Bhopal: Photograph evokes nostalgia, they document the moment in time and freeze it for generations to come. World Photography Day is celebrated on August 19 every year “to enable the photographers to share their world with the bigger world”. Bhopal also has many photography enthusiasts, for whom clicking pictures is not a profession but a passion. They have been communicating with the world through their cameras for long. Free Press Journal had a tête-à-tête with some of them. Excerpts
Hemant Waingankar, Deputy General Manager, Madhyam
Since childhood I was drawn towards nature. And that led me to photography as well as painting. Being a painter, I have an understanding of colour composition and framing, which helps me in the field of photography too. Photography is a passion for me. I am into it since 1986. At that time, I had no camera of my own, so I used to borrow a Yashika camera of one of my acquaintances. Later, I purchased a Canon camera for Rs 32,000. Now, I have two Canon cameras. Being a nature-lover, I like clicking landscapes. I have also done photo shoots for MP Tourism Development Corporation, Simhastha and for the state government calendar. I also do photography for Madhyam. I had put up an exhibition of my photographs at Bharat Bhawan in 2010. I have been working in Madhyam for 30 years now. I find time on weekends and holidays for my passion. A big change has come in the field. Earlier, due to developing and printings cost, we could click only a limited number of pictures. Nowadays, we can click as many as we like using digital camera and even photoshop them.
Anil Gulati
I have been using Canon 7D Mark II camera. I had started with a manual camera before graduating to Nikon and now to Canon. I have been doing photography for the past ten years or so. I enjoy capturing birds, butterflies, clouds, children and heritage monuments. For me, pictures are a means for conveying one’s feeling. To use photography as a medium to introduce the people of Bhopal to the city’s heritage, I started Bhopal Walk and have been sharing images of unexplored places in and around Bhopal on social media. I enjoy night photography as it is a challenge of a different kind.
Sachin Joshi, 32, counsellor and founder of Instagram Bhopal
Photography is my hobby. I enjoyed visiting new places and the only way I could preserve their memories was to capture them in my camera. I started clicking pictures of people and places around me using my HTC mobile. After that I bought a DSLR camera – Canon EOS 700 – for Rs 38,000. I love to do landscape and street photography. I have clicked pictures of Bhopal and also during Simhastha at Ujjain. I have a camera but I still prefer using mobile because it is easy to carry. I exhibited my pictures in an exhibition organised by IG Bhopal at Bharat Bhawan for two consecutive years. I started IG Bhopal, a community of photographers on Instagram. Its motto is to provide platform to young talents in the world of photography. The group is active since 2016 and has organised numerous photowalks and Instameets, photography workshop and seminars.
Prakhar Chaudhary, 25, executive in Madison
I have been doing photography for four years. Anything unusual and different is good enough for me to photograph. Earlier I used my iPhone. When I showed pictures clicked by me to my friends, they said I have an eye for photography and suggested that I should send them to competitions. Later I joined IG Bhopal and have been exhibiting my best works in exhibitions organised by it for two years. Now, I have Nikon D5300 camera but I still click pictures using my iPhone 7. I think, mobile camera are good enough and are handy. I don’t think I will be able to give up photography.
Mukesh Yadav, 28, store manager in Landmark Group
Photography fascinated me from my childhood but my father could not afford to buy a camera for me. After my graduation, I purchased a Kodak camera in 2008. But we used the camera only for taking photographs of family gatherings because the rolls cost money and so did developing negatives. Now I have a Nikon 810 worth Rs 2 lakh. Now I mostly do wildlife and landscape photography. I exhibited my works in IG Bhopal exhibition this year. I think this field has changed beyond recognition. It is not technology-driven and the cameras are increasingly doing most of the things themselves. I spend 9 hours in my office so I do photography either in the evenings or weekends. I have tried to capture the beauty of Bhopal. Now I am planning to go Goa for photography.
