal turning yellow due to pollution, the 2012 apocalypse fear, the destruction of the ozone layer, the complete breakdown of law and order with violence and killing world wide.
What do you feel is the most challenging bit about photography?
With the advent of Digital photography, there is this tendency to take short cuts in creating an outstanding image. Youngsters now a-days lift image from the net, cut and paste and create an image where even a fool can see multiple shadows going in different directions and fir trees growing in the middle of the African desert.
The dependence on postproduction is more than the actual challenge to get the right image. Digital photography and the imaging software's have made life much simpler but explore what more you can do with this new media instead of abusing the media and creating garbage.
How do you define your style?
I get very easily bored with a genre or one style of image making. I experiment with a genre and then having used it creatively inside out, I take up another style. So, my style is "no style" which makes me evolve constantly.
Ace photographer Girish Mistry, who recently showcased his work in town, talks about what got him addicted to photography
Tell us about your romance with the camera?
I was interested in sketching and painting. My first camera was given to me when my brother shifted to the US for further studies. In photography, I found that I could create images that satisfied the artist in me. So began the tryst to learn the art and craft of using the camera, and the medium as a lifetime romance to create images that made my heart warm and to a career spanning 27 years.
What inspires you?
Initially, I had no knowledge of the science behind photography and asked the local studio guy to load a film in my camera and to tell me how to click images. The result was disastrous, the film was so badly underexposed that it was practically blank. The bruised ego of a Virgo perfectionist inspired me to learn photography and started me on my journey with destiny to be an image-maker.
Did it begin as a hobby?
Yes, it started as a hobby. But, I finally found that this was my true calling in life.
Was there a defining moment when you decided to take up photography seriously?
When on a school assignment, I was told to shoot Indian handicraft. I made a deal with the cottage industry showroom at Colaba to shoot their handicraft on the condition that I will give them a print of whatever I shoot. On completion I handed them a set of prints, the manager was so impressed by the images that he gave me a professional assignment to shoot 30 handicrafts for an American client. I knew then that this was going to be my life path.
 | |
Any photo that you particularly hold close to your heart• why?
Photography is a realistic medium; the camera captures what it sees. Period. I experimented extensively the use of photographic camera techniques without the use of darkroom to create surrealistic images. One of the images "lost" is an image that still has a profound effect on me today. It is an image showing an Angkor Vat type statue in the foreground that is partially lit with another in the distant background being seen unlit. A Mayan calendar disc in the top of the frame is shown breaking apart and slowly disintegrating. The image depicts the rampant destruction and looting of our heritage and the slow and steady destruction of nature and our environment. Today, when I see that image it rings so true for today when you see the Bamiyan Buddha statues that were destroyed by the Taliban, the Taj Mahal turning yellow due to pollution, the 2012 apocalypse fear, the destruction of the ozone layer, the complete breakdown of law and order with violence and killing world wide.
What do you feel is the most challenging bit about photography?
With the advent of Digital photography, there is this tendency to take short cuts in creating an outstanding image. Youngsters now a-days lift image from the net, cut and paste and create an image where even a fool can see multiple shadows going in different directions and fir trees growing in the middle of the African desert.
The dependence on postproduction is more than the actual challenge to get the right image. Digital photography and the imaging software's have made life much simpler but explore what more you can do with this new media instead of abusing the media and creating garbage.
 | |
How do you define your style?
I get very easily bored with a genre or one style of image making. I experiment with a genre and then having used it creatively inside out, I take up another style. So, my style is "no style" which makes me evolve constantly.
No comments:
Post a Comment