A picture holds tremendous power. It has the ability to transport us to a time when an event occurred and can even actualise emotions of various kinds.
The internet has gone a step further and brought together beautiful photographs clicked by enthusiasts across the globe. Of course this can and is done on a daily basis via several social media platforms.
However, August 19 is observed as World Photography Day with the aim to inspire photographers across the globe to share a photograph with a simple purpose: to share their world with the world.
Browsing through ‘The Discerning Eye – 16 Conversations of Leading Indian Contemporary Photographers’ by Ayesha Kapoor, which she has worked on for her art project, we were inspired to connect with some of the photographers, to get an insight into their favourite photographs, as they share the story behind the click...
Lonely heart
“I had gone to Goa with some friends for a holiday. I had some work in Old Goa and while there, I stumbled on this door (and many more like it) purely by accident.
Luckily I was carrying my camera along so my holiday was cut short and I spent the rest of the days in Old Goa taking photographs. This one is special because this house was on a very busy road which was quite narrow.
There were cars and buses zipping past and I had less that 15 seconds to compose the photograph and take it else I would have been run over. Also I had car drivers cursing me as they drove past!” - Ajay Rajgarhia
Here comes the bride
“On a usual day, while photographing a wedding ceremony I would be standing somewhere in the middle of the aisle with a vantage to photograph the bride’s entry and the groom’s reaction. Xenia (the bride) told me that she wanted that image.
Right before the mass began there was this beautiful light coming through the doors of the church. I knew that waiting for her to pass would lose the reaction shot of Shayne (the groom). To me, I had not yet photographed a ‘Here comes the bride‘ moment at the entrance of the church that worked as well as this one.
It’s one of those instincts you just choose to go with because it’s worth the risk. I can say I’m super happy about the way this image turned out and the bride loved it. One of our team mates was able to capture the groom’s reaction so everything worked out perfect” - Keenan Pereira
Old is good
“My favourites have been constantly changing as I continue to evolve as a photographer and a person. This one is from a series of photographs I took one afternoon on an old, raggedy, discarded sofa in the backyard of a house in Kashmir.
What gives a personal meaning to the photographer is the experience involvement in doing the photographs as well as the memory of the experience that makes it all the more special.” - Karan Khanna
The Last Supper, Gaza
“Last Supper Gaza is one of my favourite works. I was able to bring together many issues that are constantly buzzing around in my head - identity, culture, history, politics, gender, city, conflict, survival, faith, betrayal, translations and aesthetics.
The ‘Last Supper’ by Leonardo Da Vinci is about faith and betrayal. Through it, it was possible to gaze at the inner zones of those caught in the crossfire, between people who are trying to find contemporary solutions and those seeking out mythical justifications.” - Vivek Vilasini
